Trip Report 14 Days Solo Travel (30M) Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hakone

I read a few of these before going and found them helpful and a good read before going. After writing it, it ended up quite long, I broke it up as much as I could and included links to stuff for you all to check out.

A bit about me before I get into it as there’s less point reading about the trip if they way you approach travel is completely different. I’m an experienced solo traveller who stays in hostels, I usually travel to see the sights and learn about the history of a place. I’m not one for the nightlife or clubbing and I only drink socially and sparingly. I would also consider myself an Otaku so there’s going to be some stuff in here that’s anime/weeb related although its not the focus. I eat out occasionally but would not consider myself a foodie. I had extremely limited Japanese covering only the basics (please, thank you, where is this, that kind of stuff).
I had an itinerary before I left which I loosely stuck to, there’s been some debate around itineraries lately however I found having a loose structure extremely helpful as long as you give yourself some freedom and don’t over-plan.

**TOKYO**

*Day 1 – Arriving + Takaosan:*

[JR Pass](https://japanrailpass.net/en/) – Picked up from the JR East office in Haneda who spoke English and it was a simple process. I got the green car through the website. Was it economical? Yes probably as I was on the old pricing, used the internal city lines frequently and took 4 inter city lines. It probably would be a loss on the new pricing model. I mainly did this to pay for convenience, being able to reserve my seat online took out a lot of stress. The green car was unbelievably comfortable to the point I sometimes throught about just jumping on a random Shinkansen to anywhere just for a few hours chilling in a comfy seat.

Welcome Suica – Picked up from the machines across from the JR office. There can be a line but usually no more than 5-10 mins, easy to navigate the machine as it had an English option.

Travel Tip – If you travel lighter like me and have luggage cabin size or smaller don’t ever worry about where you are going to leave it when you go places. There’s coin lockers literally everywhere and they are cheap and convenient. I didn’t want to go out of my way to the hostel so I just left it in a coin locker at the station till I finished my days activities and checked in later.

[Takaosan](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1060898-d320052-Reviews-Mt_Takao-Hachioji_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) – It’s 600m tall and something I’d describe as a medium hike, you’ll need reasonable fitness levels but nothing extreme, there’s a cable car if you don’t want to walk. There’s various shrines dotted around on the main path on the way up and some great views to reward you for your efforts. It wasn’t particularly busy on the day I went although that may have been because it was extremely hot. There’s a café at the top where you can relax and enjoy the scenery.

*Day 2 – Senso Ji, Asakusa, Tokyo National Museum, Ueno Park:*

Travel Tip – It’s is worth getting up early to get to some of the major sights before the crowds. Many of Tokyos best attractions are shrines and natural beauty that are infinitely more enjoyable without wading through a crowd of people due to their serene nature. I can’t highlight enough how important getting to these early is. The difference in enjoyment levels for reviews I have read and my own experience is night and day for some of these places.

[Senso Ji](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g14134311-d320447-Reviews-Senso_ji_Temple-Asakusa_Taito_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) – Got there at 0730 and it was scarcely populated, and the shops hadn’t opened yet, walked up the empty shopping street and enjoyed the shrine with a select few others on a lovely morning. Spent an hour there and walked out at around 9 as all the stalls opened. Highly recommend this time window as you get both the quiet and then can do the shopping on the way out. Those arriving at 9 had to shuffle through big crowds. While they were doing this I popped into the nearby visitor site where you can go up the elevator for some aerial views of where you have just been. You can also look over the river from here to see the Tokyo Tower and the golden poop on the Asahi building.

