Part of: Akihabara Figures: Where to Buy New vs Used
What to Buy in Akihabara: Ten Things Worth Bringing Home, What They Cost, and Where to Find Them
Buy the things Akihabara does better than anywhere else: secondhand figures, capsule toys at ¥300 to ¥500, Japanese-language trading cards, retro games, manga, the bonus goods shops give with new releases, and a ¥1,000 IT protection charm from Kanda Myojin. Skip mainstream electronics and anything you could buy identically at home. I run private anime tours here most weeks, and this is the list I give guests who ask what to bring back.
The best souvenir from Akihabara is the one that would have been impossible to find anywhere else. Everything below fits that rule, and most of it is cheaper than people expect.
What is worth buying in Akihabara?
Ten things, roughly from cheapest to most considered: capsule toys, a shrine charm, shop-bonus goods, a Japanese manga volume, trading cards, small character goods, secondhand figures, retro games, electronic parts for hobbyists, and something from a rental showcase. Each one has its own floor or building.
This is the order I use on my Akihabara anime tour when a guest says "I want to bring something back but I don't know what":
| What | Typical cost | Where | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capsule toys (gachapon) | ¥300–¥500 a turn; premium ¥1,500 | Bandai's GASHAPON Department Store, Akihabara Gachapon Kaikan | Akihabara gachapon |
| Shrine charm (omamori) | ¥500 victory charm, ¥1,000 IT protection charm | Kanda Myojin, 7 min from the station | Kanda Myojin's own charm list |
| Shop bonus goods | Free with a qualifying purchase | animate, Melonbooks fairs | Akihabara manga stores |
| A manga volume in Japanese | Varies; used copies cost less | Shosen Book Tower, animate, Book Off | Akihabara manga stores |
| Trading cards | Card by card, priced on the tag | Radio Kaikan's card floors | Akihabara card shops |
| Small character goods | Varies | animate, Radio Kaikan | What is Akihabara famous for |
| Secondhand figures | Often below new retail | Mandarake, Surugaya, Radio Kaikan | Where to buy anime figures |
| Retro games | Collector prices for rare titles | Super Potato, Surugaya Game-kan | Akihabara retro game stores |
| Electronic parts | Sold by the piece | Akizuki Denshi, Radio Kaikan 5F | Akihabara electronics |
| A rental-showcase find | Set by the individual seller | Astop, Radio Kaikan 2F | Below |
What are the best cheap souvenirs from Akihabara?
Capsule toys and shrine charms. Most capsules cost ¥300 to ¥500 a turn, according to Bandai's own stock pages for its Akihabara shops. Kanda Myojin, the shrine seven minutes from the station, offers its victory charm for ¥500 and its IT protection charm, for computers, for ¥1,000.
The IT charm is the one I recommend for anyone with a laptop at home: it is cheap, it is light, it is unmistakably from Akihabara's own shrine, and nobody else will have one. If you go, pray before you receive a charm; that is the shrine's own advice. Shrine and temple etiquette covers the rest.
What can you only get in Akihabara?
Secondhand stock and rental-showcase finds. The used floors sell figures and goods from years of releases, at the price the local market sets. Rental showcases, glass cases rented by individual sellers, like Astop on Radio Kaikan's 2nd floor, hold things nobody else is selling. Shop bonuses also vary by store.
Shop bonuses are worth understanding. When a new manga volume or disc comes out, animate and Melonbooks often give a small extra item, such as a postcard or card, with it, and the item can differ between shops. Their store pages list current fairs. If a series you follow has a new volume out during your trip, buying it in Akihabara gets you the bonus as well as the book.
What should you not buy in Akihabara?
Mainstream electronics expecting a bargain, current figures at resale prices, and anything heavy on the first day of a long trip. The big chains charge the same here as elsewhere in Tokyo. A current figure at a premium in a reseller's case is often at full price in an official shop down the street.
This is the honest section. The mistake I see most is impulse: the first copy, at the first price, in the most visible shop. Walk one more building before any big purchase. And think about luggage before buying a boxed figure on day two; luggage forwarding in Japan explains how to send bags ahead.
Can tourists shop tax-free in Akihabara?
At shops registered for tax-free sales, with your passport, if you spend ¥5,000 or more before tax in one shop on one day. Many big shops are registered; many small ones are not. From 1 November 2026 you pay the tax at the till and get it back after a customs check at the airport.
The new process, and what to keep in your hand luggage until the airport check, is in tax-free shopping in Japan after November 2026. Small purchases like capsules and charms are never going to reach the threshold, so do not plan around it for those.
How much money should you bring for shopping in Akihabara?
Enough cash for small shops and capsule machines, and a card for the big ones. Most capsule machines take coins (change machines are nearby), and smaller secondhand and card shops may want cash, while large shops such as animate take cards, transport IC cards and QR payments. A budget is personal, but decide it before the first floor, not after.
Cash or card in Japan covers how much to carry, and ATMs that take foreign cards covers where to top up near the station.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best souvenir to buy in Akihabara? Something you cannot get at home: a secondhand figure from an older series, a capsule toy, a Japanese edition of a manga you love, or Kanda Myojin's IT protection charm.
Are things cheaper in Akihabara? Secondhand goods often are. New goods and mainstream electronics cost about the same as elsewhere in Japan.
What can I buy in Akihabara for under ¥1,000? Capsule toys (mostly ¥300–¥500 a turn), Kanda Myojin's victory charm (¥500) or IT protection charm (¥1,000), and many secondhand manga volumes and small goods.
Is there a souvenir shop in Akihabara? Radio Kaikan has a gift shop, The AkiBa, on its 1st floor, but the better souvenirs are on the hobby floors above it.
Can I buy English manga in Akihabara? A small section: Shosen Book Tower lists English-translated manga on its 6th floor.
Buy less, buy better
If you would like the floors chosen around the series you love, so that what you bring home is the right thing, 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: BANDAI, official gashapon site, Akihabara shop stock page (capsule prices ¥300–¥1,500); Kanda Myojin, Online charm office (victory charm ¥500, IT protection ¥1,000) and FAQ (pray before receiving a charm); Akihabara Radio Kaikan, Floor guide (Astop rental showcases 2F, Gift Shop The AkiBa 1F, card shops, Wakamatsu Tsūshō 5F); Shosen, Shosen Book Tower (English-translated manga 6F); animate, animate Akihabara (payment methods; fairs) and Melonbooks, Akihabara No. 1 (fairs and purchase bonuses). All checked 4 October 2026. The "typical cost" column for figures, cards and games is the author's description, not a published price.
In this guide
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