Going to Akiba, also known as 秋葉原 (Akihabara) or the “electric town”, is always a weird experience.
Once the only place in Tokyo where you could really find some piece of electronics, it is now maybe more an otaku experience than a sort of electronics market.
I mean, you can really find anything there, from chinese ultra-cheap memory cards and pen drives, to the magnificent Nican and Canian (aka, fake Nikon and Canon) lenses, and there’s plenty of foreign shops selling mostly korean or chinese stuff which is surely cheaper than their counterparts from Yodobashi Camera or Bikku Camera. It’s just that unless you wanna save money, you don’t really need to come here anymore to buy camera accessories, computer stuff, cellphones and such… I usually go to the Odakyu Halc in Shinjuku or the Yodobashi next door.
There’s something to say about Akiba though. While a visit to Yodobashi and Bikku can satisfy your needs, going into one of those tiny shops packed (maybe crammed is the word here) of products on all sides and with people busy searching for the occasion of the day is an experience by itself. If you’re one of those tall (or maybe broad) gaijin that terrify the japanese population you may have a few problems squeezing yourself through the narrow passages or into the small alcoves where the truly interesting stuff always seems to hide. But if you’re not afraid of some unplanned exercises, you may actually find it awkwardly funny.
However, if you are of the otaku kind, or just a generic stranger who can still vividly remember those japanese cartoons from his childhood, and are searching for your very own and personal otaku grail, you better be prepared for the journey. I’m almost sure you can find every anime or manga character in many shapes and sizes in one of the thousand Akiba shops, but the search for it is the true quest here, the real adventure!
What you need for the journey is nothing special though, just patience, and lots of it.
No wonders the japanese always seem so calm, they probably understood it long time ago.
