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Tokyo Metropole & Greater Kanto · Tokyo, Akihabara

Akihabara, Jimbocho and Kanda: anime, guitars, books and soba

The electronics and anime district, but in an order that gives it depth: a shrine that blesses gadgets, Ochanomizu's street of guitar shops, the district of 130 bookshops, and soba at a 140-year-old restaurant.

A day in Akihabara, but in an order that gives it depth. You start at a shrine that blesses computers, go down to Ochanomizu's guitar street and Jimbocho's book district, and eat lunch in Kanda, at long-established soba restaurants. In the afternoon you come back to Akihabara for figures, old games and a maid cafe, and in the evening for spicy ramen and Yodobashi. All on foot, about 5 km between the stops, in a loop around Akihabara Station.

Verified online, September 20269 stops · 09:00 to 21:00¥8,200 · ≈ $52 per personWalking between stops: 66 minAnime and gaming fansRain-friendlyTax-free

The day on a map

9 stops, in order

Stops
9
Walking minutes
66
Stop number on the timelineWalkingBase map: © OpenStreetMap
  1. Kanda Myojin, then Walk 10 min
  2. Ochanomizu, then Walk 10 min
  3. Jimbocho, then Walk 15 min
  4. Lunch break in Kanda, then Walk 6 min
  5. Radio Kaikan and Akihabara Electric Town, then Walk 5 min
  6. Super Potato, then Walk 2 min
  7. Maid cafe, then Walk 10 min
  8. Dinner in Kanda and Akihabara, then Walk 8 min
  9. Yodobashi Akiba
Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

Getting there: Start at Akihabara Station (JR Yamanote Line or the Metro's Hibiya Line). From the JR Electric Town exit walk up to the shrine, about 8 minutes on foot. If you come on the Chuo Line, you can also get off at Ochanomizu, about 9 minutes from the shrine.

  1. Stop 1Shinto shrineRecommended

    Kanda Myojin: the shrine that blesses computers and anime

    You start at a shrine founded, by tradition, in 730, on the hill above Akihabara. They sell amulets here to protect computers and phones, and there are regular collaborations with anime series, like Love Live. Entry is free, and the shrine is open from the morning. The shop next door has been selling amazake, a sweet sake with no alcohol, since 1846.

    FreeOpen in MapsAbout this place

    Down to the guitar street

    • Walk · 10 minFrom the shrine walk west, past Yushima Seido, and cross the Kanda River on Hijiri Bridge to Ochanomizu Station. The guitar street, Meidai-dori, runs south down from the station.

    On the way you can stop at:

    • Yushima Seido: A temple to Confucius, which the shogun Tsunayoshi moved here in 1690. Entry to the grounds is free, from 09:30.

  2. Stop 2StreetIf there is time

    Ochanomizu: the street of 30 guitar shops

    The street that runs down from Ochanomizu Station, with dozens of guitar and drum shops, new and used (Ishibashi, Kurosawa). Even if you do not play, you will enjoy the window displays. Musical instruments are tax-free with a passport.

    FreeOpen in Maps

    On to Jimbocho

    • Walk · 10 minWalk down to the end of the street, at the Surugadai-shita crossing, and turn right onto Yasukuni-dori. The bookshops start almost at once.

  3. Stop 3BooksRecommended

    Jimbocho: the district of 130 bookshops

    About 130 bookshops, most of them secondhand: ukiyo-e prints, old maps, vintage manga, art books. Kitazawa has English books, and there is also Isseido. This is also a district of curry and of old cafes, like Sabouru.

    ¥1,000 · ≈ $6Open in MapsAbout this place

    Walk to lunch in Kanda

    • Walk · 15 minHead back east along Yasukuni-dori, about 1.3 km, to the Kanda Sudacho neighborhood.
    • or: Metro · 10 min · ¥180Toei Shinjuku Line from Jimbocho to Ogawamachi, one station, one minute. From the station to the restaurants it is about 2 minutes.

  4. Stop 4LunchMust

    Lunch break in Kanda

    Kanda Sudacho, across the river from Akihabara, keeps two long-established soba houses a corner apart. Eat at one of them, or have a vegan meal on the way to the next stop:

    • Kanda Matsuya¥770 for mori soba

      A soba house from 1884, in a wooden building that survived the bombings. Cold soba with dipping sauce (mori soba) ¥770, and duck soba in winter. Weekdays 11:00 to 20:30, Saturdays and holidays until 19:30, closed on Sundays. You sit at shared tables and slurp loudly: that is allowed, and it is the rule.

