Otaku spots

Yellow Submarine Namba Main Store

Hobby & TCG shop at the Namba/Otaroad edge of Den Den Town — trading cards, figures, plastic models, plus an in-store duel space.

Maidreamin Osaka Nipponbashi Otaroad

Branch of Japan's biggest maid-café chain on Den Den Town's Otaroad — songs, moe performances and a tourist-friendly maid-café experience.

• 🇬🇧 English OK

Surugaya Osaka Nipponbashi Main Store

Big used-hobby chain in Den Den Town — figures, plastic models, retro games, toys and collectibles, open late until 21:00.

• 📦 Ships abroad

Mandarake Grand Chaos

Osaka's flagship Mandarake — a multi-floor treasure house of used manga, vintage toys, figures, doujinshi and collectibles in Den Den Town.

• 📦 Ships abroad

Joshin Super Kids Land Honten (Nipponbashi)

One of Japan's largest hobby superstores — five floors of plastic models, Gundam, RC, model trains and toys in the heart of Den Den Town.

• 💴 Tax-free

Animate Osaka Nipponbashi

Western Japan's flagship of the biggest anime-goods chain, on Den Den Town's Otaroad — two floors of manga, character merch and game goods.

Tokyo Character Street

A B1 arcade of official character shops in Tokyo Station's First Avenue — Jump Shop, Pokémon, Ghibli's Donguri, Sanrio and TV-network stores, all in one corridor.

Ghibli Museum, Mitaka

Studio Ghibli's whimsical museum in Mitaka, designed by Hayao Miyazaki. Entry is advance-ticket-only with a fixed date and time slot — and tickets sell out fast.

• 🇬🇧 English OK

Pokémon Center SHIBUYA

The Shibuya branch of the official Pokémon Center, on Shibuya PARCO 6F — a darker, 'urban/mysterious' themed store with plush, cards, exclusives and a Mewtwo display.

• 💴 Tax-free
• 🇬🇧 English OK
• 📷 Photos OK

Nintendo TOKYO

Nintendo's first official store in Japan, on Shibuya PARCO 6F — Mario, Zelda, Splatoon, Animal Crossing and Kirby goods, exclusives and life-size photo spots.

• 💴 Tax-free
• 🇬🇧 English OK
• 📷 Photos OK

The Gundam Base Tokyo

The official Gunpla flagship in DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, Odaiba — every Gundam model kit, exclusives, builder zones, and the life-size Unicorn Gundam statue outside.

• 💴 Tax-free
• 🇬🇧 English OK

Pokémon Center MEGA TOKYO

The largest Pokémon Center in the Ikebukuro area, in Sunshine City's alpa mall. Temporarily closed — reopening expected around September 2026.

K-BOOKS Ikebukuro Otome-kan

K-BOOKS' Otome-kan on Ikebukuro's Otome Road, specializing in otome-game and BL character goods and doujin items for female fans.

animate Ikebukuro Flagship Store

animate's flagship and one of the world's largest anime shops, anchoring Ikebukuro's Otome Road — multiple floors of anime, manga and character goods.

• 💴 Tax-free

Mandarake Nakano

Mandarake's original operation inside Nakano Broadway — dozens of genre-specialized shops across the floors selling manga, figures, vintage toys, dolls and rare collectibles.

• 📦 Ships abroad

Nakano Broadway

Iconic 1966 mall in Nakano packed with subculture shops — home to dozens of specialist Mandarake stores plus figures, retro toys, idol goods and dolls.

Hareruya2 Akihabara Tower Store

Whole-building Pokémon TCG specialty store with a 152-seat play space and daily Pokémon tournaments, from the Hareruya group.

• 🇬🇧 English OK

Card Rush Akihabara

Multi-TCG store seconds from Akihabara Station with a ~45-seat duel space and strong Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece and Magic ranges.

BIG MAGIC Akihabara

Large multi-TCG store on the 9th floor of Radio Kaikan, stocking Magic, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh and more, with dueling space and official Pokémon events.

Hareruya Akihabara

Flagship Magic: The Gathering store from Japan's largest MTG chain, with daily tournaments and a large free play space. English-friendly.

• 💴 Tax-free
• 🇬🇧 English OK

Twin Box AKIHABARA

Idol-focused live house in the Box'R AKIBA Building, with a basement live floor and a ground-floor 'GARAGE' space, hosting frequent idol events.

Akihabara Dear Stage

Idol bar and live spot in the DEMPA Building, famous as the birthplace of idol group Dempagumi.inc; staff perform between serving drinks.

Maidreamin (Akihabara Main Store)

Branch of one of Japan's largest maid café chains, with multilingual menus and overseas maids — accessible for first-time foreign visitors.

• 🇬🇧 English OK

@home cafe (Akihabara Main Store)

One of Akihabara's best-known maid cafés, across several floors of the Mitsuwa Building, welcoming foreign 'masters' and 'princesses' home.

• 🇬🇧 English OK

AKB48 Theater

Home theater of idol group AKB48 on the 8th floor of Don Quijote Akihabara, hosting near-daily live stage shows by the group's teams.

GiGO Akihabara Building 2

GiGO (formerly SEGA) Akihabara arcade focused on crane games, with a collab-cafe stand. Note: the older No.1 building closed in Aug 2025.

• 📷 Photos OK

Akihabara Gachapon Kaikan

Capsule-toy landmark open since 2002 with around 500 gachapon machines, from anime figures to quirky 'grown-up' designs. Cash only.

• 📷 Photos OK

Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Akiba

Giant electronics megastore directly at Akihabara Station, with a large toy/hobby floor of figures, models, trading cards and games.

• 💴 Tax-free
• 🇬🇧 English OK

Kotobukiya Akihabara

Flagship of figure/model maker Kotobukiya: five floors of figures, plastic models and original kits, plus the VstoreAKIBA VTuber official shops.

Surugaya Akihabara Main Store

Surugaya's flagship Akihabara store on 'Junk Alley': a large multi-floor secondhand shop for anime goods, figures, games and trading cards.

AmiAmi Akihabara Radio Kaikan Store

Major hobby retailer AmiAmi's physical shop on the 4th floor of Radio Kaikan: figures, character goods, plastic models and trading cards.

• 💴 Tax-free

animate Akihabara

Flagship Akihabara branch of Japan's largest anime/manga goods chain — a multi-floor main building plus a second building and an ANNEX.

• 💴 Tax-free

Super Potato Akihabara

Akihabara's landmark retro game store: vintage consoles and software across three floors, topped by a 5F retro arcade.

Mandarake Complex Akihabara

Eight floors of secondhand otaku treasure: vintage figures, doujinshi, retro toys, cosplay and collectibles, each floor with its own theme.

• 💴 Tax-free
• 🇬🇧 English OK
• 📦 Ships abroad

Akihabara Radio Kaikan

Akihabara's landmark hobby tower right by the station: ten floors of figures, anime goods, trading cards, dolls and model kits.