Guide · Akihabara

Part of: Akihabara Figures: Where to Buy New vs Used

Mandarake Akihabara: A Floor-by-Floor Guide to Complex and Complex 2

Mandarake has two buildings in Akihabara, both about four minutes from the Electric Town Exit. Mandarake Complex, at 3-11-12 Sotokanda, has eight floors: manga and vintage books on 3F, doujinshi on 4F and 5F, dolls on 5F, and three floors of toys on 6F to 8F. Complex 2, close by at 3-12-2, adds cards, games, discs, small toys, vehicle toys and railway goods. I run private anime tours here most weeks, and these are the floors where secondhand hunters lose the afternoon.

Mandarake is one of the best-known names in Japan's secondhand anime and manga trade. In Akihabara it is less a shop than two vertical markets: each floor is its own world, and the floor you want is rarely the one you walk in on.

What is on each floor of Mandarake Complex?

From the bottom: the buying counter and cosplay on 1F, Disney on 2F, boys' manga and vintage on 3F, men's doujinshi on 4F, BL, girls' manga, male-idol goods, women's doujinshi, magical girls and dolls on 5F, then toys on 6F, 7F and 8F. The toy floors go from American toys and plastic models up to tokusatsu, Chogokin, bishōjo figures and robots.

This is the floor list I work from with guests on my Akihabara anime tour, taken from Mandarake's own store page:

Two practical notes. Selling to Mandarake is done at Complex, not Complex 2. And the vintage floor on 3F is where old magazines and early editions turn up; Mandarake's own news posts on that floor are a good sign of what is in stock that week.

What is on each floor of Mandarake Complex 2?

Complex 2, at 3-12-2 Sotokanda, opened in 2025 and marked its first anniversary on 5 September 2026. Its floor guide lists cards on 1F and 2F, games on 3F, CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays on 4F and 5F, small toys ("Micro") on 6F, vehicle toys on 7F, railway goods on 8F, and a 9th-floor room called Kinshobō.

If trains, toy cars or old game cartridges are your thing, Complex 2 is the building. For the wider trading card scene, Akihabara card shops covers the shops in Radio Kaikan, and retro games are in Akihabara retro game stores.

How do you shop at Mandarake?

Go up by lift, work down by floor, and read the price tag: Mandarake prices each item individually and notes condition on the tag. Prices are fixed, and rare items are priced at what collectors pay. The shop's online store has an English version, which is a useful way to check prices before you go.

This is the honest section. Mandarake is fair, not cheap. The bargains are in the long shelves of ordinary secondhand stock, not in the glass cases by the counter. If you have a specific item in mind, check its price on the English online store first; if you are browsing, give each floor ten minutes before deciding it is not your floor. How to read secondhand condition tags is in where to buy anime figures in Akihabara.

Is Mandarake Akihabara the same as Mandarake Nakano?

No. Nakano's Mandarake is more than thirty small shops spread through Nakano Broadway, a different neighbourhood on the Chūō line. Akihabara's is two tall buildings with one theme per floor. Akihabara's is easier to navigate; Nakano's suits collectors who enjoy digging through many small shops.

The Nakano version, floor by floor, is in the Nakano Broadway guide, and whether to do both on one trip is in Akihabara vs Nakano vs Ikebukuro.

What are the rules inside?

The same as most Akihabara shops: no photos of the shelves or cases unless staff say so, handle secondhand items gently, and ask staff to open a glass case rather than reaching in. The adult doujinshi sections are separate and 18+.

The general rules of the floor are in Akihabara etiquette. Bring some cash as well as a card; secondhand floors are where a mixed wallet is most useful, and cash or card in Japan covers how much.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Mandarake in Akihabara? Mandarake Complex is at 3-11-12 Sotokanda and Complex 2 at 3-12-2 Sotokanda, each about four minutes from the JR Electric Town Exit.

What floor are the figures on at Mandarake Complex? Toys and figures are on 6F to 8F: American toys, models and prize figures on 6F, tokusatsu and Chogokin on 7F, bishōjo figures and robots on 8F.

What is Mandarake Complex 2? Mandarake's second Akihabara building, open since 2025, with cards, games, discs, small toys, vehicle toys and railway goods.

Can I sell items at Mandarake Akihabara? Mandarake buys at its Complex building's buying counter on 1F; Complex 2 sends sellers there.

Is Mandarake cheaper than other shops? Not always. It prices rare items at collector value; ordinary secondhand stock is where the bargains are.

Two buildings of Mandarake, a district around them

If you would like the floors chosen around the series you collect, 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: Mandarake, Complex store page (3-11-12 Sotokanda; 4 minutes from the Electric Town Exit; floor guide; buying at Complex; floor news) and Complex 2 store page (3-12-2 Sotokanda; 4 minutes; floor guide; first-anniversary event 5 September 2026; buying at Complex); Mandarake, online store (English). All checked 4 October 2026. Opening hours are deliberately not given.