Akihabara Guidebook Preview - Part 01

[OriginalRen]

Visiting Japan sometime in the near future? Want a small preview into what sorts of goodies will be featured in the Akihabara guidebook I am currently working on for the end of the year? Here is the 1st part of a quick guide all about the strip. Use it to help you understand a little bit of fun history about the district of Akihabara, or just read it for fun! Whatever the reason, if you'd like me to add more stores and give you more of a preview in the future, let me know.

The reason I made this post was to give some of you an idea of how much time and effort I am putting into this guide, and how it is completely different from the other guides out there (if they exist). While a lot of this content is featured on my YouTube channel, not all of you watch that, so here is a nice little condensed bit of information for those that appreciate text more. You can now see why I want to hire a professional photographer, and why I think translating this into a multitude of languages would be awesome. Again, I am serious about the Kickstarter and really want to make this a reality.

Enjoy!

Important:

When checking out stores, refer to the map located in the spoiler tag below.

Center of Akihabara:

 

This image showcases the main 4-way intersection located in the center of the strip outside of the Sumitomo Fudosan building. As you can see, there is a Western Union store located here, a perfect place to send cash overseas. Current service fees allow you to send up to 75,000 yen with an additional 3,000 yen charge. Most banks will charge around 4,000 yen or more, and PayPal is a hassle to deal with when it comes to Japanese bank accounts.

Sofmap #2:

 

Here is a guide to the floors found in this specific Sofmap, which is #2 on the map provided above:

• 1st floor - Japanese pop/idol soundtracks + music merchandise (glow sticks, magazines, etc.)
• 2nd floor - light novels, manga, and art books (anime themed)
• 3rd floor - new/used anime (Blu-ray/DVD)
• 4th floor - new/used figurines (Gundam, bishoujo, etc.) + PC games (not visual novels)
• 5th floor - new/used visual novels
• 6th floor - pornography

A drawn image of the 5th floor of this specific Sofmap, as shown on a recent YouTube video I created:

 

Akihabara Radio Kaikan:

 

Here is an image of the famous icon of Akihabara, the Radio Kaikan building. Inside, each floor hosts a plethora of mini shops that sell a variety of different items. If you don't have a lot of time to visit, I highly recommend checking out this specific store, as it has just about everything. Here is a guide to the floors found in the building:

• 1st floor - souvenirs (shirts, mugs, candy, etc.) + trading cards (Weiß Schartz, Chaos TCG, etc.)
• 2nd floor - trading cards + figure rental cases (these are glass cases which house other people's collections of figurines and such. Other people are allowed to purchase anything inside a specific numbered case, and the buyer receives the items "as is.")
• 3rd floor - K-BOOKS. In my opinion this floor features the biggest collection of light novels, manga, art books, and doujinshi (including older things that were sold at past Comiket events at the Tokyo Big Sight) on the strip. The 18+ subsection also features visual novels and visual novel themed merchandise, including t-shirts, wall scrolls, dakimakura, and character goods. It is also worth noting that there is an entire section devoted to otome doujinshi, as well as yaoi in the 18+ section
• 4th floor - K-BOOKS. This specific floor contains figurines, as well as a lot of anime themed items, including full Blu-ray/DVD box sets, wall scrolls, dakimakura, and character goods. In addition, you can find complete OSTs of video games and visual novels
• 5th floor - Idol merchandise (including theatrical release posters of some new anime) + figurines/toys. A lot of old retro toys are located on this floor from all around the world, and the figurine store on this floor has a lot of rare items
• 6th floor - Yellow Submarine. This store has a lot of merchandise for model collectors. Train models, army/plane models + Gundam merchandise is located on this floor. In addition, actual army gear (Airsoft guns, etc.) can be found here as well
• 7th floor - Azone dolls (mostly anime themed) + trading cards
• 8th floor - Dollfie Dream dolls. Not sure what they are? Check out this site: http://www.dollfiedream.tokyo/dd_en
• 9th floor - trading cards + souvenirs

Onoden + Laox:

 

 

Onoden is pretty popular. It's a lot like a Home Depot from America, except it's specifically meant to sell cheap electric household items (fridges, fans, dehumidifiers) and the like. Laox, which is located next door as shown in the image, features a lot of the same stuff, but sells smaller household electronics (i.e. = telephones and rice cookers).

Volks:

 

Here is an image of the Volks building. Volks is a hobby shop which mainly delves in figurines. Here is a floor guide:

• Basement floor - figurine rental cases (see the 2nd floor of Raido Kaikan listed above)
• 1st floor - figurine rental cases
• 2nd floor - Character goods (t-shirts, SFW dakimakura, bags, keychains, etc.) from various anime and manga
• 3rd floor - Used figurines + souvenir goodies (sweets, keychains, etc.) which are not anime themed
• 4th floor - Bishoujo figurines + garage kits. Garage kits are unassembled figurines which require painting. Think of them as the doujinshi of the figure market
• 5th floor - Gundam figurines + garage kit tools (paint, brushes, etc.)
• 6th floor - trading cards

Random Electronic Shops:

 

Random electronic shops. Just look at the image and you can see what kind of goodies they sell. This is the reason it's called "electric town."

