Akihabara, Tokyo – Japan Day 10 April 15, 2009
Posted by Martin in : japan, travel , trackbackI’ve been excited to get to Akihabara for years. This is Tokyo’s electronics district and I was keen to see some of the fantastic robots that we so often see on TV.
The map of the area has a clearly marked building on it called ‘robot store’ which was the first place we headed …
only to learn that the shop had closed down last year. Apparently the Japanese economy’s been hard hit and a lot of stores have either closed or have changed hands recently.
The area is full of IT and electronic stores but, there was very little that really attracted my attention. Laptops were no better than in Bangkok, All the cellphones looked identical and had no features that were especially interesting.
I was a little horrified that many electronic superstores housed cassette players, the same Casio databank watches I had in the 80′s and displays of original Sony Walkmans which presumably some Japanese people still buy.
If anything I much prefer the IT centers of Bangkok. The products seem identical but in Bangkok products are cheaper and pirate software and hardware are also available at bargain prices too.
The small stores on ground floor level were really just like expensive bargain basements where I could fill my bags with blank DVD’s, wires, usb sticks or mousemats should I really want to.
We eventually found a robot store. It was on 5 floors and not one of them housed anything high-tech. The nearest we came to anything remotely like a robot was a floor full of Gundam models.
A few guidebooks and websites boast that Akihabara houses some wonderful gadgets including portable bidets. I eventually stumbled on this obvious tourist gimmick which is nothing more than a batter powered water pistol. The sales blurb behind it explains the reason to buy it is to ‘wow your friends’ but I refrained because I prefer not to have friends who’d find things like that impressive.
Beyond electronics, Akihabara is also a mecca for Manga fans and at weekends the area is pedestrianized to allow pop artists to dress up and parade round the area demonstrating their unusual fashions.
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