{"id":857590,"date":"2024-09-06T16:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T13:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/?p=857590"},"modified":"2025-02-08T11:50:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T09:50:13","slug":"tokyo-for-otaku-top-10-places-for-anime-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/tokyo-for-otaku-top-10-places-for-anime-fans\/","title":{"rendered":"\ud83c\udf8c Tokyo for otaku: top 10 places for anime fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anime in Japan is not just entertainment ,<\/a> but a part of culture ,<\/a> philosophy and way of life. Today, anime culture<\/a> has spread far beyond the borders of the land of the rising sun. Otaku, as anime fans are called, are becoming more and more popular every year around the world. That's why we've compiled a list of anime places in Japan. They will delight any anime fan.<\/p>\n

Akihabara Electric Town \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Akihabara, or Akiba for short, is a city district and at the same time the world center of electronics, gadgets, video games, anime and Japanese comics – manga. The last couple, by the way, occupy a leading position and once breathed new life into the area. Finding yourself in this place in the evening, you can be blinded by neon signs, advertising posters and colorful buildings. They're just everywhere here.<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

Arriving at Akihabara station, it immediately becomes clear where you are. Many electronic panels advertise new anime series or manga. And immediately upon exiting the subway we are greeted by the Gundam Cafe, dedicated and named after the cult anime. You can eat fast food, pizza or seafood there for 1100-1500 yen (23-32 rubles).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gundam is one of the longest-running mecha anime franchises. It combines dozens of TV series and feature films. This anime is about large robots controlled by people who fight for freedom and justice in fantasy worlds. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

On the streets of Akiba, you constantly come across vending machines selling figurines from popular anime and video games. I inserted 700 or 1000 yen (14-21 rubles) and got the desired character. However, it is better to make such purchases at stores that sell second-hand goods. Luckily, these are a dime a dozen in the area.<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

The secondary market in Japan is quite well developed. Many anime stores offer used goods at reasonable prices. Therefore, you can buy anime-themed mugs, badges, keychains, and figurines very, very cheaply. Such stores often donate items that win in shopping centers. Therefore, some copies are not even unpacked.<\/p>\n

Akihabara is a true paradise for anime fans. You can walk endlessly through the shops, some of which occupy several floors. It\u2019s simply impossible to look and not buy anything. And in the evening, when the area flashes with neon, barker girls come out onto the street in the hope of luring a new client to the maid cafe. It's time to give in and see what it is.<\/p>\n

Made Cafe<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Meido cafes are closely associated with otaku culture and are very popular in Japan. Many cities have them, but the Akihabara area has the most. At first glance, this is an ordinary coffee shop where you can have a snack or drink coffee. However, all the staff are girls dressed in maid costumes. Even if you come to such a place for the first time, you will definitely hear at the entrance: “Welcome back, my lord!”<\/p>\n

It is with these words that the performance in which you are the main character begins. The essence of the game is simple: you are the master, and the girl serving you is a maid who is trying in every possible way to please you. While you drink coffee, she will joke, tell interesting stories, sing songs and involve you in all sorts of funny chants. An unprepared tourist will be slightly uncomfortable, because the level of cuteness in these establishments is simply off the charts.<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

The maid is a common character in the anime industry. This is the image of a “cute” girl in a short skirt, long white leggings, an apron, and bows in her hair. To feel the atmosphere of a maid cafe and find out what awaits you, we recommend watching the anime series “Akiba\u2019s Maid War”, “Stein\u2019s Gate” and “He is My Master”.<\/p>\n

Competition in this area is huge, so you can find cafes for every taste. Some employ only real schoolgirls, while others employ ninja girls, secretaries or nurses. There are even girls in robot costumes. And there are also those where the client is greeted with the words: “What are you doing?” And then they throw the menu in your face and show complete contempt with all their appearance. This may surprise you, but there are a lot of fans of this service.<\/p>\n

Nakano Broadway<\/a>\u200b<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If Akiba is the heart of the anime industry, then Nakano Broadway is its brain. It is a huge four-story shopping center in the western part of the Japanese capital – this is actually an anime Tokyo<\/a> street. We exit through the northern exit at JR Nakano Station, 5 minutes walk, and we are there.<\/p>\n