[Tokyo National Museum](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g14134278-d320638-Reviews-Tokyo_National_Museum-Uenokoen_Taito_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) and [Ueno Park](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g14134278-d320441-Reviews-Ueno_Park-Uenokoen_Taito_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) – I had planned to do this on another day but I finished up in Asakusa early and its not far from there. I chilled out in Ueno park for a bit and grabbed a bite to eat before strolling over to the museum. I actually found the TNM (and other Japanese museums) quite disappointing compared to their European counterparts. I was hoping for the story of Japan through the ages and while I got that it was heavily focused on the art/culture/religion side of things rather than notable events from Japanese history. There were corridors of pottery and arts scrolls throughout the eras and some cool historical clothing items however little mention of people or events that went with them. It was extremely focused on the development of Shinto and Buddhism in Japan. There was a single corridor devoted to 2-3 pieces of Samurai armour and some weaponry with very scant information about the warring states period (arguably Japan’s most interesting era). Absolutely no mention of slightly more modern history such as the world wars or Japans modern evolution in the Meiji restoration period and beyond.

*Day 3 – Nakano Broadway, Shin Udon and Akihabara*

I’m going to include a separate section below for Otaku Shopping for those who want to read it. I had a spare day from bunching up the Day 2 stuff so I spent the day exploring Akihabara and Nakano Broadway and doing some exploratory shopping.

[Akihabara](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1066443-d321038-Reviews-Akihabara-Chiyoda_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) – For the non-Otakus it’s still worth going to Akihabara for a bit even if just to look at the lights and buildings and side-eying the various girls dressed as maids lining the streets to get a taste of Japan’s Otaku culture. For the Otakus, well you already know Akihabara and what can I say but it’s heaven wandering around surrounded by huge signs advertising your favourite game or anime. Browsing through endless figure, doujin and other merch shops and hitting up an arcade. Life’s good.

[Nakano Broadway](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g14134438-d3178616-Reviews-Nakano_Broadway-Nakano_Nakano_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) – Definitely felt more like a locals shopping district than a tourist location and because of this I loved it. There everything you can imagine on sale here and the side streets are packed with small eateries filled with locals if you are brave enough to walk in. Just walking through and soaking up the atmosphere was great.

[Shin Udon](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g14133713-d7808158-Reviews-Shin_Udon-Yoyogi_Shibuya_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) – I went by as it opened and grabbed a ticket from the machine outside, it told me my table would be approx. 90 mins so I went to Nakano Broadway to kill time. You get a text or email when they are ready for you so you can had back and go eat. I was actually quite disappointed with my butter and pepper Udon with beef and didn’t enjoy it that much. Your experience might be different but for me it wasn’t worth the wait.

*Day 4 – Bike Tour, Sento and Travel Day*

[Bike Tour](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/AttractionProductReview-g1066457-d11479150-Small_Group_Tokyo_Biking_Tour-Shinjuku_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) – I always do bike tours for the cities I visit as its a nice way to view the city. The long story short is that the guide was wonderful but I would NOT recommend doing a bike tour of Tokyo. We went to a couple of mini shrines and the big spots we visited was the [Meiji Jingu Shrine](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1066456-d1373780-Reviews-Meiji_Jingu_Shrine-Shibuya_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html), the port area, [the Imperial Palace Grounds](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1066443-d320050-Reviews-Imperial_Palace-Chiyoda_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) and the [Government building](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g14133673-d320640-Reviews-Tokyo_Metropolitan_Government_Buildings-Nishishinjuku_Shinjuku_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefe.html). The Meiji Jingu shrine was very cool and should definitely be on anyone’s list, the Palace Grounds are nice to walk around and the view from the government building was amazing. The reason I don’t recommend a bike tour is that the stuff between these places is really not that interesting to look at and you’d be better served doing these places by taking the train and enjoying at your own pace. I recommend pairing the Meiji Jingu shrine with a walk down [Takeshita Street](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1066456-d1373790-Reviews-Takeshita_Street-Shibuya_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) in Harajuku before chilling in [Yoyogi park](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1066456-d561514-Reviews-Yoyogi_Park-Shibuya_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html) as they are all near to each other and would make for a great morning. You can skip going down to the port its mainly industrial and there’s not much there to see. The government building is free to enter and I would potentially recommend this over the Skytree as you can see the Skytree from that building although I didn’t do the Skytree so I can’t compare.

