I first went to Tokyo in February of 2020. I spent a week, right before Covid hit. I stayed in Shinjuku and tried to get as many geeky things as I could in.
My second trip was a month ago. This time I went with my younger sibling, and we stayed in Akihabara for two weeks. This time I tried to balance sightseeing with geeky things, and we did well.
I am now in the early stages of planning my third trip. We plan on two weeks, and plan to stay in the same hotel.
But now that we’ve seen a lot of the geeky things Tokyo has to offer, we’re looking to expand beyond its borders, at least for a day or two. We’re currently looking at the Osaka area, so any recommendations on geeky sightseeing, theme parks, must see things?
We’re huge toy geeks. We love Kaiju, Tokusatsu, anime, manga…Looking for places that scratch those itches. Events, Doujinshi fairs, toy shows…outside of Tokyo (we already know about Nakano Broadway, and Mandarake lol)
We also like history and ghost/yokai lore. We visited the graves of the 47 Ronin, and I made a pilgrimage to the grave of Shigeru Mizuki on the last trip.
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You should hit up the Ghibli theme park in Nagakute. It’s about 60% of the way between Tokyo and Osaka.
Kaiyodo figure museum.
It’s in the grounds of Osaka Castle. (In the large building with crenellarions)
https://www.ryuyukan-miraiza.net/
I went to Saga to see Teamlab: A Forest Where Gods Live, an interactive art exhibit using a mountain and surrounding nature. Would highly recommend. I believe the exhibit should be coming back soon.
I’m doing a day trip to the Yokohama Gundam and Yokosuka Battleship Mikasa memorial for my trip next week.
Head to Kyoto, visit Toei Studio Park. They’ve got sets used for samurai movies, a museum with costumes for Kamen Rider and Super Sentai/Power Rangers, and a life-sized Evangelion torso replica you can walk around.
Den den town in Osaka. Another haven for otaku.
In Osaka specifically:
– The Daimaru mall in Osaka Station has Nintendo, Pokemon, Capcom (+ a cafe), and One Piece stores, among others.
– In Shinaibashi there is another Daimaru with a Capcom store, plus a Pokemon cafe + store. Next door is a Parco mall with a Godzilla store and a Ghibli store. Around that area is a pinball arcade (Silver Ball Planet). In the evenings there’s PC and Retro Bar Space Station which has a bunch of video game themed drinks and lets you play games at the bar.
– Further south in Namba is Denden Town which has too many nerdy stores to mention.
– I didn’t go here myself but on the NW outskirts of the city is the Osamu Tezuka Museum.
– Of course, Universal Studios Japan is there too… Super Nintendo World is the big one but if you’re a fan of Jujutsu Kaisen or Spy x Family they’re present there too, along with Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, etc.
If you like shopping for games, I think Nagoya and Osaka have better inventory at better prices. Osaka’s Nipponbashi I think is a must visit regardless.
Here’s an obscure one: check out Yokai Village on Shikoku. Rural area but less than a mile from JR Oboke station.
Old Nintendo headquarter building turned into a hotel. Great aesthetic. In Kyoto.