A Cautionary Tale in Akihabara
Posted:
Anime Merchandise Paradise
It's no secret Tokyo's Akihabara is the paradise when it comes to all your anime merchandise shopping and manga needs. If you can't find that exclusive figure at Tokyo Character Street, there's bound to be a store in Akiba carrying exactly what you're looking for. Akihabara is so popular, Japan Deluxe Tours recently increased the amount of time spent in the otaku capital of the world to ensure our tour participants have enough time to nerd out over the latest and greatest anime goods.
Boasting incredible anime shopping sites, idol events, home to maid cafes, owl cafes, cat cafes, arcades, retro shopping, cosplay goods, and more, a day spent in Akihabara isn't enough to discover all the trendy ramen restaurants, anime stores, and the rest of the city's treasures. If you do plan on exploring the highlights of Akihabara on your own or with an anime vacation through Japan Deluxe Tours, we want to remind you to always, always, always check your bags after you finish shopping.
Pro Travel Tip: Always Double Check your Cables!
Sure that may have sounded like common sense, but our true travel tip comes from a cautionary tale during an Anime Japan tour one of our tour participants experienced. During our free time in Akihabara, tour participant (who we will refer from here on out as Michael) decided to go exploring with some friends from the group to track down the famous Super Potato video game store.
Upon navigating the tight Tokyo streets of Akihabara, Michael and his friend (who we will call Gob) were able to find the video game collectors store after a few moments of searching via Google Maps (and some help from their tour guide). Michael was ecstatic to find a retro Super Famicon system at the store and asked his friend Gob (who speaks Japanese) to translate so Michael could buy the system. Unfortunately, Gob's Japanese wasn't so good, and after Michael and Gob decided to test out the new system back at their hotel in Tokyo, Michael was shocked to find out he forgot to buy an essential cable.
Moral of the story? Always check your purchases at Akihabara to ensure you can fully enjoy your purchases back home. Luckily for Michael, he was able to find the missing cable he needed at a local used-gaming store and eventually got to playing his Super Famicon. Still, we all may not be as lucky as Michael was, so be sure to check your purchases the next time you're on an anime vacation in Akihabara.
Fun Fact: Thanks to Michael's adventures, Japan Deluxe Tours now includes a note in our tour handbooks for clients to check their purchases to avoid a similar fate.