On the ground floor you can find “regular” shops and cafes. From the second to the fourth, more than 300 outlets sell almost any item related to anime culture. The main hunt is for collectible figures. Some of them are even cheaper than Akihabara.<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

You can find not only collectibles with your favorite characters, but also clothing. Jackets with Naruto or T-shirts with One Piece characters – all this in huge quantities. In cosplay stores you can completely transform into your favorite character. In addition to costumes, related products are sold there: wigs, masks<\/a>, exclusive jewelry and items.<\/p>\n

Like Akihabara, Nakano has a lot of second-hand goods at lower prices<\/a>. If you buy the same figures or costumes for yourself, then packaging becomes less important. The shopping center is home to one of the stores of the huge second-hand goods chain Mandarake. Inside you can find many rare items that are no longer produced.<\/p>\n

There are also shops where you can buy sketches, stills and storyboards of famous anime. When you see how a particular film was created, you begin to understand what a colossal amount of work was done to create<\/a> one single scene.<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

Pay attention to stores where goods are laid out randomly, without a clear order. This is a hint that the workers have not studied the product well. This means that rare collectibles could have a low price.<\/p>\n

If you know or are studying Japanese, then at Nakano Broadway you can cheaply buy one volume of manga for only 110 yen (2 rubles) or 220 yen (4 rubles) for three. In the comic book store alone, which is more like a library, you could spend an entire day exploring the stacks.<\/p>\n

As throughout Tokyo, the mall has vending machines selling anything and everything. Soda fountains offer cans of drinks designed in popular anime designs. Most slot machines operate on the principle of randomness – you never know which character you will come across.<\/p>\n

Studio Ghibli Museum<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n

On the same subway line as Nakano Broadway is the Studio Ghibli Anime Museum. Getting to it will not be difficult. From central Tokyo it is a 30 minute drive to Mitaka Station. There we find a beautiful yellow bus<\/a> that will take us to the desired point. But you can also walk.<\/p>\n

Hayao Miyazaki is an outstanding animator. His studio Ghibli gave the world such masterpieces as Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. They have become iconic not only in Japan, but throughout the world. If you haven't watched them yet, we recommend that you do so.<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2001, the studio museum, designed by Miyazaki himself, began operating. He didn't want the museum to look like a typical exhibition. So all elements are designed in such a way as to immerse guests in the magical world of animation as much as possible.<\/p>\n

However, getting into the museum itself is not so easy. Tickets can only be purchased in advance on the official website<\/a><\/strong>. The sale starts on the 10th of every month at 10 am Japan time. After about five minutes ,<\/a> all tickets are usually sold out.<\/p>\n

The entire territory of the museum is occupied by a large garden where you can walk, and a three-story building with access to the roof. This is where the statue of the “steel giant” from the full-length anime “Laputa Castle in the Sky” is located. You can take photos<\/a> near it. In the museum itself, any photography is prohibited.<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

Three floors house permanent and seasonal exhibitions<\/a> dedicated to the work of the studio. There are rooms with thousands of sketches of famous and not so famous characters, storyboards of famous anime, which make your eyes wide open. Others are equipped as offices, where literally every object refers to one or another cartoon. Even a person far from all this will be imbued with the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

The ticket price includes one visit to a local cinema. It shows one of the studio's 10 short cartoons every 30 minutes. You will not see them anywhere else except in the museum. The voice acting is Japanese, but even if you don\u2019t know the language, you will still understand what is being said. There is also a cafe and a souvenir shop.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices vary depending on the age of the visitor. An adult ticket will cost 1000 yen (21 rubles), for children from 13 to 18 years old it\u2019s 700 (14 rubles), from 7 to 12 – 400 (9 rubles), from 4 to 6 – 100 (2 rubles). Well, for children under 3 years old admission is free.<\/p>\n

Small Worlds<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Our next stop will be Ariake tennis no mori station in Koto, Tokyo Prefecture. The Small Worlds Museum is a three-minute walk away. There, famous locations and fantastic anime worlds are recreated in the form of miniatures.<\/p>\n

At the entrance to the museum we are greeted by a statue of “EVA-01”. This is a big robot from the anime “Evangelion”, near which you can take a photo. Next, we go to the ticket office and buy an adult ticket for 2900 yen (61 rubles) or a child ticket for 1500 yen (31 rubles). Admission for children under 3 years old is free.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

