Akihabara is not surprisingly one of the places I would aim to visit for my trip to Tokyo. Haivng last went there two years ago, there are some changes involved, mainly with Radio Kaikan building taken down for rebuilt. Let's see how the area is like.
AKB48 Cafe & Shop
Gundam Cafe
Milk flavoured Gunpla-yaki is available as the special flavour for a limited period of time at the moment.
Gundam and Char's Zaku at the doorway of Gundam Cafe
The location where Radio Kaikan used to be.
And a new Raidio Kaikan next to the old site.
Volks Hobby Tengoku, a new building where Volks moved to after the old Radio Kaikan was demolished earlier this year.
A life-size legendary pokemon Virizion
A Pakistan national team sportsman posing for a picture with the Pikachu mascot
Only noticed "Akiba Cultures Zone" building this year. K-Books got moved from old Radio Kaikan to the first two floors of this building. Good Smile Cafe is also there as well.
A 1/1 scale figure of "grafittitied" Kyubeh on display on the reception desk of Good Smile Cafe
Nymph itasha
Charlotte Dunois itasha
As many shops do not allow photography inside, I did not take many pictures. There are a few exceptions where they put up displays and are happy for people to take photos. Some fo them are pretty interesting or funny I'd say!
Unlimited Azusa Works~
Madoka x Infinite Stratos
Madoka figures on display
Among them is a disturbingly modified Kyubeh in wedding dress, the figure originally was that of Kousaka Tamaki (aka Tamanee) from ToHeart2
「僕と契約… いいえ、僕と結婚して魔法夫婦になってよ！」
Kotobukiya shop
More Madoka stuff on display.
Bishoujo figures on display... Wait, one of them in the picture isn't a girl! ^^;
Marvel bishoujo series... But Stay Puft Marshmallow Man isn't a bishoujo.
Super Robot plastic models
Many HoiHoi-sans
That's one impressive stack of Misaka and MISAKAs!
There's also a stand board for stacking MISAKAs for one to superimpose your face on at the staircase.
Bandai Tamashii Nation's Akiba Showroom is situated on a corridor between that of JR East and Tokyo Metro stations. Upcoming products are showcased there for limited period of time.
Approaching twilight in Akihabara
Night time in Akihabara just before I leave to end the day...
... But not before I ate some dinner. A nice hot bowl soba for around 400 Yen. Not bad at all for its price! ^^
For those who want to see more chain hobby shops of Akihabara, you can have a look over at my post back in 2009.
That's it for Akihabara. Like Ikebukuro, there are some changes since I last visited two years ago, but the main change is mainly related to Radio Kaikan, which is quite a signature building in the area.
It's funny how I did not manage to buy much anime-related stuff I want this time. Anything that is older than two years are very hard to find, with very latest media and merchandise hitting the shelves in many places. I am not keeping up with anime too well these days, so I do feel a little overwhelmed by the unknown stuff. It's an interesting observation that goes with the increasing number of anime being aired in recent years.
I guess to keep current and maximize profits, they have to keep inventory up to date to the latest fad. As we all know, what is hot today, could be cold tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI am okay with the shops stocking up the latest stuff, but anything older than, say, 2 years or so are nearly nowhere to be seen, compared to my previous visits 2 and 3 years ago.
DeleteBut it does seem like that things come and go with shorter and shorter lifespans these days. Only very few tend to be an exception to this observation.
I love reading all the blog posts of people visiting Japan. I sometimes envy all you guys who live in HK where you can easily take a short trip to Japan for a reasonable price... But I do understand all the "shorts" of living in HK also. Hope you will be able to visit Japan again in the near future and share more photos with us (^_^)b
ReplyDeleteThanks! Living in Hong Kong has some benefits, though as you've mentioned there are some cons as well such as the expensive livings and low pay. I still have a few more photos to sort out, and I hope I can get them sorted by next month!
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