Akihabara for Anime and Game Fans: Shops, Arcades, Maid Cafes

Arcades, retro games and capsule toys

Arcades are where Akihabara feels most local. Crane games fill the ground floors of big arcade chains such as GiGO and Taito Station, and the prizes are often figures you will not find in shops. The upper floors hold rhythm games, card-based games and fighting games, played by regulars at a very high level. Watching is fine; just give players room.

For retro games, head to Super Potato, whose shelves of Famicom, Super Famicom, Mega Drive and Game Boy titles climb up to a small retro arcade on the top floor. Check compatibility before buying: Japanese cartridges and discs may not run on consoles bought abroad, and older systems need the right power supply.

Capsule toys make cheap, light souvenirs. The Gachapon Kaikan is a narrow shop lined with hundreds of machines, and its stock changes constantly. Bring a pocketful of 100-yen coins.

How maid cafes work

A maid cafe is a themed cafe where staff in maid costumes greet you as master or mistress, add small rituals to your order (a chant and a hand-heart gesture to make the food "tastier") and chat within set limits. It is playful and scripted, not romantic, and plenty of couples, families and groups of friends go.

Most cafes work like this:

• A per-person entry or table charge on top of what you order.
• A time limit per visit, often about an hour.
• A minimum order, usually at least one drink.
• No photos of staff on your own phone. Instead you can pay for an instant "cheki" photo with a maid, often decorated by hand.

Long-running places such as @home cafe and Maidreamin publish their menus and rules and are used to visitors who speak little Japanese. Avoid following street touts, especially at night, whose venues can be vague about charges; pick a cafe beforehand and walk in on your own.

When to go

Most shops open in the late morning and close in the evening, so there is little point arriving early. Weekday afternoons are the calmest time; Saturdays are the busiest. On Sunday afternoons Chuo-dori is usually closed to cars and becomes a pedestrian zone, which is fun for photos, though it can be called off for bad weather or events. Almost everything is indoors, so it suits a rainy day.

Practical tips

• Payment: big stores take cards and IC cards such as Suica, but some small secondhand shops are cash only.
• Photos: many shops ban photography of their stock. Look for signs, or ask.
• Breaks: Kanda Myojin, a shrine about 10 minutes' walk west, is known for its charm protecting electronic devices and for appearing in the anime Love Live!. To the south, mAAch ecute Kanda Manseibashi has cafes and shops set in the brick arches of a former station beside the Kanda River.

Plan your trip

Give Akihabara at least half a day, and a full day if you collect. A good order is Radio Kaikan and Animate in the late morning, lunch, secondhand shops such as Mandarake in the afternoon, then the arcades and a maid cafe in the evening. For older, secondhand treasures, continue to Nakano Broadway, which is on the same yellow Chuo-Sobu Line with no transfer. For goods aimed at female fans, Otome Road in Ikebukuro is the better stop.