Hi guys, my friend and i gonna have a trip to Japan and we’re a huge fan of animes and mangas. However, we aren’t gonna go by ourselves but instead going on a tour with strangers, so we have 1 night in Tokyo and we’re having a problem choosing between Shibuya and Akihabara as me and my friend would love to go to Akihabara to buy some figures but I believe Shibuya has more things to do. In the schedule the tour guide provided us, we gonna go to Akihabara anyways but we fear we might not have the time to find stuffs that we wanted with all those strangers. Overall, just wanted to know whether we should go to Shibuya at night or Akihabara, tks yall, any advices or words would be appreciated !
by siibarr
6 comments
Akihabara is the place to be for your anime and manga needs, but not with a large group unless everyone is ok splitting up and checking out different stores. These shops are small, and since everyone’s interests will vary it’s not ideal. For example, you could probably spend hours inside a manga store, but don’t expect others to do the same, they’re probably going to want to wander around outside and see what else there is.
On the flipside, Shibuya is probably a better place to be with a larger group, depending on what you want to do I suppose.
Definitely Aki.
Lots of figurine stores are open until 8-9pm, and once they’re closed you can win anime/manga related figurines and plushies at all the GiGo and Taito arcades until 11:30pm.
Theres also themed cafes there (Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest, Steins Gate etc) if you want to have a unique dining experience as well.
Shibuya has some pop ups and some anime/manga themed stores, but it’s no where near as condensed as Aki will be.
It doesn’t really matter, both are on the Yamanote line – it takes about 20 minutes to go from one to the other.
What you did not mention is Ikebukuro, which IMO is just as good for anime.
There’s also [Ikebukuro ](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3038.html) and [Nakano Broadway ](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3069.html) for anime, manga, video games, etc
You want to buy anime/manga stuff an go in the stores, Akihabara.
The guide might make you walk in the streets but not venture much into the stores and not give you time to shop.
And if you ask me, there is not a ton of attractions in Shibuya, either as it’s also a big shopping area. It might just be more appropriate for nightlife than Akihabara.
However, by night… what do you mean? Stores typically close at 8pm, so if by at night you mean after 8pm, then yeah, Shibuya.
Akihabara, no question