Thursday, January 28, 2010

Walk in Akihabara -2-

This is another posting on Akihabara. Honestly, I don't go to this area often, and I just sometimes see some videos on the streets in Akihabara, where some girls dressed like maids are wearing kimono, and cosplayers walking around. So I had been expecting to see many cosplayers, but unfortunately I didn't see such people. Perhaps people weren't feeling liberated because it was in the middle of winter.
Of course you can buy any kind of manga or anime dvds, but Akihabara is still the place where you can get electric devices cheaply, and I would also come to this place to buy computer-related things such as memory cards. This is one of the areas in front of the station where there are lots of electric appliance shops.
 
I introduced this shop called "Akibaoo" last summer, but this time a doll that looked like a maid was announcing something in Japanese. People were just passing by without heeding what she was saying. 

 
 The ad on the far right says, "The Tsundere Russian Cookies". You would have 10 too hot cookies out of 12. Your survival rate is too low, isn't it? "Tsundere" is a word that applies to a girl whose temper suddenly changes from cold to sweet. "Tsun" describes one's cold attitude, and "Dere" her sweet one.

 
At this shop you can reserve a figurine called "Black Rockshooter (Black Blade version)". It was originally invented by an Illustrator "huke", and there is a song of the same namesake by Miku Hatsune. Here's a link to pics of the figurine. It is going to be sold in April this year and the price is about 63 us dollars.

 
 The sign you're seeing in the center is one by "Hogushi Chaya" where you can get massage by a maid and have coffee. "Hogushi" means reflexology and Chaya is an old Japanese expression of a cafe. This cafe's style is based on the Taisho period (1912-1926).

 
An anime movie called "Fate/stay night" by Klockworx was released on the 23rd. You can watch its trailer by clicking this link

 
 An ad of a video game called "Rune Lord". I don't know much about video games, but you would enjoy looking at intricate machines and cute girls in this game. 

 
 This is "Showa dori exit" of Akihabara station. This side of Akihabara is more developed than the others and there are coffee shops, Yodobashi Akiba, and etc. If you walk for 5 minutes or so from here, you can reach a Burger King. 

 
 This line is called "The Chuo-Sobu Line". There are some other JR lines at Akihabara station such as The Yamanote, Keihin Tohoku Line. I took this line 'cause I was on my way to Ochanomizu station.

 
I was given this brochure by a girl, with which I can get a 500 yen discount for a reflexology on weekdays. It says "Welcome to a hideaway in Akihabara". 

I basically like anime and things related to it such as music by Miku Hatsune, so I really enjoyed being in Akihbara. But I think the season when you can really enjoy Akihabara should be summer. So I like to visit this otaku area this summer or possibly sooner =)