The museum has several thematic areas. For example<\/a>, Kansai International Airport or the Kennedy Space Center, which recreates the launch of Saturn V in 1969. However, we are interested in anime. The museum has three zones dedicated to this topic.<\/p>\n

One of them is dedicated to the series “Sailor Moon”, which was popular among girls in the 90s. The museum presents the area of \u200b\u200b\u200b\u200bthe city of Azabu Juban, where the main events took place. There is a gaming center “Crown”, which Usagi-chan and her friends<\/a> went to, and a secret base of beautiful warrior girls, and even the apartment of the main character.<\/p>\n

All elements are made by hand and amaze with their detail. The lights are on in the houses, small cars are driving along the streets. And the main characters and ordinary people can be seen here and there. Even the smallest details of the interior<\/a>, such as books on the shelves or a clock on the wall, are recreated with precision.<\/p>\n

Two more thematic zones are dedicated to the anime “Evangelion”. This is a NERV corporation hangar. It recreated the launch of combat robots, as well as the future city of Tokyo-3, hiding underground during a space threat. Many elements of the composition move, which gives them realism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

But the most interesting thing about the museum is that you yourself can live in any of the worlds you like. Using a modern 3D scanner, you will be scanned in any position. Next, you can place your miniature almost anywhere in the selected thematic area.<\/p>\n

The cost of the figure is relatively small: from 2000 to 3500 yen (42-73 rubles) depending on the scale, but you will have to fork out for “registration” in one of the worlds. An annual subscription will cost 19,800 yen (417 rubles). But for true anime fans, that kind of money is not a pity when you know that your copy lives in your favorite anime.<\/p>\n

Pilgrimage<\/a> to sacred places<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Real places from anime<\/h3>\n

The Japanese are by nature prone to mass visits to sacred places. Since anime is a part of culture, this trend has not bypassed it, although it has lost its religious overtones. There is a whole movement called anime pilgrimage. Its essence is to find real places that served as the basis for creating locations in famous anime.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Makoto Shinkai\u2019s full-length film “Your Name” was released. It set a new record at the global box office. Almost immediately, photographs of real locations from this anime began to appear online. The fact is that a distinctive feature of the director\u2019s works is the detailed depiction of the places where the main characters spend their time.<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

This includes the Tokyo City View observation deck in Roppongi, Yotsuya Station and its surroundings, and many other parts of Tokyo. Even mailboxes and billboards on the streets were in place. And the small town of Hida in Gifa Prefecture, where the main character Mitsuha lived, has turned from a quiet old place into a tourist center.<\/p>\n

The same pleasant fate befell the historic village of Shirakawa-Go in the same prefecture. This happened after the release of the visual novel “When Cicadas Cry.” At the Shirakawa Shinto Shrine, which is often visited by anime characters, you can find many wooden plaques with fan drawings. And in the cafe in the town of Takayama, which is nearby, you experience strange feelings – the interior is almost completely transferred to the detective anime “Hyouka”.<\/p>\n

Fictional but similar<\/h3>\n

In anime you can see places that don't exist in real life. Although they are fictional, fans manage to find locations that served as a prototype for their creation. One such place is Dogo Onsen Honkan in Matsuyama City on Shikoku Island.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Walking<\/a><\/p>\n

This is a public wooden bathhouse built in 1894 in the hot springs area. It served as a prototype for the creation of the bathhouse of the evil witch Yubaba in the full-length anime “Spirited Away.” Familiar places are recognizable in the interior, although spirits with river gods do not roam the corridors. In addition to taking photos, you can swim and steam for only 460 yen (10 rubles) per hour.<\/p>\n

There are actually very, very many such places. They can be found not only in Japan, but also abroad. New anime come out every year. They encourage true fans of the genre to visit forgotten corners. You can find ready-made tours<\/a> to Japan at Trip.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you dream of traveling into the world of Japanese animation? Find out about 10 must-visit places in Tokyo for true anime fans. From manga shops in Akihabara to themed cafes, there’s everything otaku needs to see in the Japanese capital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":839977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[3110,2709,2199],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-857590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asien-2-en","category-ideen-trends-inspiration-en","category-urlaubsideen-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=857590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/857590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/839977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=857590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=857590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tourism.com.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=857590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}