Gakusei Travels

次は秋葉原

Finally back out and exploring Tokyo again!

Class felt so long this week, and with all my homework, I felt like I haven’t been able to do anything besides study, sleep, and go to class. The next place on my list of places to visit was Akihabara. I did a little pre-research courtesy of TikTok and found out the Akihabara is like the anime and video game central of Tokyo. As a longtime anime fan, this place was a must see. It is somewhat past Shinjuku and Shibuya. You have to ride the Yamanote Line for a bit, or take the Chuo line past Shinjuku to Ochanomizu then switch to the Chuo-Sobu line, which is what I did. It takes about the same time from my university.

Now, prior to leaving I told myself to budget. Do not go crazy. Do not spend all your money on anime figures. Remember! You have to take whatever you buy home in either your suitcase or mail it back to America. Be responsible! $50 max!

Yeah, that went out the window lol.

The first place I went to was Akihabara Radio Kaikan. It’s a 10 story department store with shops that sell all things anime, video game, comic, and basically anything else nerdy you can possibly think of. The line to get in was out the door, but once you did get in, it was smooth sailing.

Now….

I will just say one thing.

Some people could really benefit from using deodorant.

That is all.

It was so hot in there too, so my little hand fan that I bring everywhere was working overtime!

I do think Tiktok lied to me. One video I saw had bragged about how cheap the figures were here but most of them were super expensive! Some people there though were hardcore collectors and buying things left and right. There was this one dude there with this huge professional camera trying to take pictures of the figurines. Yeah, it’s exciting but in my opinion, it’s not that serious…

A lot of them did look cool, like some of the figures from Demon Slayer and Naruto, but spending 8,580￥ or $55 on one did not seem to be the smartest. Additionally, some characters were more expensive than others, and 9/10, the more expensive one happened to be my favorite one from the series T^T. The other thing too is I’m a collector. Back at home, all my bookshelves are filled to the brim with books, manga, and figures spread sporadically wherever they can fit. I didn’t want to buy so many knowing I have no room for it. I’ve already bought and incessant amount of manga alone on this trip that I will have to figure out how to get home and put up. The thought of adding several figurines to that gives me a headache. Now, before I go home, I may swing by and buy some last minute things to use up the last bit of my yen, but I still have 2 months left.

What I did end up getting, which has actually become a favorite thing of mine to find, is these mini sleepy character figures. Sometimes you can get them from a gachapon machine. They are characters from popular series wrapped up in a little blanket and are either half asleep or completely knocked out. I think they’re so cute, so it’s been my mission to find as many as possible. I ended up finding Reo from Blue Lock, Rengoku and Tengen from Demon Slayer, and Hawks from My Hero Academia. There were some other characters too, but I prioritized my favorites first lol. Plus, again, some characters were more expensive than others. I wanted the Gojo one from Jujutsu Kaisen but he was 7,000￥! I refuse to spend $44 on something that fits in the palm of my hand!

On another floor, there were so many aisles of merch from some of the popular series that I love: Blue Lock, Twisted Wonderland, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, Tokyo Revengers, Spy x Family etc. I can go on and on lol. While the stuff was cool, a lot of it was mostly buttons. I don’t really care to collect them, so I thought buying them would be pointless since I’d likely lose it. They were still cool though! My current hyperfixation is Blue Lock, since I just saw the movie, so I was just excited to see anything with the characters.

If money and space weren’t an issue though, I’d definitely buy the Demon Slayer lunch figures of the characters sitting and eating. All of them. lol. I think having all 14 displayed by the manga would be cool. Maybe one day when I have my own place I’ll just create a room dedicated to all my nerdy stuff. Or maybe by then I’ll have grown out of it and find a new hobby. (lol yeah that’s a lie T^T)

Before I left, I did find one more cool thing at the gift shop: Spy x Family cookies. I love sweets to begin with, and Spy x Family has such a special place in my heart. Last year, my mom and stepdad went with me to Comic Con (more like I didn’t give them an option). They dressed up with me (another choice I didn’t give them lol) and we went as the Forger Family. That memory is so special to me, so now whenever I see something with Spy x Family, I get excited and want to get it. I couldn’t decide which box of cookies I wanted, so I got both.

Now, I left the store spending about $35-40. What got me really in trouble was the arcades.

In Akihabara, there are many arcades, such as Gigo and Pachinko, with many floors of music games, video games, and arcade games. I actually didn’t try any of the games. I’m not the best at rhythm games, but it was entertaining to watch those who were practically professionals. What really got me were the prize games. AKA Crane games. Now, I’m terrible at crane games for the most part. I know my limitations. A lot of the crane games had the chance to win figures or plush dolls. I actually, by chance, somehow won a Pokemon plush two weeks ago from a crane game in Ikebukuro. But that was luck. I knew I would not be able to replicate it again. So, what do I do instead? Win keychains.

I love keychains. On my car keys back at home I have so many, and I’ve only recently downsized to maybe one or two. The keychains seemed like the safer bet, so I stuck to playing them. The trap is, each turn is only 100￥ (around $0.64USD) and the money exchange to get change is just right around the corner. I think I maybe spent $30-40 on the cranes…I typically told myself, if you fail so badly, leave it. If you seem to get close, 3 turns is the max. But it is the most frustrating thing when it gets so close to the edge or it drops it at the last second. You just want to keep trying over and over.

Actually, a funny situation ended up happening. I was trying to win this Pokemon keychain. I got it so close to the edge but it fell at the last second, sitting on the ledge. I then ran out of 100￥ coins. There was this couple next to me trying to win a prize. The guy stood in front of the machine for me and made sure no one took the keychain while I ran off to quickly get some more change. He and his girlfriend were so excited for me when I finally won it lol. He was also trying so hard to get his girlfriend this keychain that would just not fall in. Idk how much they both spent trying to get it. I tried to help them a couple times but couldn’t get it. It got so bad that they asked the staff to move it to make it easier. And they did it! The worker opened the game and rearranged the plush keychain several times until he was able to knock it over. I swear, this place is literally a gateway to gambling if you aren’t careful.

I ended up winning 15 keychains. I won 4 of these sea creature keychains, 1 Pokemon keychain, 1 cat keychain, 2 fried chicken keychains, and 7 chicken nugget keychains. It was actually insane but when I won the fried chicken, I won 2 in one turn! I was aiming to get one but two were picked up. Now, you may be wondering, why in the world did I win so many chicken nuggets? Well, it was easy to get, so it was almost a guaranteed win each time, and two, I’m going to give them to some friends when I go home. They aren’t all for me lol. I figured it was a fun and cheap souvenir people would enjoy. I did feel a little guilty spending so much money, but at the end of the day, I had fun. I’m going to try not to dwell on it too much.

I ended up also later getting a Blue Lock tote bag and some Hello Kitty handkerchiefs. I’ve noticed that in most bathrooms in Japan, there are no dryers, let alone towels. I figured it’d be something convenient to stick in my purse. I also ended up trying a Doraiyaki shaped like the Pokemon Magikarp. Inside was this milk chocolate filling that tasted like pudding. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it. It was just really sweet, and I don’t really care for pudding like I used to when I was a kid.

I’m going to be honest. Although Akihabara is cool, I feel like there really isn’t a lot to see or do outside of anime shops, arcades, and maid cafes. Unless you like anime or to gamble, you probably won’t have as much fun. I’d still recommend visiting it, because it is still a fun place to see.