Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Walk in Akihabara -3-

I went to Akihabara again to see what was really hot in the area. As I said before, it takes just 45 minutes by train to get to this anime epicenter, and I come here especially when the weather is very good and warm. And it seems Akihabara, or any areas in Tokyo have many people when it is comfortable to walk around. It was about 20 degrees Celsius on the day, so I was wearing a shirt only. 

This is called "Chuo Street" and one of the busiest streets in Akihabara. If you want to buy electric parts cheaply or, see maids standing on the streets to give out brochures, you should cross this street to reach the left side.

Those who come her for the first time would be overwhelmed to see those anime adverts. Some of them are about maid or Internet cafes. It is said it's hard to run a maid cafe for a long time, as the competition is very fierce and the economy is stagnant. 

I spotted K-ON! manjyuu. Manjyuu is a round bun that includes some sweet bean paste. The price was about 630 yen or about 7 dollars. We tend to think that things priced below 1,000 yen are relatively cheap.

A huge Azusa Nakano towel was seen hung. She is an anime character from K-ON! and appears in the anime as a very talented freshman high school guitarist. As I also play the guitar, I can't help but pay attention to the way she plays solo parts. 

What you're seeing are Lucky Star Corone-like cookies and strawberry cakes. Perhaps you can buy those on the Net as well, but you would feel like buying those especially when you're really in Akihabara. 
The girl on the top of the building is the mascot character of an anime shop called Gamers. I introduced the shop in this posting, and it is a very important shop in the anime Lucky Star. 

Liked to have coffee at Doutour as always. The nearest Doutor is about a 15 minutes walk from the station . 
I ordered a "Milano sandwich B". I wouldn't need to explain the black stuff on the right. An iced coffee.
As you can see, it includes fresh boiled shrimps. People think the foods at Doutor are far better than the ones at Starbucks. You would need 4.2 us dollars to have this. 

There are clothes shops that are called "Uniqro" in Japan, and this is one of the outlets in Akihabara. I think it is very close to GAP in quality and pricing. You can buy jeans for about 40 us dollars. Uniqro's been lucrative recently due to the cheap clothes it sells amid this recession.

I think Akihabara is now a hotter area in Tokyo more than Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro. It's popular not only among people who like anime, but ordinary people as well. Even though you don't like anime or manga, you can enjoy the very unique atmosphere at least =)