Guides to Akihabara & Tokyo
Practical answers to the questions my tour guests ask me most, written and checked by a guide who is in Akihabara every week.
Akihabara7 guides
Is Go!Go!Curry in Akihabara worth eating at? A Straight Answer from an Akihabara Tour Guide
Go!Go!Curry Akihabara: Kanazawa black curry ¥750–¥1,350, 2 min from JR Akihabara, open 09:55–21:55 daily, cash only. Ticket machine photographed Aug 2026.
Akihabara Etiquette: Anime Shops, Maid Cafés, and Secondhand Culture — An Akihabara Tour Guide's Rules of the Floor
No photography inside Akihabara's anime shops, none of staff or maids, and handle secondhand goods gently. A local guide's rules of the floor.
Where can you store luggage in Akihabara? A Straight Answer from a Local Tour Guide
Two options: station coin lockers, or shops you book ahead via ecbo cloak or Bounce. Lockers are cheaper, but the large sizes fill up on weekends.
How Do You Use Book Off in Akihabara If You Can't Read Japanese? A Teacher's Shelf Guide
Yes — you can shop Book Off with zero Japanese, using three things: the twenty shelf labels below, the fact that books are filed by the sound of the…
Where Should You Buy Anime Figures in Akihabara? New vs. Secondhand, Compared by a Local Tour Guide
Buy new figures at official shops like Kotobukiya, and buy most other figures secondhand at Mandarake, Surugaya, or Hobby Off — secondhand stock in…
Is Shōwa Shokudō in Akihabara Worth Eating At? A Straight Answer from an Akihabara Tour Guide
Showa Shokudo Akihabara: the ticket machine has an ENGLISH button. House dish ¥980, served in about 4 minutes, open 07:00–23:00, 3 min from the station.
Is Juke Steak in Akihabara Worth Eating At? A Straight Answer from an Akihabara Tour Guide
Juke Steak: a lunch-only basement steak counter 3 min from JR Akihabara. Aged-beef harami sets ¥1,100–¥2,300, hamburg from ¥990. Menu photographed Aug 2026.
Japanese Etiquette14 guides
Japanese Etiquette: A Complete Guide for First-Time Visitors, Written by a Tokyo Teacher and Tour Guide
Ten habits cover Japanese etiquette: quiet trains, shoes off indoors, no tipping, carry your rubbish. A Tokyo teacher explains the idea behind them all.
Anime Pilgrimage in Japan: What Seichi Junrei Actually Means — and How to Do It Without Annoying the People Who Live There
Seichi junrei — literally sacred-site pilgrimage — means visiting the real places an anime was set in. Most of those places are ordinary stations, level…
Japanese Dining Etiquette: Chopsticks, Slurping, and Eating in Public — Explained by a Japanese Teacher in Tokyo
The rules that actually matter are short: do not stand your chopsticks upright in rice and do not pass food from chopsticks to chopsticks, because both…
Why There Is No Tipping in Japan — and What to Do Instead: A Straight Answer from a Tokyo Tour Guide
Do not tip in Japan. It is not customary in restaurants, taxis, hotels, bars or salons, and leaving cash on a table will usually cause confusion or a…
Why Japan Has No Bins, and What to Do With Your Rubbish — From a Guide Who Carries One Every Day
Public bins are genuinely rare in Japan, so plan to carry your rubbish until you reach a convenience store, a station, a vending machine, or your hotel.…
Onsen and Sento Etiquette: The Rules, Step by Step, from a Tokyo Guide Who Uses Them
You bathe naked, you wash and rinse completely at the seated shower stations before you enter the bath, and the bath itself is only for soaking — no…
Photography Etiquette in Japan: Where You Can Shoot, and Where You Really Can't — From a Tour Guide Asked This Every Week
Outdoors is generally fine, ask before shooting a person, and inside shops assume no. A Tokyo guide's rules for streets, temples and anime shops.
Shrine and Temple Etiquette in Japan: How to Visit Without Guessing — A Tokyo Tour Guide's Step-by-Step
Shrines are Shinto and temples are Buddhist. The visible difference in behaviour is that at a shrine you clap, and at a temple you do not. At both, you…
Where You Take Your Shoes Off in Japan, and How to Do It Smoothly — Explained by a Japanese Teacher in Tokyo
Take your shoes off wherever you see a step up, a row of slippers, or a shoe shelf or locker at the entrance. That covers homes, traditional restaurants…
Train and Subway Etiquette in Japan: What Locals Actually Do — From a Guide Who Rides These Lines Every Week
Keep phone calls off and your voice low, take your backpack off your back in a crowded carriage, queue on the painted marks and let people off before you…
Convenience Stores and Shops in Japan: How to Pay and What Staff Are Asking You — Explained by a Japanese Teacher in Tokyo
Put your items and your money on the small tray at the register rather than into the staff member's hands, answer the bag question (plastic bags carry a…
Do I Need Cash in Japan? An Honest Answer From a Tokyo Guide Who Still Carries a Coin Purse
Yes, carry some — but much less than the internet tells you. Cards and phone payments now cover most of a normal day in Tokyo, and the government's own…
Public Toilets in Japan: Where to Find One, and What All Those Buttons Do — From a Tokyo Guide Who Gets Asked This Every Week
Public toilets in Japan are everywhere, free, and usually clean — stations, convenience stores, department stores, parks and shopping centres all have…
What If Nobody Speaks English? How to Get Through Japan Without Japanese — Written by a Tokyo Japanese Teacher
You will be fine, and the reason is not that everyone speaks English. It is that Japan is heavily signposted, staff are trained to help, and most…
More21 guides
Akihabara at Night: What Is Actually Open, and What to Do Instead of Shopping
Akihabara at night is arcades, lit-up Chuo-dori and dinner, not shopping. Arrive by 17:00 if you want the floors. A local anime tour guide's honest evening plan.
