Japan - Day 3

Went by train to Asakusa to see the big shrine and temple today. Being Golden Week, it was really crowded, but still wonderful to see.

Then, it was back to Shinjuku and then another train ride to Akihabara. My favourite place! I'd heard so much about Akihabara before the trip, and wondered whether it would live up to my expectations. But it did, and then some! This really is a Mecca for any type of Otaku. First off, here's the AKB48 theatre and cafe...

The Gundam Cafe. Looks great from the outside, but the inside was so-so...

Went into numerous game arcades looking for LovePlus, but unfortunately couldn't find it. And some of these places are huge. So many shops in Akihabara look small, but go over five or six levels sometimes including 2-3 basement levels below the street.

And then on to the famous (or infamous) Toranoana. This amazing store is crammed full of manga, dojinshi, game and anime stuff. (There are actually several Toranoana shops in Akiba).

The last stop before lunch was the Azone Store. I love the Azone dolls, and have collected a few including their K-On! series. It was a treat to visit the shop after only being able to order online.

We stopped in a hamburger shop in Akihabara at 1pm so that I could play through my date at the Zoo with Rinko. Our walk to the date took us through the farm/plantation site, and at first I thought the date locations were mixed up again.

But eventually we came to the Mountain Zoo for our date. Rinko was very happy to go to the Zoo. She loved seeing the Lions, and then later I took her to the petting zoo. It was a very successful date. But I couldn't play for too long, because I had to get on and see more of Akihabara!

Here is a street view of my new paradise. It's so hard to find anime/manga merchandise in Australia outside of conventions and a few shops in Chinatown. Walking through Akiba was like walking through heaven for me. I just didn't want to leave.

The Kotobukiya store was also amazing.

Seven more levels of merchandise to explore! With very tired feet...

We sighted our first LovePlus merchandise inside Kotobukiya, as you can see in the picture below. They also had the figures of Nene, Rinko and Manaka.

A side street in Akihabara led us to K-Books, with - you guessed it - more multiple levels of goodness.

We stopped into the top level of K-Books, which is called Good Smile Cafe. Currently, Good Smile Cafe is themed around the Project Mirai 3DS game, and displays a lot of artworks and toys from the game. Also the drinks are named after the game characters.

Akihabara is a truly great place to hang out...but we warned. There aren't enough hours in the day to see everything. Maybe a week there would be better. I certainly hope we can go back. Most of the shops don't open till around 11 or 12, and it starts getting busy around 3pm.

Anyway, after all that craziness, we went for Koenji for a leisurely dinner with a friend. Then back to the hotel for a quick night-cap with Rin-chan. Hehe.