Travel Tip – [Sento’s](https://www.google.com/maps/search/tokyo+sento/@35.6945513,139.6883113,12.75z?entry=ttu) are amazing. It was hot when I visited, very hot, and humid too. After getting up early and walking around a site for a few hours I often ended up quite sticky. If you are going when its warm stick some spare clothes/socks/underwear in your backpack and drop into a Sento after you do your morning activity before lunch. You can get freshened up and changed and then set out for the rest of your day recharged. Words cannot express how much better I felt on the days I followed this routine, the cold baths especially when you are hot and achy after walking around in the morning are just heaven.

Shinkansen Tip – If you want to geta chance to see Fuji on the Shinkansen from Tokyo/Odawara to Kyoto/Osaka then you want to sit in the seats DE(Regular) or CD (Green Car) to be on the right side. This is true going both ways as the Shinkansen does not turn around but move in reverse. Also all of the seats can be rotated so if you are travelling in a group in rows next to each other you can rotate a row to face each other.

**KYOTO**

Big Kyoto Tip – I highly recommend minimum 3 days in Kyoto. Fushimi Inari, Kiyomizu Dera and Arashiyama are ALL places you want to do early before the crowds and you therefore need 3 days to do them all. The experience for these is severely diminished if you do it when its busy.

*Day 5 – Fushimi Inari and Nijo Castle*

[Fushimi Inari](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g298564-d321456-Reviews-Fushimi_Inari_taisha_Shrine-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html) – Get up early for Fushimi Inari. I got there for 0745 and it was scarcely populated. When I walked back out around 11 people were queuing up the path and the main sights were chock full of people. FI is a real bucket list item, it’s an absolutely gorgeous walk through the trees and Torii gates made all the better on a quiet morning. It’s what I’d describe as a light hike up there so dress appropriately. I’d also say it’s perfectly fine to only do up to the halfway point, by then you have seen most of the really awesome stuff and further up only has more of the same. There’s nothing at the top, in fact I didn’t even realise I was at the top until a minute after I walked by it and started going down. There just another small shrine there which look like the other hundreds of shrines and there’s no view due to the trees/hill.

[Nijo castle](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g298564-d321408-Reviews-Nijo_Castle-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html) – Nice couple of hours that you can do it a bit later in the day as it doesn’t seem to get that crowded but beware it does close at 1600. Tickets are available on site or online. The castle is a world heritage site and while the information on the plaques is still a little more limited than I’d like there was some fun learning about the time period and the people of that period.

*Day 6 – Kyoto Bike Tour, Gion and Kiyomizu Dera*

[Bike Tour](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/AttractionProductReview-g298564-d11989670-Hidden_Kyoto_E_Biking_tour-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html) – Now this is a bike tour I absolutely recommend. I went with this one. You cycle the back streets and neighbourhoods of through Kyoto which are simply picturesque, some of the smaller shrines are truly lovely. The guide on this tour Sean was absolutely fantastic, he was incredibly knowledgeable about each place we went and filled the day with interesting tidbits of information. I do a bike tour of almost every city I go to which comfortably number 20+ at this point and this might have been the best one I have ever done. We hit Kinkakuji during the tour which was a great sight, you don’t need long here and this is one you don’t really need to do early so you can do this after one of the big three mentioned above. Another highlight of this tour is that you go to a [small place that makes mochi](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g298564-d1703433-Reviews-Ichimonjiya_Wasuke-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html) and happens to be the worlds 10th oldest business and sit on the Tatami mats and eat fresh mochi.

