Big Shopping in Akihabara

With its wide selection of electronic, anime, videogame, and specialized goods, Akihabara is a dream come true for anyone even slightly interested in Japanese pop culture!  As we strolled through the lively streets, my group was amazed by the diverse and wide range of products.  As we made our way to the central streets, we were greeted by shops filled with anime figurines and mecha models.  We also entered Akiba Central that was 8 floors and contained manga of all different volumes, anime DVDs, and figures upon figures behind glass cases.  Being the huge anime and videogame fans that we are, we spent hours browsing the goods and were like kids in a candy store.  Shopping in Akihabara is intense and filled with so many choices that we didn’t even know where to begin!

Intense advertising in Akihabara!

After exploring the main streets and entering a few more figure and games shops, we decided to dig a bit deeper and search for a store that I’ve wanted to visit since I was a child: The Tales of Store, a homage to my favorite videogame series.  It was on the 2nd floor of a shop called Kotobukiya and there I dropped over $200 on specialized merchandise.  I picked up a towel, hair tie, and alarm clock of my favorite character Leon Magnus from Tales of Destiny, and also a T-shirt and necklaces from the latest title, Tales of Xillia.  I also picked up a NERV T-shirt from Evangelion, a Spookies mug from SMT: Soul Hackers, a Saber Lily keychain from Fate/Stay Night, and a Haro and Zaku model for a friend.  It’s safe to say that I spent my worth in Akihabara!!  And this is only our first time here!

My wallet took a critical hit! But it was well worth it!

The thing I like about shopping in Tokyo and Japan in general is that everything is conveniently located nearby at a walkable distance. I enjoy shopping at tiny specialized shops instead of huge general malls like in America.  Our shopping experience tonight was truly unforgettable, I loved being able to see so many things that are relevant to my interests.  My friends and I got some amazing deals on figures and will definitely come back here to hit up some more shops!

Harujuku Shenanigans!

Today our group wandered the streets of the extremely popular Harujuku and went on some crazy shopping adventures.  Harujuku is basically the fashion capitol of Japan and boasts a variety of chic and crazy styles.  Our group visited the designer closing store Bathing Ape and I was able to score a T-shirt for my little brother for a mere $35 as opposed to the online 70$ retail price–quite the bargain!  We also visited the Tokyu Mall and chilled up on the 5th floor with green tea frappuchinos and go some beautiful pictures of the Tokyo skyline.

Harujuku, what’s up!

After traversing the streets and eating at an udon restaurant, we then traveled to a unique sticker store called B Side that literally was piled up with stickers from the floor to the ceiling!  I bought some hilarious pins, all including unique designs with an alpaca, duck, and an anteater.  These are truly the souvenirs that are worth living for!  Afterwards, I bought a T-shirt of Eva Unit 01 from Neon Genesis Evangelion at a fashion boutique called Stay Real.  The Eva fan in me has never been happier!

As for our dinner plans, we decided to eat at a fancy yakiniku (or Korean barbecue  restaurant near Future Scope with the company president himself!  Yakiniku is truly an experience like no other.  Grilling food BBQ style and having an unlimited buffet was a great combination.   Though I am a vegetarian and didn’t care much for the meat, the vegetable dishes and the ice cream crisps were absolutely delicious.  Here is a picture of Dan Losh and I there:

 

I enjoyed seeing some of Japan’s crazy fashions and look forward to more cultural experiences like this one!