Akihabara Electric Town

The Akihabara Electric Town handles various electrical goods, such as consumer electronics, audio equipment, computers, semiconductors, and lighting fixtures. There are about 500 stores. It is a large-scale electric or electronics-specialized town that is incomparable to any town in the world. About 30 million people visit this place every year, and the foreign-visitor count reaches one million. It originated when stalls that handled radio parts were gathered under the railroad tracks because of the Rotenseiri Ordinance (an ordinance that ordered the removal of stalls from the Tokyo Metropolitan area) in 1951. Today, there are many large electric appliance stores, but there still remain small-sized retailers that handle various electrical parts crowded under the Sobu Line tracks where you can purchase all kinds of computers and parts. Besides electric or electronics-related stores, Akihabara Electric Town attracts people with an interest in the pop culture such as anime, comics, figurines, or maid cafés (i.e., cafés with waitresses dressed in cute, frilly maid costumes). Denki-gai Chuodori or the central main street of the Electric Town is blocked off to become a pedestrian-only mall on Sundays, so you can enjoy shopping while taking your time in strolling.