[Gion](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g298564-d321451-Reviews-Gion-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html) and [Kiyomizu Dera](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g298564-d321401-Reviews-Kiyomizu_dera_Temple-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html) – I followed this by walking through Gion and up to Kiyomizu Dera. It was the afternoon at this point and the streets were packed, I’m talking shoulder to shoulder shuffling which severely limited my enjoyment. Especially when you get held up by person number 42378 who had rented a Kimono and was doing an insta fashion shoot in the middle of the street. Kiyomizu Dera was worth going to despite this just to stand on the iconic palisade and get a view over Kyoto. When I walked back through Gion later in the evening the crowds had dispersed a little and it was much more enjoyable. Highly recommend to walk through at night with the lanterns lit. I found a little café to sit in for a drink and watch the world go by.

*Day 7 – Arashiyama and Himeji Castle*

[Arashiyama](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g298564-d545940-Reviews-Arashiyama-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html) – Again, I got to Arashiyama early 0730 and there was not many people there on arrival. Walking through the Bamboo Grove was a delight then if you follow the path up the hill to the right you are rewarded with a beautiful view of the river weaving through the hills from above. You can follow the trail along the river, some of the other travellers I spoke to said they went for a swim there which might have been fun if you want to take a swimming costume there. You end up at the bridge which can cross to the monkey park if you are interested (I wasn’t) or go back into the very pretty village where there are plenty of cafes and eateries to enjoy.

[Himeji Castle](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g298191-d320231-Reviews-Himeji_Castle-Himeji_Hyogo_Prefecture_Kinki.html) – I initially planned Osaka castle but switched to Himeji on the recommendations of my bike tour guide. You get a plain view of Himeji castle when you get off at the station and the walk up to it is great. You get to go inside the castle which is the original unlike Osaka and up the wooden floors to the top. If you are interested in history make sure to take the route through the Western Bailey as this is where most of the information about the castle is and details its rich and interesting history.

**OSAKA**

Honestly I could have dropped the 2 nights in Osaka. If you aren’t interested in the nightlife/drinking and aren’t going to universal studios there’s not much else to do there, especially during the day.

*Day 8 – Nara and Dotomburi*

[Nara](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Tourism-g298198-Nara_Nara_Prefecture_Kinki-Vacations.html) – Struggling to think what to do during the day I ended up going to Nara from Osaka. I initially planned to skip Nara as I wasn’t much interested in the deer and I didn’t think I’d like it all that much. Turns out I was exactly right. I got off the train and walked down the main road in Nara towards the temple. The first thing it struck me was that it smelled like a Zoo, I knew there would be deer but I was not prepared for the sheer quantity of them nor the fact they are literally everywhere. I guess the smell is to then be expected but I don’t know how to explain it, it just didn’t have that natural wildlife smell. Some people might think the deer being everywhere is amazing but honestly, I found it kind of sad, they just appeared so domesticated and lifeless it just bummed me out. Pair that with the fact that it was tourist central, I’m talking in the thousands with kids on school-trips everywhere you looked it just really wasn’t my vibe and I wanted to leave immediately. I persevered to the buddhist temple with is supposedly the largest wooden structure on earth and while the temple was cool I was just not in the mood. I ended up getting the train back shortly after.

[Dotomburi](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g14135010-d325333-Reviews-Dotombori_District-Dotombori_Chuo_Osaka_Osaka_Prefecture_Kinki.html) – I met up with some people from the Hostel and went out to Dotomburi in the evening. It was the neon lights you’d see in travel brochures everywhere. Ate some Takoyaki and went to a local bar to hang. It was a nice evening and if you are into the nightlife scene then it definitely felt like the place to be. I’m too boring for that however so I had a few drinks and called it a night.