Sofmap #1 + Sega Arcades:

 

Here is a guide to the floors found in this specific Sofmap, which is #1 on the map provided above:

• 1st floor - everyday living items (diapers, water bottles, etc.)
• 2nd floor - new video games for console systems and handheld devices
• 3rd floor - used video games
• 4th floor - new/used figurines (Gundam, bishoujo, etc.)
• 5th floor - new anime and visual novels + PC games (not visual novels)
• 6th floor - used anime and visual novels
• 7th floor - pornography

In addition to the Sofmap, there are also Sega stores as shown in the image. These are arcades which feature crane games for prizes (UFO Catcher, etc.) + arcade/Beatmania games.

Adores Karaoke:

 

Love Karaoke? Adores is the place to check out!

Random Hobby Shops:

 

Lammtarra is a random hobby shop. There are 3 of these stores on the strip, and this is what they look like. Random hobby shops (this one included) have an assortment of goods, including doujinshi, visual novels, figurines, and the like.

 

This store is currently not labeled on the map above.

Akky Souvenir Shops:

 

There are 3 Akky stores located on the strip, and each of them is your traditional Japanese souvenir shop. Think "I <3 Japan" t-shirts to get an idea.

Comic Zin:

 

Comic Zin features all of the latest manga and magazine releases (Shonen Jump, etc.), but charges a lot more in terms of price. Other stores tend to be better.

Sofmap #3:

 

Sofmap #3 on the map. To be honest, this and Comic Toranoana are the only stores where I am unsure of the layout. This store is a lot like Best Buy from America. It features everything under the sun when it comes to electronics.

Taito Game Station:

 

Taito Game Station? More arcade and crane game fun!

Akiba Zone:

 

Here is the legendary Akiba Zone. The layout?

• 1st floor - Animate. Animate is located all over Japan. In fact, Ikebukuro has one of the largest in the country. It mainly sells character goods
• 2nd floor - figurines, visual novels, doujinshi (NSFW + SFW) for both men and women, keychains, trading cards, anime Blu-ray/DVD box sets, OSTs for anime, dakimakura, wall scrolls. Pretty much everything is found on this floor, so take a look around
• 3rd floor - Retro toys (international) + idol merchandise. There is also a store which has calendars and theatrical release posters from anime and video games. These make awesome souvenirs for friends and a very cheap (1,000 - 2,000 yen)
• 4th floor - figurine rental cases + army gear (Airsoft)
• 5th floor - Good Smile Café + Acos cosplay material

Comic Toranoana:

 

The main Comic Toranoana is located on the right. There are 2 stores in this image, and each houses a plethora of goods in the comic department. Light novels, manga, magazines and doujins (SFW) are located here. In my opinion, I rate this store as one of the best when it comes to all of your comic needs. If you don't have a lot of time to visit Akihabara, go here.

Don Quixote + Tsukumo:

 

Don Quixote and Tsukumo. Don Quixote sells everything under the sun, and this specific store in Akiba sells AKB48 tickets. In fact, the 8th floor of this building occasionally holds events for the group. As for Tsukumo, it's essentially a computer building shop. Ever shop on Newegg before? It's essentially that in physical form. Great for building gaming PCs.

Roll&Roll Station + Melonbooks + Tenplant:

 

Like Dungeons and Dragons? Ever want to play a Muv-Luv role playing game complete with a core rule book and bestiary guide? Visit Roll&Roll station. Many imports of well known "nerd" board games are found here. Some are in English, but most are translated over into Japanese.

 

As for Melonbooks, most people are probably familiar with this name. You can find every doujinshi from all your favorite authors here (all NSFW of course). In addition, there are a ton of visual novels and animated porn simulators. When you go down the stairs, turn left for the former, right for the latter.

 

Finally, on the 2nd floor of this building during certain times of the year, Toys Planning (a very well known company when it comes to visual novel goodies) opens up shop here and sells character goods from popular moege in its store, Tenplant. See the Yuzusoft shop in the window? That's what was here the last time I was in Japan. Feel free to check out their site if you can read Japanese: http://toypla.com/over18_form/index.html

Getchu:

 

Getchu's physical retail store. The 3rd floor of this particular building sells visual novels from the company. What makes this different from Sofmap and Gamers Akihabara is that you can get the Getchu versions of collector's editions for visual novels. The same holds true of the other 2 locations.

Kimidore Wallscroll:

 

Kimidore Wallscroll shop. A lot of "coffee shop" wallscrolls are found here. Famous animation artists in the community and all over Japan have a lot of their work located here. Goto-P (Angel Beats!), Kantoku (Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat), and Ume Aoki (Madoka Magica) to name a few.

