Today’s adventure was all about exploring the infamous Akihabara also known as Electric Town. This little shopping hub is famous for all things electronic from large retailers to tiny little market stalls. There is something for everyone whether you are looking for some Gameboy Advance games, cords, consoles, manga, anime, costumes, figurines and everything in between, this little area of Tokyo has it all.
Miscellaneous vintage store, standard.
Club Sega Akihabara is a Game Center known for having various themed levels with different games on each floor. You can find rows of arcade games like the one Lani is playing below. To be completely honest, we had no idea what we were doing. It turns out these were photo editing games where you took your photo and then edited yourself. Other floors contained various other games and there is quite frankly something for everyone but you may not be able to understand the game instructions.
On the main streets you can find rows of shops like this with absolutely everything and anything related to Japanese Electronics. The Gameboy and Nintendo games were especially exciting.
Literal walls full of them.
Gacha Gacha or Gachapon are fun little coin operated machines filled with capsule toys. You never know what you are going to get but the type of toys and gadgets you can win are usually on the outside of the capsule station. They are incredibly addictive especially when you are after one particular toy. I especially loved the Pokémon themed machines. Many a coin as spent on these fun boxes.
We stumbled into a full blown Cosplay specialist store. Any costume you possibly want to create can be sourced from this store.It was underground and very anime themed. Think lots of school girls clothes and accessories.
Another random find was this pop up figurine museum. I was on a bit of a follow along day and was just going along with what Lani and Blake did as the only thing we had planned for the day was the Monster Cafe. I am very much a surface level nerd so a lot of this went over my head but I did love the Sailor Moon display.
“WHY ARE MY ARMS SO TINY”
I will always love a Godzilla reference.
See a skewer, try a skewer. I can’t pass by a place like this without trying something. I ended up the last skewer in the picture for 500 yen. It was pretty delicious and freshly made. The ones sitting there are just for display obviously. I d regret not trying the 1200 yen Kobe, look at that marbling.
More exploring, more anime.
My favorite, Gizmo forever.
Plastic food is a massive thing you will see everywhere in Japan and I absolutely love it. Being able to choose what to order by looking at plastic versions is so fun! Look how cute the little donuts are, can’t deal.
Thank You Mart was actually insane. Look at all the random things you can get from this one shop. Obsessed. Why don’t we have fun places like this in Sydney.
The food section here was immaculate.
Before I take you to the Monster Cafe, lets check out Kiddy Land Harajuku a store where there are five whole levels dedicated to toys. Buckle up.
Gudetama the melancholy cracked egg is my hero.
Lani’s fave
It’s the egg suitcase for me.
Eevee and all her variations are my favorite Pokémon.
I did like how the Disney section was divided into separate parts for every character. My favorite was always Alice in Wonderland.
And now for the main event of the day, KAWAII MONSTER CAFE! I had been wanting to go to this for years and I missed it on my last visit as it was completely booked out. Make sure you get a reservation in as soon as you have a date in mind. I would aim for two weeks just to ensure you get to go on the night and time that you want. There is a cover charge that you pay at the door, this ranges depending what night you go. We paid 500 yen each for this night.
Each night has a different theme. We went on a night that was all about burlesque, think lots of pole dancing, fun candy costumes and a big dance party at the end with random audience members being pulled up onstage including myself.
A snapshot of the menu, in all honesty the food isn’t anything to write home about but it is themed and that’s the whole point lets be real. We ordered the rainbow spaghetti carbonara which came out on a paint canvas with different colored sauces splashed around the side. Creative but not the the best carbonara I have ever eaten.
Obsessed with these holographic tiled tables though!
We also ordered a Monster themed version of a Caesar Salad and a meaty soup that I cannot remember the name of. Our drinks consisted mostly of Long Island Ice Teas because vibes.
Another ridiculously vibey part of the venue is the bathroom. Look at the ball pit sink! Very selfie worthy.
This was one of the props that was being danced on during the performances. The performances happen every 15 min during the course of the night and at the end of the night there is a big dance party in the middle. It was a really fun night and worth going just for the experience. We really don’t have anything similar in Australia and even if there is a cover charge it really won’t break the budget at 500 yen. Most tourist attractions in Japan will have some sort of entry fee even if it is a restaurant, it’s very common.
Tomorrow I am solo adventuring to the Markets, see you soon..
erica
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