One of my favourite places in Tokyo is a street market called Akihabara. You can walk there for hours & see some of the fanciest electronics gadgets on display. Its mind boggling to see unimaginable gadgets, out of the sci-fi movies, on sale here. It’s for real!!
Akihabara is a famous Electronics town in Tokyo, Japan. The electronics are available in vast quantities and at reasonable rates. Akihabara is also the hub of anime, manga, and anything related to young people. However, It is much more than Japanese pop culture. Ask any anime lover which place they would want to visit once in Japan, and there is a greater chance that they would say ‘Akihabara’.
Black market: It might come as a surprise to many, but Akihabara was not all that fancy back in the past. In fact, it was a thriving black market during 1940’s. During World War II, there was a surge in the demand for radio & its parts. This led to the establishment & development of the black market in Akihabara which remained largely unregulated for a long time.
AKB48: If you know a little about J-pop, there is no way you must not have heard of AKB48. Named after Akihabara, it is a sensational idol group of around 134 girls who have been named as the highest earning musical performers in the country.
Maid Cafes: Many people identify Akihabara with maid cafes & well, they are quite spot on. Akihabara is home to many maid cafes, and if you want to spoil yourself in the presence of kawaii (cute) waitresses ready to serve you, then maid cafes are perfect for you. Maid cafes can be a weird experience for you, but it will be one of those which you would never forget!
Biggest Mass Killings In the country: Japan has become quite a peaceful country post-World War II, but there have been incidents which occurred intermittently and shocked the conscience of the people of the country. One such event happened in 2008, in Akihabara. A lone attacker ran over his truck on pedestrians. Afterward, he alighted from the truck and started stabbing people indiscriminately. In the incident, about 4 people were killed and 8 people were injured.