    • Kanda Yabu Soba

      The rival from 1880, around the corner. Open from 11:30, last order at 20:00, closed on Wednesdays.

    • Komaki ShokudoVegan, not kosher

      Buddhist shojin cuisine, with no animal ingredients and no garlic or onion, in CHABARA under the tracks, 2 minutes from the Electric Town exit. 11:00 to 20:00, last order at 19:30.

    • Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city

    ¥1,200 · ≈ $8No reservations, a short lineOpen in Maps

    Back to Akihabara

    • Walk · 6 minCross the Kanda River on Mansei Bridge and walk north to the west side of Akihabara Station. Radio Kaikan is opposite the Electric Town exit.

  5. Stop 5Anime shoppingMust

    Radio Kaikan and Akihabara Electric Town: figures, manga and gachapon

    10 floors of figure and card shops (K-Books, Kaiyodo) in the Radio Kaikan building, and around it: Animate (mostly character goods), Mandarake (used and rare), and gachapon machines on every corner, ¥300 to ¥500 a turn. Radio Kaikan and Animate open at 10:00 and Mandarake at 12:00, so you come here in the afternoon.

    ¥2,000 · ≈ $13Open in MapsAbout this place

    On to Super Potato

    • Walk · 5 minAbout 300 meters: cross Chuo-dori, Akihabara's main avenue, and turn into the alley behind it.

  6. Stop 6Retro gamingRecommended

    Super Potato: a living museum of old video games

    Two floors of consoles and games from the 80s and 90s (Famicom, Game Boy, Sega), and on the floor above them a retro arcade, from ¥100 a game. The prices are for collectors, but looking is free. Nearby: the HEY arcade, with classic shooting games.

    ¥500 · ≈ $3Open in MapsAbout this place

  7. Break

    A rest at the hotel, if you are staying nearby

    This day starts at 09:00 and ends at 21:00, and the evening still holds dinner and Yodobashi. Akihabara is close to several places people stay: if you are staying in Akihabara or Kanda, walk to the hotel. To Ueno: JR Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku Line, 2 stations, 4 minutes, ¥160. To Tokyo Station: the same lines in the other direction, 2 stations, 4 minutes, ¥160. To Asakusa it is already 13 minutes, on the Hibiya Line to Ueno with a change to the Ginza Line (¥180), and that is borderline. At 17:45 head out again, straight to dinner. If you are staying in Shinjuku, do not go back: 20 minutes on the Chuo-Sobu Line (¥210), and with the walking the ride eats the break. Your rest is the next stop, a maid cafe in the building next to Super Potato.

    Into the maid cafe

    • Walk · 2 minThe maid cafe is in the building next door, a few dozen meters away.

  8. Stop 7ExperienceIf there is time

    Maid cafe: once in a lifetime, and then you get it

    If you did not go back to the hotel, carry on here. The waitresses in costume greet you as 'master' and draw on your omelet in ketchup. Entry fee ¥850 per hour (children up to elementary school age free), plus a drink or set order, which is mandatory. No photographing the staff without paying for a photo. Pure kitsch, fine for families too, and after one visit you are done. Alternative: the Pokemon Cafe in Nihonbashi, by reservation only. The Gundam cafes closed in 2022.

    ¥2,000 · ≈ $13Open in MapsAbout this place

    Down to dinner

    • Walk · 10 minSouth along Chuo-dori, across the river, to Kanda. Kikanbo is about 2 minutes from Kanda Station on the Ginza Line. Gyukatsu Ichi Ni San is the other way, north, 4 minutes from Akihabara Station.

  9. Stop 8DinnerRecommended

    Dinner in Kanda and Akihabara

    Akihabara's meal is spicy, or a beef cutlet you grill yourself. If you are already tired, eat on the restaurant floor of the last stop:

    ¥1,500 · ≈ $10No reservationsOpen in Maps

    Finish at Yodobashi

    • Walk · 8 minFrom Kanda head back north, cross the river, and Yodobashi is on the east side of Akihabara Station.

  10. Stop 9NightRecommended

    Yodobashi Akiba: 9 floors of gadgets until 22:00

    You finish at the largest electronics store in Japan, open until 22:00: cameras, headphones, rice cookers, razors, and restaurants on floor 8. Tax-free at a dedicated counter, with a passport, on purchases over ¥5,000. Take a look at the toy floor, even without children. Akihabara Station is right next door, and from there you head back to the hotel.

    FreeOpen in Maps

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Written as a draft and verified by hand against official sources. Opening hours and prices change, so check before you go.

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