Akihabara Guide: Things to Do, Anime Shopping, Food and Where to Stay

Akihabara is the part of Tokyo where anime, games and electronics take over entire buildings. Neon covers the facades, anime music spills out of the arcades and every floor seems to hide another small world: figures, capsule toys, claw machines, maid cafes and even a vending machine that sells real pearls.

I lived in Tokyo for three years and came back to Akihabara again and again, often on foot from Okachimachi. This guide puts everything I wrote about the area in one place: what to do, where to eat, where to stay and how to plan a day. Each section links to my detailed article if you want to go deeper.

Akihabara at a Glance

Getting to Akihabara

Akihabara Station is on the JR Yamanote Line, the loop that connects Tokyo Station, Ueno, Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ikebukuro, and on the Keihin-Tohoku Line. From Tokyo Station it is only about 4 minutes by JR. Okachimachi is one stop north, so you can also walk in from Ueno or Okachimachi in 15 to 20 minutes, which is how I usually arrived.

Things to Do in Akihabara

Shop for Anime Figures

Figure shopping is the reason many people come. Shelves go from floor to ceiling with characters from every series you can think of. Normal figures cost around 2,000 to 5,000 yen, while handmade limited pieces can go to 20,000 yen (about 200 USD) or more. Even if you buy nothing, walking through a few floors is part of the fun.

Hunt for Gashapon Capsule Toys

If there is a centre of gashapon culture in Japan, it is Akihabara. Some stores have entire floors with nothing but capsule toy machines. The first time I walked into one near the station I saw hundreds of machines wall to wall: tiny ramen bowls, miniature apartment furniture, tired office worker cats with neckties. I planned to try one machine and was still there an hour later. Most capsules cost a few hundred yen, which makes them one of the cheapest souvenirs in Tokyo. More in my gashapon guide.

Play UFO Catchers in the Arcades

Akihabara arcades fill whole buildings with UFO catchers, rhythm games and retro machines. My first try cost 100 yen: the claw grabbed the box perfectly and dropped it right away. The trick is that you rarely lift the prize directly; you move it, rotate it and push it toward the edge over several tries. One very Japanese thing: if you have spent a lot and clearly struggle, you can ask the staff, and they often reposition the prize. I explain the techniques in my guide to Japan crane games.

Open a Real Pearl from a Vending Machine

Inside Bic Camera Akihabara there are machines that sell real Akoya pearls. For 1,000 yen you get a heavy capsule with a vacuum sealed oyster, open it with a small plastic tool and find the pearl yourself. I found the machines on the ground floor near the entrance and on the 7th floor. The pearls are genuine cultured Akoya pearls, not jewellery grade, and you can have yours set into a phone charm or pendant. The full story is in my Akoya pearl guide.

Try a Maid Cafe (Once)

Nearly every block in Akihabara has a maid cafe, sometimes five or six in a row. You are welcomed home as master, chant over your omurice and watch a maid draw on it in ketchup. It is part theatre, part themed restaurant and a real culture shock. Maid cafes are also safe and transparent: before you sit down, the staff explain the rules.

• Entrance or seating fee of around 500 to 1,000 yen, plus at least one drink
• Table time is often limited to 60 minutes, and running over can mean another full block
• No touching, and no free photos of the maids or the room
• A photo with a maid is a paid Polaroid called cheki

Read my honest maid cafe guide before you go so the rules do not surprise you.

Walk the Car-Free Main Street

On pedestrian paradise days (Hokousha Tengoku), Chuo-dori is closed to cars and the whole street fills with people walking between the neon buildings. It is the best moment for photos of Akihabara. Dates and other car-free streets are in my guide to Tokyo’s pedestrian paradises.

Walk In from Okachimachi

My favourite way to do Akihabara is on foot from Okachimachi, a calm area between Ueno and Akihabara. On the way you pass vegetable stalls, old electronics shops, small shrines next to vending machines and bento shops. It takes 15 to 20 minutes and you arrive just as Akihabara gets loud. The route is in my Okachimachi to Akihabara food walk.

Where to Eat in and Around Akihabara

• A hidden burger behind a vending machine in Okachimachi: we had a tropical burger with pineapple and a chili cheese burger, about 4,000 yen for two with fries.
• Xian style Chinese food at Mooga: roujiamo (Chinese burgers) and spicy hand pulled noodles with chili oil and garlic.
• Omurice at a maid cafe, more for the show than the food.
• Gyukatsu Aona, my favourite gyukatsu, has a branch near Ueno and Okachimachi. See my gyukatsu guide.

One thing to know: Akihabara has few restaurants open late, so eat before the shops close or head to Ueno.

Where to Stay in Akihabara

Akihabara is mostly business hotels at reasonable prices, about 4 minutes from Tokyo Station, which makes it practical for Shinkansen trips. The downside is the commercial feel and few late restaurants. Ueno next door is often better value, has the Keisei Skyliner to Narita and more food in the evening. For anime fans, Ikebukuro and Nakano are good alternatives. I compare all areas in where to stay in Tokyo.

Akihabara Beyond the Shops

• Kanda Matsuri: held in mid May in odd years, with a procession through Kanda, Akihabara and Nihonbashi. The next big one is in 2027. See Tokyo festivals by month.
• Ueno Park is a short walk away for museums, the zoo and cherry blossoms in spring.
• Souvenirs: capsule toys, figures and pearls all make good gifts. More ideas in my Japan souvenir guide.

A Day in Akihabara

Akihabara FAQ

Akihabara is one stop in a much bigger city. For the full picture, start with my things to do in Tokyo guide.