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Published: October 5th 2008
Took a ride to Akihabara. It's the famous electronics district of Tokyo that spring up Post-WWII as an area where entrepreneurs began selling old radio parts to try to scratch out a living when Japan was bombed into a parking lot. Now, its electronics to the nth degree. Computers, laptops of every size, cell phones, accessories, rice cookers, wires, transistors, screens, electronic tools, lightbulbs, you name it its there. Rows and rows of cramped store fronts that expanded vertically rather than horizontally. Each one was lit up in neon blasting techno music. I bought a 7 dollar iPod touch case...exciting. I wanted to try to find a used electronics store but couldnt in my brief time there. I need a cheap Japanese-English electronic dictionary.
There is another side to Akihabara, something very important to Japanese culture both within and outside of Japan. Akihabara is the anime and manga (comics) center of the world. In addition to electronics, there are many many stores that sell the comics and videos, some stores devoted to just one series. It was bizarre and surreal. I don't understand the form of entertainment at all. It is very childish-looking, feminine animation. Some carry serious topics, and
some are entertaining but I think the fan base home and abroad is way over the top. I ducked into a few stores and one thing was obvious...everyone shopping in the store was a guy between the age of 18 and 40. I took some pics of inside without appearing like a stalker. Anime is so popular that one series, based on maids, has become a cult type of dining called a maid cafe where the waitresses dress as maids and serve you. There were quite a few maids outside the station advertising their various cafes.
One last point on Japanese culture. I noticed that any space that is not living space in the house is a cabinet or drawer. No square foot of this house is wasted. It's not cramped at all because its so well laid out. Every floor has a hatch for storage. Around the fridge, television, thoughout the kitchen and the tops of the walls are all cabinets. Really smart.
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