Akihabara Station is plied by trains on the JR Lines, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, and Tsukuba Express Line. Commuters using the JR Lines have four exits to choose from: Central, Electric Town, Showa-Dori, and Atre (only from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.). As for the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line, there are five numbered exits, and Exit 3 is connected to exits on the JR and Tsukuba Express Lines.

Tsukuba Express Line's Exits A1 and A2 are connected to the JR and Tokyo Metro Hibiya Lines. Exit A3 is connected to the Yodobashi Camera building, and there's also an elevator exit that leads to an open public square.

On the whole, all exits in all stations are within walking distance from each other, making it a breeze to change between the different train lines as well. Let's start by exploring some recommended shops in the station's vicinity!

With a total floor space of more than 20,000 square meters (about 215,000 square feet), Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Akiba is one of Japan's largest mass retailer of home electronics, and the best part is that it's just a short 1-minute walk from Akihabara Station on the JR Lines! Floors 1 to 6 contain computers, AV equipment, home appliances, cameras, and a mind-boggling variety of other electronic goods. There's also a section dedicated to toys with a quality lineup as well.

The 7th floor of the building is where you can find individual specialist shops selling clothing, books, music, and more. Restaurants and eateries are on the 8th floor, whereas the 9th floor houses a golf training field and batting center. Besides shopping for those home appliances you want, there's definitely more than enough things for you to see, eat, and do here for an entire day!

This highly accessible shop is right in front of the Electric Town Exit of Akihabara Station on the JR Lines. Operated by major electronics retailer Yamada Denki, it's a popular spot for those snooping around for the best deals for PCs and PC parts. Basement 1 and floor 1 of the building contain all the digital goods you can think of, whereas the second to fifth floors make up a specialist zone focusing on PCs and related products.

The shop deals with everything and anything PC-related - from computers manufactured by Japanese makers to built-to-order PCs custom-made to your every preference. Monitors are displayed neatly as well, making browsing for one a pleasant experience.

Each floor is equipped with an experience corner where customers are encouraged to try out the latest products on the market. If you ever find yourself looking for a computer in the Akihabara Electric Town area, this is one of the best places in the area that's equipped to meet virtually every need!

This is a direct retail store operated by Kaiyodo, a well-known international manufacturer of figurines. Located on the fifth floor of Radio Hall, a historic building of Akihabara that has served as the area's landmark for eons, the shop has plenty of models on display, from characters of tokusatsu shows (a genre of entertainment featuring special effects, such as Kamen Rider and Godzilla) to robots, Buddha statues, and of course - tons and tons of figurines!

The company is also a purveyor of capsule toy machines, which is why you'll see a wall-full of them here as well. Each machine dispenses intricately designed capsule toys from a certain theme or category, ranging from animals to tanks, Japanese folklore monsters, and even art objects. These palm-sized toys fit almost anywhere and are easy souvenirs to bring home with.

This is an integrated anime goods shop where you can find anime-related DVD, Blu-Rays, comics, celebrity voice actor merchandise, and - as the name of the shop suggests - gamer goods! Popular souvenir snacks known as "Akiba Miyage" featuring cute anime characters are available for purchase as well.

Events are often held here, from illustration exhibitions to fashion shows. All fans of anime will have a good time here, whether or not they're here to buy something or not. The first to second floors of the building stay open late, until 10:00 p.m., so it's definitely a place to consider popping by on the way back to the hotel from a late-night trip!

There are a total of 19 restaurants and lifestyle shops in Akiba Tolim, a commercial complex directly connected to Akihabara Station on the Tsukuba Express Line. It's one of the rare few places in Akihabara where you can buy regular western-style clothing and daily essentials.

On the first floor, you'll find a Starbucks Coffee, convenience store, bank ATM, and tourist information center (inside TX Plaza Akihabara) specially set up to cater to foreign visitors. Well-known Japanese brands such as Muji and Uniqlo also have franchise shops here, so there's no need to worry about suddenly running out of clean or warm clothes to wear during your stay in Akihabara! The fifth and sixth floors of the building is the restaurant section, where you can find tasty food to recharge yourself during lunch or dinner hours.