**HAKONE**

*Day 9 – Ropeway and Onsen*

[Hakone Loop](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html) – I grabbed the Hakone free pass online which was painless and did the loop on the website listed. I ambitiously did the Hakone loop the same day I travelled from Osaka which made me a little rushed, if you are doing it from Shinjuku station with the romancecar as recommended its probably not so bad. I started the loop from Hakone Yumoto around 1300. The views were great, the black eggs are a checkbox tourist activity, and the pirate ship was surprisingly fun. Heads up if you go want to take pictures at the iconic Torii gate in the lake is that there’s a queue to take the picture. I got there around 1630 and was in a race to get the picture before the sun went down at 1720. I queues about 40 minutes and just got the shot in time. Also worth noting the buses towards the end of the day start getting full very quick and not accepting more passengers as a line at the station forms. I was concerned for some time I would not be able to get the bus back and be stranded as they stop running at 8 but I was able to squeeze on the second to last one. Just another reason to get there a bit earlier and give yourself more time.

[Hakone Yuryo Onsen](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g298171-d4323805-Reviews-Hakone_Yuryo-Hakone_machi_Ashigarashimo_gun_Kanagawa_Prefecture_Kanto.html) – The next morning I went to the onsen after missing it the night before due to the late return due to the buses. It was smaller than I expected but the Onsen was fantastic and I highly recommend it for anyone in the area (although you can’t go with tattoos). There’s a free shuttle bus that runs to it from Hakone Yumoto station.

Overall, I highly recommend doing a night in Hakone during your trip. The ropeway is fun and easy and relaxing in an Onsen in the mountains is a great way to recharge batteries after busy days in the city. You probably only need 1 night as there’s nothing else to do there.

**BACK TO TOKYO**

I’m going to condense the next bit as I spent the last 4 days wandering around parts of Tokyo I’d not yet been to, shopping and revisiting places I liked with 2 scheduled activities.

*[Shinjuku National Gardens](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1066457-d479258-Reviews-Shinjuku_Gyoen_National_Garden-Shinjuku_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html), Shinjuku and Kabukicho*

The gardens are a nice place to take some food and sit on the grass and have a picnic but in terms of stuff to see there isn’t much. Much more underwhelming than other national gardens I have been to. Shinjuku itself is nice to have a walk around at night to see the lights and is clearly the place to go for the nightlife. In fact I walked through on a Friday night and it seemed like the entire population of Tokyo between 18-25 were there in there best going out getups. I had a peek around the corner into Kabukicho which is famously (one of) the red light district for Tokyo and witnessed some girls in very revealing bunny girl outfits calling people into some very questionable bars before taking a snap of Kabukicho tower all lit up before calling it a night.

[*Taimeiken*](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g14129589-d1224086-Reviews-Taimeiken-Nihonbashi_Chuo_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html)

I was so busy in Kyoto I forgot to go to Kichi Kichi Omurice so I went to Taimeiken in Tokyo instead, it was around a 20 minute wait at 1100. I very much got the vibe that this place only wanted locals. The old lady at the door largely ignored me as a queued up and seemed annoyed when I said I was alone (in Japanese mind). When I finally got in even though there was a bench space (where most people eat when alone) available they for some reason sat me at a table for 4 while there were groups waiting after me. They also didn’t give me a holder for my bag like they did everyone else. Maybe I was overthinking this but it very much felt like some kind of weird move to pressure me to eat fast and leave as soon as possible. So I did just that, I had the Tampopo Omurice which was tasty if a little overpriced. Hopefully you’ll have a better experience than I did if you choose to go.

*Harajuku and Ikebukuro*

Harajuku seems mainly just Takeshita street which I mentioned above is worth a walk down, the rest of the district felt like generic branded shops. Ikebukuro is just Akihabara for women, there’s also the Pokemon Center and One Piece among several other event shops in Sunshine City shopping centre. if you aren’t an Otaku there’s not much else to see there. I went to an arcade and won a figure in a crane game.