TamTam Hobby Shop:

 

As the image shows, a lot of crafting tools are located in the TamTam Hobby Shop. Train models, cars/planes, military items, and figure garage kits can be found here.

Figure Hobby Shop:

 

Literally, the Figure Hobby Shop as shown on the map, this store has everything under the sun when it comes to figurines. The 4th floor of this shop in particular has some very hard to find items, including rare Nendoroids and figurines that are no longer in production. Prices fluctuate all the time here, so be a wise shopper!

Akiba Island:

 

Akiba Island, Akihabara's #1 pachinko parlor! This particular parlor is one of the only ones in Japan to feature its very own mascot, complete with OVAs and manga strips to go with her. Say hello to Aira everyone:

 

And that's the end of the 1st part. If you want me to finish doing a few more stores (again, not featuring everything since a lot of this is expanded on in the guidebook I am working on), let me know. Thanks for reading, and I hope it helps!

[Deep Blue]

Amazing photos, please post a few more stores  also you should blur the faces of the people.

[OriginalRen]

These were the raw photos. A lot of these have been edited.

[kingdomcome]

This is super helpful, just in this raw state. Thank you.

[Nimbus]

Damn, these look fantastic, can't wait to see the final product. 

[OriginalRen]

As a side note, a lot of this text is something I came up with on the spot for this specific thread. The actual guidebook goes into more detail and talks about personal stories. For example, I about Akiba Island with more detail in the guidebook.

[Nosebleed]

I  know this is just a preview and you don't want this to be the final version, but if I may be honest, I'd really suggest toning down on the girl images in the maps themselves.
They're cute, yes, but as I look at the first map by itself, a huge chunk of it is covered by anime girls and only like 40% is the actual map/guide and the detailed information about the locations or other important things only makes up a tiny box in the corner.
Same thing with the sofmap map (kek), I know the design is not final by any means, but all the anime girls in it feel so out of place and distracting.
The focus of a map should always be, first and foremost, to give clear instructions and to clearly illustrate the location you're looking at, only when you have that can you add things to give it more of a theme, but always keep in mind the informative nature of the map.

Now I understand you don't want to have huge blank spaces, but I do feel like all these anime girls are very distracting and stand out in a negative way in these maps.
When I read a map, I want the first thing to come to my attention to be, well, the information, not cute anime girls.

I'm not telling you to remove all traces of anime girls, that's obviously part of the theme you're going with, and that's totally cool, but what I would suggest is definitely reduce their size and/or (this is where, if your KS is successful you could invest your money in) make them actually be helpful to the map itself, not just be standing out in the map for the sake of being there, it's just a needless distraction for people who want to read where things are, so if you can make them blend in, that would be helpful for everyone. (also, the compass doesn't need to be that big).

Just my 2 cents on the matter, I do think that, overall, this is really well put together and the pictures themselves are fantastic and I can't wait to see what you can accomplish if you have the budget to make a fully original version of these maps, so don't take this as me lashing out on it, but do keep in mind that this is a guide, not an "anime butts illustration book".

[Mirarri]

That's really amazing. I can't wait to see the 2nd part. 

[OriginalRen]

I  know this is just a preview and you don't want this to be the final version, but if I may be honest, I'd really suggest toning down on the girl images in the maps themselves.
They're cute, yes, but as I look at the first map by itself, a huge chunk of it is covered by anime girls and only like 40% is the actual map/guide and the detailed information about the locations or other important things only makes up a tiny box in the corner.
Same thing with the sofmap map (kek), I know the design is not final by any means, but all the anime girls in it feel so out of place and distracting.
The focus of a map should always be, first and foremost, to give clear instructions and to clearly illustrate the location you're looking at, only when you have that can you add things to give it more of a theme, but always keep in mind the informative nature of the map.

Now I understand you don't want to have huge blank spaces, but I do feel like all these anime girls are very distracting and stand out in a negative way in these maps.
When I read a map, I want the first thing to come to my attention to be, well, the information, not cute anime girls.

I'm not telling you to remove all traces of anime girls, that's obviously part of the theme you're going with, and that's totally cool, but what I would suggest is definitely reduce their size and/or (this is where, if your KS is successful you could invest your money in) make them actually be helpful to the map itself, not just be standing out in the map for the sake of being there, it's just a needless distraction for people who want to read where things are, so if you can make them blend in, that would be helpful for everyone. (also, the compass doesn't need to be that big).

Just my 2 cents on the matter, I do think that, overall, this is really well put together and the pictures themselves are fantastic and I can't wait to see what you can accomplish if you have the budget to make a fully original version of these maps, so don't take this as me lashing out on it, but do keep in mind that this is a guide, not an "anime butts illustration book".

Images will be cut down massively, considering that every single one of those photos (except the commission of Ro-500) is copyright. Those images were mainly used as filler for the white space, but finalizing it will really open it up.