Japan Guide
Tokyo
Akihabara
Akihabara is Tokyo's foremost discount shopping area for electrical and electronic goods of all kinds, from computers and plasma-screen TVs to digital cameras and "washlets" – electronically controlled toilet-cum-bidets with an optional medical analysis function. In recent years Akiba has also become a Mecca for fans of anime and manga, a showcase for all the weird and wonderful fashions on the cutting edge of Japanese cool, and the spawning ground for the decidedly surreal "maids' cafés". On Sundays the main road is closed to traffic and wannabe pop artists strut their stuff with varying degrees of skill and conviction.
In fact Akiba, as it's popularly known, is undergoing a bit of a facelift all round. Yodobashi Camera's vast store and the terminus of the Tsukuba Express railway line have brought new life to the east side of Akihabara JR Station. Over on the west side, the Akihabara Crossfield complex ( 
www.akiba-cross.jp ) bills itself as a "dynamic crossroads of ideas and action", where some of the latest anime releases are on show at the ultra-hi-tech Akiba 3D Theater (generally Sat & Sun, times vary; ¥1000) on the fourth floor of the UDX Building; not all the films are 3-D, so check beforehand. The theatre is part of the Tokyo Anime Center (daily 11am–7pm; free; 
03/5298-1188, www.animecenter.jp ), little more than a glorified shop selling anime novelties, plus a multi-screen monitor screening recent anime films.