Akihabara area -Animate - anime shops
Tokyo. Japan. The Japanese are weird right? Surprisingly, at this point in the trip - there was nothing outright weird! Where was the Japan - the Nintendo Sony king of gaming, the anime shops the mangas the anime erotica the collectible figures? Where was weird Japan. It was here.
Retro Gaming Stores
Akihabara was again, a brightly lit city scape with a barrage of stores. But this time they were electronics, cameras, anime, manga, pachinko, retro stores galore. There's just something about walking into a mom and pop shop of used video games, with hundreds of cartridges lined on the walls, with 80s gaming nostalgia. The first store we popped into had the smell of retro. Old. Musty - rustic.
Just like the gaming basement of my childhood. There were wrapped N64's, wrapped game cubes, gameboys - so this was where the console gaming capital was hiding. If I had a week here there would be no way to explore all the retro gaming stores. I highly encourage you find time to bask in the glory and universal love of games.
Animate - Multi-Level Stores - DvDs, Mangas, Collectibles... Erotica?
We went to the store called Animate - known for manga's collectibles and more - however every floor in these 6 story buildings has a different collection of items.
Level 1 - DVDs
Level 2 - DvD, CD's Japanese media continued
Level 3 - Games, gaming consoles.
Level 4 - Mangas, Anime
Level 5 - Hentai. Yes really
Level 6 - Straight Up Adult Films.
The awe and shock - of levels 5 and 6. Basically in every multi-level building in Akihabara. I thought there was an innocence to the weirdness of Japan. By the level manga sex toy innocence of Japan was lost. But what did I expect? This isn't your quint stroll in the park. It's an art form? As you walked up the floors you could see the adult anime posters plastered on the wall. At least the shop was unashamed and proud. With paying customers. Only 360 video could describe it.
Pachinko machines - Gambling?
Imagine a Wall-E like Apocolypse of humans glued to machines. Or a casino in Las Vegas, where every single gambling slot is filled with a person, rows and rows of bright lights, clinking noises, and eyes glues to the screen, asses glued to the chair. Smoke everywhere, lights innocently glaring, showcasing the phenomenon. This is Pachinko. And it was scary to me - I'm not versed enough to tell if this is an entertainment form, a form of addiction, or an innocent pasttime. I could only record for a few seconds before I had to bolt out of there - the ventilation was poor and smoke was ever present.
Passing by Maid Cafe’s
After hanging out way too long on the 5th floor of Animate - it only made sense that Japanese men would love to live a fantasy of a maid… serving them food? Every corner of animate had a maid with a coupon, asking to enter their café. I imagine it was just that. Café's with japanese girls in manga outfits serving you coffee and food - no pictures allowed. This was too foreign for me - and we almost went in - but the weirdness chord was struck too hard. Plus we were scared to get ripped off? You wouldn't go to a strip club you got a coupon on the street would you?
Pokemon. Digimon. Yugioh. Card Captors - a mystic adventure. The OG. DRAGON BALL Z. COME GET ME.
I had to find something. Something to represent my childhood. Something one could only get in Japan. A trophy for all our hours journeyed to the land of rising son. I needed a goku on my desk - that I could look at everyday and think of the fondness of this adventure. Do you know that his hair doesn't turn only yellow anymore? It also turns Blue now. How Super. And I not only had to get figures for myself - but for all my brothers. You might not understand. They'd get it right away. (Full disclosure I also had to find Luffy from One Piece as Miller my roommate loves anime and One Piece as well). I also saw a Japanese styled figure of Darth Vader. And a Super Saiyan 3 goku. I didn't get the whole shelf but let's just say I may have spoiled myself a little.
I was so proud of my hull. SO PROUD. I was inspired by seeing the exact same figures in Japanese arcade claw machines (owned by Sega?). Two clamps would come down and move a box of my statue. The goal was to slip the statue box through the cracks, for a dollar a try. I failed at least twice - the controls only let you press the button and let go once. No positioning once you press the button. I sucked. So it was much better to find statue figurine shops and outright buy your favorite characters. I was so happy.
Akihabara at night - weird Japan, the best of Japan.