Akihabara One-Day Itinerary: A Local Guide's Half-Day and Full-Day Plans (Plus the Ueno and Asakusa Combinations)
Half day: arrive at the Electric Town Exit around 10:30, do two multi-floor anime shops top-down, a real lunch near the station, one secondhand or retro…
Private vs Group Akihabara Tour: Which Should You Book? An Honest Comparison from a Guide Who Runs the Private Kind
Book a private tour if you have a series you care about and want the route built around it; book a group tour if you want the cheapest way to get…
Should You Visit Akihabara, Nakano Broadway, or Ikebukuro? A Tokyo Otaku Guide Compares All Three
All three, if you have the days. If you have one afternoon, Akihabara. It is the broadest, the easiest to reach, and the only one where a first-time…
Akihabara with Kids: A Family Half Day That Actually Works
Akihabara works with children if you manage the floors. Arcades, capsule toys and retro games for any age, adult sections always marked. Stroller route, food, and a half-day plan.
Anime Places to Visit in Tokyo: 9 Real Spots, Sorted by What You Actually Want — from a Guide Who Works in One of Them
Tokyo has three kinds of anime place, and mixing them up is why people come home disappointed. There are shopping districts (Akihabara, Nakano…
The Best Akihabara Anime Tours in 2026, Compared — by a Guide Who Runs One of Them
There is no single best Akihabara anime tour; there are four or five good ones built for different people. If you want the cheapest well-run…
When Is the Best Time to Visit Akihabara? Hour, Day and Season, from a Guide Who Works the Street Every Week
Late morning on a weekday is the best time to visit Akihabara. Here's what changes by hour, by day of the week and by season, from a guide who works the street every week.
Do Japanese People Really Talk Like Anime Characters? An Honest Answer from a Tokyo Teacher Who Has Watched 1,500+ Series
No. Real Japanese people do not talk like anime characters most of the time, but anime is not fake Japanese either. It is real grammar and real…
Famous Anime Phrases in Japanese: Which Ones You Can Actually Say, and Which Ones Will Make a Room Go Quiet
Famous anime phrases fall into three groups. A small set (itadakimasu, yoroshiku onegaishimasu, sugoi, kawaii) is used by real people every day. A second…
Which Japanese Words Do You Already Know from Anime? 100 Words Sorted by Whether You Can Say Them in Japan, by a Teacher Who's Watched 1,500+ Series
You already know more Japanese than you think. Most anime fans who book a lesson with me arrive with around 100 words they never studied. About 40 of…
How Do You Get to Akihabara, and Which Station Exit Should You Use? Directions from the Guide Who Meets People There Every Week
Take any train to JR Akihabara and leave by the Electric Town Exit; every other exit strands you across the tracks. Narita and Haneda: one change.
How Long Should You Spend in Akihabara? A Straight Answer from a Local Tour Guide
Half a day — three to four hours — covers Akihabara for most visitors. Here's what actually fits in 2, 4 and 8 hours, and who really needs the full day.
Is Akihabara Worth Visiting? An Honest Answer from a Tour Guide Who Works There Every Week
Yes, half a day if you like anime, manga, games or retro electronics, and one to two hours if you do not. A working Akihabara guide's honest answer.
Japan Anime Tour Packages: When a Package Is Worth Buying, and When It Just Costs More
Most anime fans do not need a package. A package buys you logistics — flights, hotels, transfers, a fixed itinerary — and logistics are the easy part of…
Can You Learn Japanese by Reading Manga? An Honest Answer from an Akihabara Tour Guide Who Teaches Japanese
Yes, manga is among the best reading tools a beginner can pick up, because most shōnen and shōjo titles print furigana over every kanji. But manga alone…
Which Website or App Should You Use to Learn Japanese with Anime? A Teacher's Honest Answer
A teacher's honest answer on the websites, apps and browser extensions for learning Japanese with anime — what each type does, what to check before you trust one, and the free setup that works.
Things to Do in Akihabara: What a Local Anime Tour Guide Actually Recommends (for Anime Fans, at Night, and with Kids)
Walk Chuo-dori from the Electric Town Exit, go up the multi-floor anime shops instead of along the street, give one figure floor and one retro game floor…
Tokyo Anime Tour: Which District and Which Tour to Pick (Akihabara, Nakano, Ikebukuro, and the Pilgrimage Spots)
For a first anime tour in Tokyo, pick Akihabara: it is the broadest district, the easiest to reach, and the one with the most tours on sale. Nakano…
What Is Akihabara Famous For? The Honest Answer from Someone Who Guides There Every Week
Akihabara is famous for anime, manga, video games, figures and idol culture, stacked in multi-floor shops along one main street. It was famous for…
Where Should You Eat in Akihabara? Three Shops, Compared with Photographed Prices
Three Akihabara restaurants compared with photographed prices: curry from ¥750, a steak set from ¥1,100, a diner open 07:00–23:00 with an English ticket machine.