Guide · Akihabara

Part of: Akihabara vs Nakano vs Ikebukuro for Anime

animate Ikebukuro Flagship Store: What Is on Every Floor, From the Theatre to the Event Halls

animate Ikebukuro Flagship Store, at 1-20-7 Higashi-Ikebukuro, five minutes from Ikebukuro Station's east exit, has ten levels. Shopping is on 1F to 7F: goods, capsule toys and a café on 1F, manga on 2F and 3F, character goods on 4F and 5F, discs and games on 6F, and themed event shops on 7F. Above are an exhibition space and two event halls, and below is a theatre. I run private anime tours in Akihabara most weeks, and this is the Ikebukuro counterpart I suggest to fans of women-oriented series.

animate calls the 5th floor its largest range of character goods anywhere in the chain. The upper floors are what make it unusual: exhibitions, talks and stage shows happen in the same building.

What is on each floor of animate Ikebukuro?

From the official floor guide: B2 theatre; 1F character goods, capsule machines and the animate cafe Gratte; 2F shōnen and seinen manga and light novels; 3F shōjo and women's manga, BL and art supplies; 4F apparel collabs, plush and badge covers; 5F character goods; 6F discs and games; 7F themed shops; 8F exhibitions; 9F event halls.

For the Akihabara branch, which is organised differently, see animate Akihabara. If you are combining both districts, my Akihabara anime tour covers the Akihabara day.

Is animate Ikebukuro better than animate Akihabara?

It is bigger in events and leans further towards women-oriented fandom, with a whole floor of shōjo, women's and BL manga and a floor of character goods animate calls its largest. Akihabara's branch sits in a district of secondhand and specialist shops. For pure animate shopping, Ikebukuro; for a day of variety, Akihabara.

This is the honest section. animate sells new official goods; neither branch is where you find old or rare items. If you are in Ikebukuro, Otome Road's secondhand and specialist shops are across the station's east side; Otome Road, Ikebukuro covers them.

What is the animate cafe Gratte?

animate's café on the 1st floor, where the cream on top of a latte is printed with a character, and iced cookies come in character designs. It is a quick way to get a themed drink without booking a full collab café.

animate's bookable collaboration cafés work differently, with lotteries and vacant-seat bookings; anime collab cafés in Tokyo explains the system.

How do you get to animate Ikebukuro?

Five minutes on foot from Ikebukuro Station's east exit, at 1-20-7 Higashi-Ikebukuro. animate asks visitors to come by public transport, in support of Toshima City's pedestrian-first town planning. The store lists credit cards, transport IC cards and many QR payments.

Ikebukuro's other anime stops, Sunshine City and the free Anime Tokyo Station, are on the same east side; Sunshine City anime shops and Anime Tokyo Station have them. If you shop tax-free, note the change: from 1 November 2026 you pay the tax at the till and get it back after a customs check at the airport.

Frequently asked questions

Where is animate Ikebukuro? At 1-20-7 Higashi-Ikebukuro, about five minutes from Ikebukuro Station's east exit.

How many floors does animate Ikebukuro have? Ten levels: B2 and 1F to 9F, with shopping on 1F to 7F.

Which floor has character goods at animate Ikebukuro? 1F, 4F and 5F; animate calls 5F its largest range of character goods.

Is there a café in animate Ikebukuro? Yes. animate cafe Gratte is on the 1st floor.

What is Space Galleria? animate Ikebukuro's 8th-floor exhibition space for anime, manga, game, theatre and artist exhibitions; same-day tickets are sold at the north building's 8th floor.

Ikebukuro's animate for one day, Akihabara for another

If you want an Akihabara day built around the series you love, Adventure in Akihabara with Anime is my private half-day walk, three to four hours, never shared with other guests. The price is on the tour page.

About the author. I am Yuuki, a Japanese teacher and Akihabara anime tour guide based in Tokyo. I run private anime tours here most weeks, rated 4.96★ on Airbnb across 171 reviews. I have watched over 1,500 anime series, which is either a qualification or a warning depending on your point of view.

See the Akihabara anime tour →

Sources: animate, animate Ikebukuro Flagship Store floor guide (every floor B2–9F; hall and theatre seat counts; Gratte; Space Galleria same-day tickets) and store page (1-20-7 Higashi-Ikebukuro; 5 minutes from the east exit; payment methods; public-transport request). All checked 4 October 2026. Opening hours are deliberately not given.