The Strange Side of Japan, Cosplay, Maids, Akihabara

We all went to Akihabara, Akihabara is well known on a worldwide level as an electronics town where a great number of electronics retail stores and those selling a variety of electronic parts can be found. 

Meanwhile, it is also a city of subcultures where people obsessed with Anime (Japanese animation) and PCs gather while maid cafes are born. Indeed, Akihabara is an area with a variety of unique cultures. Many diehard fans of various categories visit this attractive city which has begun revealing its feature as a sightseeing spot as well.

What to do while you are in Aki, Well first we will start with the Maid Cafes.

Maid Cafe

In Akihabara, there are many cafes where waitresses dressed as French maids serve their customers. Maid cafes and Cosplay (costume play) cafes are coffeehouses that have begun appearing as Akihabara transformed from an electronics town to a "city of Otaku (people with obsessive interests, particularly in Anime and Manga)." Those working at such venues (mostly females) dress as characters from Anime/games or French maids, or wear various types of uniforms and serve their customers by calling them, "Goshujin-sama (master)." Additionally, game events and photo shoots are conducted while in some cases, customers can even get autographs from the waitresses. Indeed, such services that go beyond the scope of a dining establishment are offered.

Although Akihabara is known as an electronics town, its unique culture as a mecca for Otaku also has been deeply rooted and stores such as those mentioned above are being opened one after another.

2nd the high tech shops

Akihabara Electrical Town

Walking out of Akihabara Station's Denkigai Exit, you will see Japan's largest electronics town with over 500 stores spreading before your eyes. The Akihabara Electrical Town is famous as a place where anything that has to do with electronics from home electric appliances to

 electronic parts can be purchased at low prices. Duty-free shops are also found here and this area is often included in the sightseeing tours for overseas visitors. In recent years, many of the so-called "Otaku," or people obsessed with Anime (Japanese animation) 

and/or games have begun coming to this area. As a result, the number of stores specializing in plastic models and figures 

is on the increase.

Because Akihabara is often featured by the media, it has received a lot of publicity on a worldwide level. Called "Akiba" for short, it has become a popular sightseeing spot f

or foreign tourists as well.