Tokyo/Akihabara Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Akihabara (秋葉原; [1]) is Tokyo's "Electric Town", located on the eastern side of the central Chiyoda ward. The area houses thousands of shops selling every technological gadget you can imagine, from computers to PlayStations and vacuums to DVDs, at reasonable prices. This area is also known as the "Gamer's Mecca."
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Get in
By plane
From Narita Airport
Akihabara can be reached by taking the all-reserved Keisei Skyliner to Nippori Station, and changing to the Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku Line for the run to Akihabara (about 70 minutes, ¥2070). By slower and potentially crowded Tokkyu train in place of the Skyliner, it takes slightly longer, but the cost goes down to ¥1130.
Japan Rail Pass holders can take the Narita Express to to Tokyo Station, then take the Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku Line north to Akihabara (75 minutes, ¥2940 without pass).
From Haneda Airport
Akihabara can be reached by taking the Tokyo Monorail from Haneda Airport, changing at Hamamatsucho to the JR Yamanote Line (about 40 minutes, ¥620).
By train
Akihabara is centralized around Akihabara station (located on the JR Yamanote, Keihin-Tohoku, and Chuo lines), just take the conveniently labeled "Akihabara Electric Town" exit to be dropped in the middle of the action.
Akihabara is also the terminal of the Tsukuba Express Line, which runs to Tsukuba and other stations in Ibaraki and northern Chiba prefectures. (45 minutes to/from Tsukuba via kaisoku)
By subway
Getting to Akihabara by subway is also quite easy; travel to Akihabara Station by the Hibiya line (H15), or Suehirocho Station by the Ginza line (G14). The Toei Shinjuku line is also a 10 minute walk to Akihabara from the Iwamotocho Station (S08)
See & Do
Akihabara is all about shopping. One of its few sights, the Transportation Museum, has closed and will reopen in Saitama in October 2007.
Buy
Electronics
Sprawled in every direction off the main street Chūō-dōri (中央通り) are more smaller streets with even more electronics stores. Note that the further from the main street you get the better the prices - but the more you stray, the less foreigner-friendly the shops are. On Sunday afternoons, the main street is blocked to vehicle traffic and the area becomes a bit of a flea market - you can walk freely along the main avenue and many small vendors set up tables on the side streets. You can't miss the street performers; everything from maid-fetish karaoke to incan music can be heard on a good Sunday.
Though battery-powered electronics are basically the same world-wide, AC-powered electronics designed for the Japanese market use 100 volts, so "native" Japanese electronics may require a step-down transformer outside Japan. Even the US standard 110V voltage is too high for many devices. Also, these products have no international warranty, and (the kicker) are labeled and documented only in Japanese. Head for the many duty-free shops to find export models, which are priced at a premium though.
- LaOX Duty Free 1-15-3 Soto-Kanda (on Chuo-dori, close to JR Akihabara station), 03-5207-5027, [2]. LaOX Duty Free specializes in export products and has multilingual staff on hand.
- Radio Center (right outside JR's Akihabara station). Radio Center is an unbelievable two-floor warren of tiny shops, each specializing in (for example) LEDs, voltage meters, ceramic capacitors or miniature cameras. Heaven for the do-it-yourself electronics aficionado.
Larger shops can arrange sales tax exemptions for purchases of over ¥10000, saving you 5%. Unlike most countries, in Japan the tax is waived immediately, so there is no need to run through complicated reclaiming hoops. However, you will have to show your passport and (in theory) you should clear your purchase through customs at the airport on the way out. Many shops take credit cards, but some may charge you a small percentage added to the transaction. Since such extra charge is usually prohibited by the agreement between the credit card agent and the shop, you are not obligated to pay. Some credit card agents will reimburse the charge if properly reported.
Also keep an eye out for used (中古 chuko) electronics stores, which offer pre-owned computers, MP3 players, PDAs and other hardware at rock-bottom prices.
Other goods
Besides electronics, Akihabara also has a great number of specialty hobbyist stores, ranging from anime and manga to collectible toys to military and railway fandom.
- The venerable Don Quijote chain has a store on Chuo-dori, offering a typically wide range of items at low prices, from snack food to clothing to gag gifts. The Akihabara outlet also has well-stocked costume and adult toy departments to cater to the local crowd.
Eat
There are a large number of fast-food places in Akihabara, but not much in the way of haute cuisine. One concentration of eating places can be found under the train tracks to the north of JR Akihabara.
- Tenya (てんや), (located a few blocks down Chuo-dori towards Metro Suehirocho) Tenya is a chain specializing in cheap tempura: basic tendon bowl costs less than ¥500, a steal by any standard.
Drink
Akihabara's latest boom is maid cafes, where pretty girls dressed up as French maids serve you drinks and dote on you, some going as far as to spoon-feed you.
- Cure Maid, Jisto Akiba 6F, 3-15-5 Sotokanda, tel. +81-3-3258-3161, [3]. The original and not quite as over-the-top (or expensive) as some of the competition. Drinks from ¥500. Open daily 11 AM-7 PM or later.
Sleep
Get out
Akihabara is within walking distance of the Ochanomizu and Ueno areas.