There's even a hotel by the name of Remm Akihabara on the 6th to 18th floor of the building! Guests staying here will have unparalleled access to the best shopping in town.

Sundays in Akihabara are all about the hokoten, or pedestrian paradise, an event where major roads are blocked from automobiles and bicycles so that pedestrians can shop at leisure without having to keep looking out for vehicles. The Akihabara area's hokoten stretches from the intersection at 5 Sotokanda all the way to the intersection at Mansei Bridge - about 570 meters (1,870 feet) long in all. From October to March, the event will last from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. It has slightly longer hours from April to September, taking place from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Note that the selling of goods, performances, live shows, and bicycles are not allowed on the roads during pedestrian paradise period. As is protocol in Akihabara, no smoking is allowed on the roads either. Let's all do our part to keep the experience safe and enjoyable for all.

One of our recommended shops located along Chuo-Dori is Onoden, a longtime electronics retailer established in 1951 that's known for its friendly, neighborhood store vibe.

The shop sells seasonal household appliances like electric fans all-year-round for your convenience. Not sure which product suits your needs best? Simply ask one of the friendly veteran staff for help and they'll be happy to point you in the right direction! Some staff can speak Mandarin Chinese as well.

The first floor of the building is designed to appeal to international visitors with plenty of products that can be used overseas as well, such as rice cookers or digital cameras. There's also a special section with general merchandise featuring Japanese-style patterns and designs that will make excellent souvenirs for your Japan trip.

Sofmap is a well-known electronics retailer headquartered in Akihabara with branches all over Japan. As the name of this particular store suggests, the focus is on computer and computer-related parts, and high-spec gaming PCs are their forte.

Hop by the shop's gaming zone for a hands-on experience of the PCs, gaming chairs, and game software being sold here.

The second floor has an adjoining e-sports broadcast studio. Official goods of e-sports teams are also being sold here.

The ubiquitous Surugaya Specialty Store has six stores in Akihabara alone, each one focusing on a particular category of goods, such as gaming, trading cards, board games, or figurines. Anime Hobby Pavilion's focus is figurines and anime goods.

The salesroom on the first floor has been designed to appeal to foreigners as well. Shelves are stocked with merchandise from anime of international renown, such as characters from Shonen Jump and Sailor Moon.

Robot models dominate the second floor, whereas the third floor is for tokusatsu characters or monsters. Finally, the fourth floor is where you can find figurines and goods of pretty and adorable girl characters.

Other than brand-new products, the Akihabara Electric Town shop also deals with secondhand goods and defective items. And who knows what else you may find in the bargain bin of this shop that's reputed for its quality product lineup and reasonable prices?

Another plus point is that it has long opening hours, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., making a quick visit easy to fit into your schedule at any time slot you like.

Some 500 capsule toy machines line the walls of this Akihabara Electric Town shop, peddling everything from realistic-looking animal toys to food replicas and even joke merchandise. The sheer variety of products available means you can be sure there's going to be something here that will tickle your fancy!

Every month, about 50 new titles are brought in, keeping the experience fresh for all customers, whether they're new or already visit regularly. The only thing you have to worry about is which machine to go for, before they run out of stock!

Maach Ecute is a commercial complex built within the old Manseibashi Station, which was in use between 1912 to 1943. This building is decked with plenty of tasteful and refined shops and restaurants befitting of its historical roots.

Since the products being sold here are as stylish as they come, it's a great spot to do some souvenir hunting. The station platform has been transformed into an observatory deck where visitors can look at trains from the Chuo Line or Sobu Line running down their tracks right next door. The side of the station facing Kanda River is a relaxing, open-air deck. Even if you're not here to shop or eat, just strolling along this deck is enough to put you in a pleasant mood for the rest of the day!

The more you find out about Akihabara Electric Town, the more interesting it becomes! It's full of hidden treasures to be discovered for all visitors, whether you may enjoy aspects of Japanese subcultures or not.

If, on the other hand, you have even a passing interest in anime, games, comics, computers, gadgets, and things like that, then there's no end of things you can find to entertain yourself with in Akihabara!

English translation by: Huimin Pan

*The above article is based on information from April 2020