A street view of Akihabara.
Maids advertising their cafes!
For all you gamers and technology lovers — Akihabara is the place to go! I was interested in coming here because I have always been a manga and anime fan, and I heard that there were many such stores here! I also heard that Akihabara is home to some of the best camera and technological equipment stores, which is just plain cool to look at. Here are some pictures of my journey so far! The first picture below is of maids advertising their cafes. In Akihabara, there are many maid cafes – all in which girls dress up as maids and call their customers “Master.” I found this to be both strange and quite interesting! They usually make you pay to take pictures of or with them, so I took this picture from afar. I know, creepy.
In reality I haven’t been able to figure out exactly how to post my pictures in a successful manner or move them where I want to, so the next picture is on the right. It shows Akihabara from the street! There are many buildings, especially gaming buildings and those that sell anime and manga. There are so many flashing lights, and so many TVs and billboards with anime characters on them! This is probably one of the only places in the world that has such scenery.
Strange robotic fighting creatures!
This next image is another strange one. A friend told me that they are machines that are used to put on shows and sometimes fight each other in public! They’re like huge gladiator women. I have no idea how they move. They just rolled by on the street, and looked too unusual to pass up taking a picture of!
The AKB48 (girl band) cafe and shop!
My fourth image is of the AKB48 cafe, which is extremely popular. The cafe is homage to the girl group AKB48, which had 48 members when it started. It now has more than that (though I’m not sure how much) and the men go crazy for them! This cafe had many posters and accessories showing off their pretty faces.
Pachinko parlor – the early stages
The next picture is of a pachinko parlor. Pachinko is a type of Japanese gambling that I really don’t know that much about. All I know is that the parlor itself is ridiculously loud. You actually aren’t supposed to take pictures, so I whipped out my camera when it was early (thus a little empty) and nobody was looking.
Doraemon plushies! I suck at this type of game, so unfortunately I didn’t get one.
The last picture (below) is of Doraemon. Because he’s everywhere in Japan! And who doesn’t love Doraemon plushies?
There’s a taste of Akihabara for you! I’ll keep you posted!
Marisa Lewis
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">Hello! My name is Marisa Lewis, and I am an East Asian International Relations Major/East Asian Studies Minor at the University of Virginia. I’m originally from Alexandria, Virginia (though I’ve got a lot of family in Thailand as well) and am super excited to be traveling to Japan! I’ve only ever been to the Japanese airport before – their toilets are awesome, by the way – and have always wanted to experience Japanese culture ever since I first started watching Pokémon as a kid. Don’t lie. You watched it, too! In my spare time I love to read, write short stories, bake, listen to music, and have adventures. I am looking forward to making new friends, stocking up on Japanese sweets, and experiencing all that Japan has to offer! But more importantly, stocking up on Japanese sweets. Where my mochi at?</span></p>
