There’s a really extensive page over at the excellent Japan Experience.:
Akihabara Shopping: A Geek’s Paradise in the Heart of Tokyo
©2024 Ten Minute Tokyo.
Also see our own Akihabara Superguide written a few years ago.
Akihabara is one of the oldest and most interesting parts of Tokyo. But if you want to see the “old” Otaku (geek) culture you’d better make it quick: a gigantic and massive total redevelopment is planned in the near future in the next few years – and just as in Shibuya now, the old town and culture will be swept away forever to make room for a gleaming new modern subcity.
This may be your last chance to see post-war Akihabara as it exists today.
History
Originally called Akibagahara named after the Shinto fire deity Akiba, the town was massively reorganized after a huge fire in 1869 nearly destroyed it.
Akihabara was one of the first towns in Japan to get a modern railway, and its station and Ueno Station just to the north were built after the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923.
The town has an entirely elevated train system comprising many lines which stop at the central Akihabara Station.
Location
Akihabara sits in northeast central Tokyo just south of Ueno, and just a stone’s throw north of another small town: Kanda.
In fact if you’re up for a really long walk you can hike it all the way from Ueno in the north, down through Akihabara, then through Kanda, then south through Nihonbashi and finally into Tokyo Station itself. All 5 stations and streets run roughly in a north-south line and it’s possible to walk the entire distance without any major detours – although it will take you at least a few hours. This photo on Wikipedia shows the main street in Nihonbashi which connects to Akihabara: Chuo-dori.
Layout + Station
Akihabara has a roughly square or “+” layout which follows the shape of its station. The area can be divided up into 4 quadrants.
Most of the streets in Akihabara are more or less laid out in an easy-to-navigate square grid with the main streets running north-south.
Akihabara Station is more towards the south side of the town towards Kanda.
Also just to the south a few blocks is another station on the Shinjuku Line: Iwamotocho Station.
South
To the south of the station are mostly restaurants, arcades, some shops, endless sidewalk stores, and to the southwest a block or two, the Manseibashi mAAch eCute mall which was built over the destroyed Manseibashi Station. The station also has several historical features including a small museum and diorama on the top floor, as well as some of the original and upgraded station stairwells. The station’s platform now serves as the roof, on which there’s an open-air restaurant. Trains however still pass over the station – even though they no longer stop there. Also at Manseibashi are a bridge, and the Kanda River. Across east of mAAch eCute is a massive 12-story pachinko parlor called Big Apple, and just north of that, the LAOX electronics store. There also used to be a huge Taito game station multi-floor arcade a little further north, but sadly it went out of business during COVID.
©2019 tenmintokyo.com
A block to the southeast of the station is one of Akibahara’s two main roads: Showa-dori Ave. It’s on this north-south road you can walk all the way to Ueno to the north, or to Tokyo Station to the south:
©2019 Ten Minute Tokyo.
Just a 1/2 a block back west down a side street off Showa-dori at 35°41’54.42″ N 139°46’29.63″ E don’t miss the cool but hidden Akihabara Park, which has a large cafe, and a dozen or so small electronics shops all in a tiny rectangular square. There’s also more bike parking here. Akihabara Park is hidden away and never mentioned in most guides to the town.
At the north end of the park is the south entrance to Yodobashii Camera (mentioned below), and to the right of that on Showa-dori the east entrance to the station:
Another interesting tidbit is that if you head back to Showa-dori from the park, then cross the street east and head north for another block, on the right will be something almost everyone on earth has heard of: the Yoshida Kōgyō Kabushiki gaisha (Yoshida Manufacturing Corporation) HQ, now better known simply as YKK Group. This, of course is the same company that makes YKK zippers found on almost all zippered clothing worldwide.
North
At the north exit of the station is a large plaza, cafes and shops to the left and right, and to the left (west), Akihabara’s main road (Chuo-dori Ave) which features the Electric Town district (because of its hundreds of electronics shops). You can easily cut to the east or west on several small side streets from the plaza. Also of major note at the northwest end of the plaza to the left is the legendary Bic Camera – in 11 epic floors. Just past Bic is Electric Town inlcuding the massive SoftMap store, and several smaller SoftMap annex stores including (for Mac fans) the Mac Collection.
If you jump one block more to the east (right) from the north plaza you’ll find another smaller plaza, with a huge post office and shared office space complex, bicycle parking, and just on the east side a massive Yodobashii Camera. Yodobashii is the one huge electronics store in Akihabara that isn’t in Electric Town on Chuo-dori Ave. Instead it’s to the east past the two north plazas.
Another interesting note is if you slip down the small side street north to the right of Bic Camera, on your right will be a very small staircase which leads to a small wood platform with benches where you can sit and watch the trains coming into the station. This is especially cool at night. There’s a photo of this platform on the Superguide page:
©2019 Ten Minute Tokyo.
West
The west side of the station has the smallest, but maybe the most used exit: the Electric Town exit. This exit empties into a small side street which has arcades, an atré department store, a few nice restaurants, and on the left, the famous electronics parts mall Akihabara Radio Center. ARC actually has several small stores in it and if you’re looking for electronics parts, this is the place.
It’s called the Electric Town exit because it’s on the west side and Chuo-dori is just to the west of it. This exit is located on the southwest side of the station.
To get to Chuo-dori from this exit, just turn right when you come out of the station and go one block straight ahead.
East
There isn’t much to do on the east side of the station, other than Showa-dori and its shops, but the area to the east of the station has most of the good, cheap hotels in the town, as well as a lot of small restaurants. It also has several good money-exchange shops.
Hotels
We’ve already covered most of the good hotels in Akihabara on the Superguide page so we won’t repeat them here. There are dozens of them in the area. Just a few good ones are APA Hotel, First Cabin, plus And Hostel. Most of these are located on the east side down side streets across from the east exit to the station.
For a really incredible site about Akihabara and everything thing it has to offer, check out akihabara-trip.com. Especially All Akihabara Station Exits and Where They Lead To.
Chuo-dori shops
Up and down Chuo-dori you’ll find large and small shops, electronics palaces, gaming places, computer shops, second-hand game chops, retro gaming, hobby shops, arcades, and even a huge Don Quijote discount shop. There’s also a Mr. Donut. You can spend hours walking up and down Chuo-dori and still not see it all. Budget your time carefully and don’t spend too much time in any one store or you won’t have enough time to see everything. At night when the street is lit up Tokyo comes vibrantly alive.
Have a fun time exploring Akihabara!
LINKS
Kanda to Akihabara – Roaming Japan
With Japan’s otaku haven Akihabara soon undergoing redevelopment, some fear it may lose its charm
Redevelopment project in Tokyo’s Akihabara sparks mixed reactions, distrust
VIDS