Anime & Manga in Japan

Tokyo: Akihabara

Akihabara (often just "Akiba") is the obvious first stop, and it earns the reputation. Start at Akihabara Radio Kaikan, right by the station: floor after floor of figures, trading cards, model kits and small specialist shops. Mandarake Complex is a tall black building packed with second-hand manga, doujinshi, cels and toys, sorted by floor. Retro gamers should climb the stairs at Super Potato for old consoles and cartridges. Go early in the day if you can. By mid-afternoon the narrow aisles get crowded, and on some Sunday afternoons the main street, Chuo-dori, is closed to cars and becomes a big pedestrian zone.

Tokyo: Nakano Broadway

A few stops west of Shinjuku on the JR Chuo line, Nakano Broadway is a 1960s shopping arcade that slowly filled up with collectors' shops. The upper floors are a maze of tiny stores selling vintage figures, rare manga, idol goods and watches, with many Mandarake branches each focused on one niche. It's calmer than Akihabara and better for treasure hunting. Many shops don't open until around noon, so don't arrive at 9 a.m.

Tokyo: Ikebukuro and Otome Road

Ikebukuro is the other big Tokyo hub. Otome Road, the street beside Sunshine City, is known for shops aimed at women fans: character goods, drama CDs and series with big female followings. The large animate Ikebukuro flagship is nearby, and Sunshine City itself has the Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo and a cluster of character shops. Shops here are cheerful and well organised, and character cafés often need a reservation.

Osaka: Den Den Town

Osaka's answer to Akihabara is Den Den Town in Nipponbashi, about a ten-minute walk south of Namba. Electronics stores, anime shops, retro game dealers and gachapon walls line Sakaisuji street and the side lanes around it, including animate Osaka Nipponbashi. It feels more relaxed than Tokyo, and it's easy to combine with dinner in Dotonbori.

Beyond the big two

Kyoto has the Kyoto International Manga Museum, set in a former elementary school, where you can pull volumes off the walls and read. Tokyo Station's underground Tokyo Character Street is handy on a travel day. Further afield, the Kitakyushu Manga Museum sits by Kokura Station, and Sakaiminato in Tottori has the Mizuki Shigeru Road, lined with bronze yokai statues. Our Anime & pop directory has 44 checked places across Japan, and they're all on the Japan map under "Anime & pop".

• Check before you take photos. Many shops don't allow photography inside, especially of displays and second-hand stock. Look for the camera-with-a-line sign, or ask.
• Ask before you photograph people. That includes cosplayers, maid café staff and street performers. A smile and a gesture at your camera works. Accept a no gracefully.
• Look with your eyes in glass cases. Ask staff to open a case and take items out for you. Don't open sealed boxes.
• Respect the adult sections. Some floors are 18+, which is normal in Japan. Avoid them if you're with kids, and don't take photos there.
• Queue and follow the rules for limited goods. New releases and lottery (kuji) prizes can have per-person limits and numbered tickets. Staff enforce them politely but firmly.
• Carry a little cash. Big chains take cards and IC cards, but some small Nakano or Den Den Town stalls are cash-first.
• Keep the volume down and take your rubbish with you. Same as everywhere in Japan.

More general manners are in our etiquette & shopping guide.

Figures and box sets add up fast, so the tax-free system matters. Shops showing the Tax-Free sign take Japan's consumption tax off for visitors on a short-term stay, as long as you spend at least 5,000 yen before tax, in one shop, on one day. Two tips: bring your passport (not a photo of it), and buy in one go at one shop to clear the minimum rather than splitting across days.

The system is changing on November 1, 2026. Until October 31, the tax comes off at the till. From November 1, you pay the full price, then present your passport and the goods at a tax-free terminal at the airport or seaport (before checking your bags) within 90 days. Once customs confirms you're taking the goods out of Japan, the tax is refunded. Keep every item from a receipt together and unopened: if one item from a receipt is missing, none of that receipt qualifies. Leave extra time at the airport. Details: Japan Tourism Agency, tax-free shopping for travellers.

Fans call visiting real places from anime seichi junrei, "pilgrimage to sacred places". Some favourites:

• Suga Shrine stairs, Shinjuku (Tokyo). The red-railed staircase from the ending of Your Name.
• Kamakura Kokomae, Enoden line (Kanagawa). The level crossing by the sea made famous by Slam Dunk. It's a working railway in a residential area, so step off the road and let traffic through.
• Hida-Furukawa (Gifu). The station and streets that inspired Itomori scenes in Your Name.
• Mizuki Shigeru Road, Sakaiminato (Tottori). 170-plus bronze yokai from GeGeGe no Kitaro, and its creator's memorial museum.
• Kumamoto's One Piece statues. Statues of the Straw Hat crew are spread across the prefecture, part of the earthquake recovery project from Eiichiro Oda's home prefecture.

Remember these are real neighbourhoods, shrines and rail lines. Stay off private property and tracks, don't block traffic for a photo, and if you leave an ema (wooden prayer plaque) at a shrine, treat it as a prayer, not a fan-art board.

The Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, west Tokyo, is small, magical and only open to visitors with a ticket booked in advance for a specific date and entry time. There are no tickets at the door. Check the current overseas sales channels and dates on the official Ghibli Museum ticket page.

Ghibli Park is a separate place, in Aichi Prefecture near Nagoya, and its tickets don't work at the museum (or the other way round). Tickets sell out, so book as soon as your month goes on sale: Ghibli Park tickets (Klook, an official overseas sales channel).