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If you’re into anime and manga, you’ve probably heard of a city in Japan called Akihabara, also known as “Akiba”. Akiba is renowned as an anime and manga lover’s paradise, featuring a multitude of shops catering to fans of all kinds.

We both grew up in Japan, so anime has always been a big part of our lives as kids. Some of our favorite anime from the 1980s and 1990s were Dr. Slump, Ranma ½, Studio Ghibli, and Dragon Ball Z to name a few.

Currently, we are into anime shows like Spy x Family, Bleach, Haikyu!! and Chainsaw Man. Crystal especially is into anime goods, so she wanted to visit Akihabara on our recent trip to Japan.

We stopped by five of the popular anime shops in Akihabara and they were all super close to one another, so it was easy to explore all of them.

1. Don Quijote ドン・キホーテ

Don Quijote, otherwise known as Donki, is a popular discount store chain in Japan that sells a wide variety of products ranging from electronics to household goods to clothing, cosmetics, and even souvenirs. 

Since Akihabara specializes in anime, this Donki was a little different and had an impressive selection of manga and anime merchandise. They had all of our current favorite anime goods along with other popular anime and manga goods like Attack on Titan, Blue Lock, Pokemon, and Demon Slayer. This shop had a ton of Chainsaw Man goods compared to the other anime shops we visited. 

This store is huge with 8 floors and each floor has a different theme jam packed with merchandise. Be prepared for the narrow aisles and crammed space. Donki is great, but sometimes we can get a little claustrophobic in there.

2. Animate -アニメイト

Animate is a well-known anime retailer with several branches throughout Japan, and its Akihabara store is a prime attraction. It stocks a vast range of anime-related products, including manga, character goods, and limited edition items. There are some items found here but not in other branches of Animate.

Unfortunately, they were closed for renovations at the time of our visit, which was such a bummer since we were really looking forward to this shop. 

3. Volks Akihabara Hobby Paradise 2 - ボークス秋葉原ホビー天国２

Yes, that is the actual name of the store. This shop specializes in producing and selling a variety of hobby-related products including character models from popular anime and manga. The staff here was very friendly and readily available to assist customers. 

This one was our favorite shops since they had the most unique items. Most of the anime stores we visited had similar products but this one was a little different. While most of the anime stores we visited sold the same figurines, plush dolls, or keychains, this store actually sold useful items like hand towels, mousepads, and folders.

A lot of manga and anime fans like to purchase figurines, but we like to purchase items that we can actually use like folders and towels with our favorite anime characters printed on them. This was the only store where we could find such items.

This store is also where we started noticing an abundance of acrylic anime keychains and stands. It seems to be very popular and we were a little shocked at how expensive they were for what it was.

Another new thing we noticed here that seemed to be popular were anime Paper Theatre merchandise. It’s basically a 3D paper cutout display of your favorite anime show.

4. Akiba Cultures Zone - AKIBAカルチャーズZONE

Many of the stores offer a wide selection of figurines, but this store in particular had a lot of figurines and plush dolls compared to the other shops. The space was bright and it wasn’t cramped like the other stores. There was plenty of space between the aisles.

The prices here were more reasonable since they were all secondhand. We didn’t even realize they were secondhand at first because everything looked brand new to us.

5. Kotobukiya

Kotobukiya is another popular store among anime fans and they often have displays of art and figures showcasing upcoming products, or promoting a particular show or game.

Out of all the anime shops we visited in Akihabara, this was the only store that had a good selection of Ghibli items like Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and our all-time favorite, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.

They had kitchen items like chopsticks which were something we didn’t see at any of the other shops. The chopsticks had various characters from the Ghibli films and were priced at 880 yen.

Wait, While You’re in Akiba, Stop by Gashapon Shops

Akiba is also famous for Gashapons, so we stopped by a couple of these shops as well. If you are a huge fan of Gashapon, we recommend checking out the largest Gashapon shop in the world at Bandai Namco Cross Store in Ikebukuro.

Akihabara Gachapon Hall - 秋葉原ガチャポン会館

Crystal visited Akihabara Gachapon Hall several years ago and wanted to stop by since Candy has never been. This is a tiny shop but houses an impressive selection of Gashapon machines. Many of them were stacked from the ground up to the ceiling. We weren’t quite sure how customers could reach the higher machines.

Crystal found a unique Gashapon machine with a mini UNO card set and Candy found an Arale-chan (an old-school manga character from Dr. Slump) Gashapon machine that had super mini dog hat prizes. 

Akiba Kei Idle Shop - アキバ系アイドルショップ

A little Gachapon shop, which was even smaller than Akihabara Gachapon Hall. This one also sold Idol goods, which is a big part of Akihabara culture. The idol industry in Japan is diverse and has evolved over time, but the Akihabara idols have a specific association with the Akihabara district.

Final Thoughts

We had a great time hopping from one store to the next. Crystal ended up purchasing a few items from Donki and Volks Akihabara Hobby Paradise 2. We didn’t buy any figurines, but purchased practical items like hand towels and folders.

Even if you aren’t a huge fan of manga or anime, Akihabara is a must-visit destination for technology enthusiasts, gamers, and anyone interested in experiencing Japan’s vibrant pop culture scene.

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