*Shibuya*

My hostel for the last four days was in Shibuya so I walked through it a lot. Exceptionally busy as one would expect, mainly a place for shopping, eating and the nightlife. The train station is busy, really busy so if you are staying in Shibuya and are taking luggage just bite the bullet and pay for a cab, it’s not worth fighting the crowd if you are not travelling light. [The famous crossing is there](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1066456-d4403399-Reviews-Shibuya_Crossing-Shibuya_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html), a fun activity is getting family back home to go to [this website](https://worldcams.tv/japan/tokyo/shibuya-crossing) and waving at them from the crossing live. If you stand next to the light on the left and face towards the subway station behind you the camera is on top of it.

[*Go Kart Shibuya*](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/AttractionProductReview-g1066456-d26306463-Official_Street_Go_Kart_in_Shibuya-Shibuya_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html)

According to some the locals hate it, personally I found it a fun activity cruising around Shibuya and it was fun to see from the ground level. I went for a late slot 2000 when it was dark and the lights were on and it was a fun light-hearted experience. The locals seemed amused by the outfits and many of them smiled and waved as you went by. I guess if you are going to do it Shibuya is the area as it’s noisy there anyway with trucks brightly lit up with some musicians face blasting their music so it’s not like you are disturbing some quiet neighbourhood somewhere.

[*Teamlabs Planets*](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g14134359-d14951238-Reviews-TeamLab_Planets_TOKYO-Toyosu_Koto_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html)

Not my cup of tea as a cynical brit. Crowded even at the supposed quiet times. Exhibits were underwhelming. Such as the one which was just a load of cushions under the floor telling me to experience the softness of the world, or a small incline with some water flowing down it is telling me to experience the flow of nature, like rivers don’t exist, or some other nonsense. Great if you want to be like one of the 3128321 insta models taking pretentious pics. I just waltzed right through in half an hour rolling my eyes every few steps at a person pulling some silly pose. Not worth the money for me.

Well, I enjoyed typing this out as a kind of bookmark to end my trip. If you read all/any of that then well done and I hope you read something that helped you plan your trip.

Below is some information for those looking for information for doing some Otaku shopping so you can ignore if you don’t care about that.

**SOME OTAKU STUFF**

*Figures, Doujinshi and other merch*

Amazon JP – First of all, always price check, many of the things you see in stores will be cheaper elsewhere or online. I found the easiest way to do this was to use Amazon JP and search for the item. Many times its cheaper to buy it from Amazon JP and have them delivered to your hostel/hotel then to buy from the shop. If it’s not on Amazon JP then you can look at buying in person as the item is likely to be rarer.

Akihabara – The best first stop is the [radio Kaikan building](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g1066443-d25190470-Reviews-Akihabara_Radio_Kaikan-Chiyoda_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html), it houses A-Stop which is where they sell second hand figures displayed in collections in glass cases, the AmiAmi store and a couple of other figure stores. There is actually another A-Stop just up the road in the Akiba building which is actually larger and less crowded so more time to browse. As a general note the figures in Akihabara are typically more expensive although you can find stuff there that you wont find elsewhere so its still worth looking. Outside of the radio Kaikan there are numerous other stores such as Kotobukiya, Liberty and Surugaya Specialty stores which tend to be a bit cheaper. Animate and Gamers are big names however focus much more on other merch and do not have many figures.

Nakano Broadway – The second floor of Nakano broadway was my preferred location, the figures are cheaper and there’s also a higher chance at you finding rarer/older figures. Theres numerous second hand figure stores to comb through. This is also the best place for a collection of Mandarake stores. If you want doujinshi this is the place to be, they have a number of specialty Mandarake stores selling all sorts of merch and memorabilia from old editions of Jump to key visual artbooks to ero-doujinshi. There’s also a really cool shop in the corner which sells animation cel’s from past anime which I found awesome.

Ikebukuro – Kind of the same as Akihabara but focused on stuff for women, in fact its quite amusing going to both in a day and seeing loads of men in Akihabara to crowds of women in Ikebukuro. There’s seemingly less figure stores here with more of focus on Doujinshi and other merch such as straps, stickers and accessories.