Japan Day 17 (jū shichi)

Akihabara in Depth

Because our first trip to Akiba was so short and we really didn't see anything, we decided to go back and check it out again.


If only I would have had access to this place when I was 10! Heck, It's pretty freakin cool 26 years later too :)


If Darth Vader had ruled feudal Japan....


The bottom floor of this building had a big area full of figurines. The Japanese love their figures. They love naughty ones too...
Not Safe for Work Pic 1
Oops, they don't want you taking pics like this:
Not Safe for Work Pic 2
This piece of artwork was in the stairwell going down into the Asobit basement. Pretty representative of what was down there :)
Not Safe for Work Pic 3

The Tamiya store was next door and had these sweet R/C tanks:


Next was the Asobit store. The entire first floor was Gundam toys. I had a vague sense that it was popular, but now having seen it in person, I can say that it is HUGE here. Any store that has any toys at all has a big Gundam section.

Here is the giant Space Battleship Yamato that I am currently lusting after. Do I really need a giant Yamato with remote controlled swiveling cannons with 'authentic' cannon firing sounds, and a light up Wave Motion gun? Nooo.....but.....


There was a floor dedicated to model trains. Here's a nice Shinkansen, or Bullet Train as we call them. Below them are models of the subway trains. A different color for each line. The orange is the Ginza Line I think. In true Japanese fashion, the stripe on the side of the real subway actually corresponds to the color of the line route on the subway maps.


This floor looks promising.....


Whoa...umm...yeah...


Is this some right-wing, militaristic recruiting den we've stumbled upon? Nope, just an Airsoft shop that errs a smidge to the right of Politically Incorrect.


I want this one. Think it will fit in my carry-on luggage?


Oh no, Debbie has discovered the Gachapons. We'll be here forever.


As we walked down the street we noticed many shirts in Engrish, like this one that says, "My smile will become mysterious chuckle"


We ducked inside this arcade to get some air conditioning. The bottom floor had those games where you move the claw to grab some goodies. The rest of them had all sorts of video games.


The arcade had more of a Vegas feel than the arcades I remember. People were smoking while sitting playing elaborate RPG type games, street fighter type games, and various guitar hero type games. Only the first and second floors had any girls on them, the rest, more Vegas-ey floors were all guys. I took a video of some girls playing a drumming game, but then got the ever popular 'crossed arms' meaning no photos!



It's Mister Donut!


and Mos Burger!


Another odd shirt. This one says "Delight, Secret Service, funny heard cleverness"


Maids are pretty popular in Akiba right now. They have Maid cafes where girls dressed up as maids will serve you in a very subservient way. They even have Maid massage parlors.



There is even a maid-Optometrist if you need glasses!


Here's a maid handing out flyers.


Don Quijote has invaded Akiba now, too.


Off the main street we found this electronics store that had a floor devoted to robots. They had every part you might need to construct your own robot.



Under the train tracks:



At the end of the day we headed back to the first store we visited to buy all the stuff we noticed the first time around. These 'Rovoltech' figures are pretty popular. They have figures from a bunch of different shows. I picked up a Giant Robo one.


On the way out we saw this girl creating a big stir. TV cameras were filming her and everyone was snapping pictures, so I figured I would too.