Special FeatureExploring Akihabara, Japan’s Electronic Market

(1) Looking up Chuo-dori, Akihabara’s main street (from the south). On this side of the railway (JR Sobu Line): large stores for electronic goods, and stores where eligible overseas tourists can shop tax-free. On the far side: stores specializing in the latest computers and video game software.

(2) If you like computers, come look for bargains in the small streets behind Chuo-dori Street (west part of district).

(3) A maze of small shops and narrow passageways under the elevated railway track.

(4) LED component display in Radio Center. Vacuum tubes, transistors, connectors, measuring devices, wires....

Something for Everyone

“The east side of the station is dominated by Yodobashi Camera, which attracts families and young couples, especially. The west side caters more to tourists from abroad, and young Japanese. In other words, each side is developing its own customer base,” says a representative of a well-established association of local stores, Akihabara Electrical Town Organization. Some of the young customers are caught up in the craze for computers and video games. Many want to assemble their own computers or soup up their hard drives and peripherals—they come for the computer components and second-hand computers sold behind the west side of Chuo-dori Street. The manager of one of those stores, Akiba Palette Town, says, “The market for new computers has peaked, but demand for computer components and used computers is growing. These days, more customers from European and Arab countries come for those items. Thanks to them, our sales have grown over the last few years.”

Radio Center, a collection of stalls under the elevated track of the JR Sobu Line, developed with Akihabara over the years since the end of World War II. The stalls jostle against each other, crowding up against narrow passageways with their tightly placed displays of everything from tiny electronic parts to long electric cables—a most surprising sight for people coming for the first time. Hobbyists planning to make electronic equipment to suit their fancy, and professionals experimenting with the manufacture of a possible breakthrough product, come here for components and tools. Unfortunately, though, shoppers are now coming in fewer numbers, and many of the shop owners are getting old, so the general impression is that it might be difficult for Radio Center to survive. One can only wish it will thrive forever, an image of the type of market mayhem depicted in the 1982 sci-fi movie, Blade Runner.

In Akihabara, almost anybody can find almost anything in the electric and electronic line. Time marches on, consumer preferences change, and Electric City, too, continues to evolve and grow.

(5) Radio Garden’s overhead sign. This store, on the fringe of the district south of Akihabara Station, has been selling electric components since around 1948.

(6) Decorative lighting equipment displayed under the elevated railway track. The retail outlets are little more than sidewalk stalls, creating an atmosphere that adds to the excitement of Akihabara.

(7) LaOX Duty Free Akihabara sells popular traditional souvenir items like yukata dressing gowns and wall hangings, in addition to a wide selection of modern appliances and electronic goods.

(8) Second-hand LCD monitors at Akiba Palette Town.

(9) The Yodobashi Camera Multimedia Akiba store is so big you could easily get lost in it.

(10) As just one example of the multitude of products on the shelves, look at the headphones: there are wired, wireless and infrared sets, with prices running from several hundred yen to more than 100,000 yen.