15 best things to do in Akihabara: shops, restaurants, arcades and more

Namco Akihabara has six floors of entertainment for gamers and anime lovers. The first two floors are packed with crane games, where you can get figurines and character toys, some of which are exclusive to Namco.

The third floor, meanwhile, has rhythm arcade games, including eight Taiko no Tatsujin drum machines. Go up to the fourth floor and you’ll be mesmerised by the 800 or so gachapon (capsule toy machines), where you can win fun little trinkets. You can also visit Decks Stadium on the fifth floor to buy Bandai's collectible trading cards and participate in card game battles. 

Don’t forget to check out the basement level as well. Bandai Namco owns the rights to Gundam, so the entire basement is dedicated to Gundam video games. There are 44 Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs 2 XBoost games, plus special events held regularly.

Gamers looking for a place to drink in the neighbourhood should check out this bar and restaurant under the train tracks near Akihabara Station. This gaming haven has a full bar and café menu alongside free-to-play arcade games.

Tokyo Video Gamers is even approved by big name gaming companies like Sega, Bandai and SNK, which have collaborated with the bar to offer special craft beer (¥1,980) inspired by 'Ghost in the Shell Gear: Stand Alone Complex', 'Kunio-kun', and more. 

Getting in on all the action is simple: just order anything from the menu and you'll be given access to all the video games in the bar. Expect some of your retro favourites such as Space Invaders, Metal Slug, Rampage and King of Fighters '98. If you're looking for someone to play alongside, don't be shy – just ask one of the staff members to face off against you for a quick round or two.

Snacks start at ¥500 while drinks in the evening are mostly priced between ¥700 and ¥1,000. These include highballs, beer, sake and classic cocktails. 

This elegant Shinto shrine was first established nearly 1,300 years ago, and was frequented by shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in the early 17th century. It's also the home of the Kanda Matsuri, one of Tokyo's biggest traditional festivals. Fittingly, considering its proximity to Akihabara, this shrine sells good luck charms to protect electronics.

Vending machines aren’t limited to just drinks and light snacks. This one in Akihabara has deep-fried cutlet sandwiches from Niku no Mansei, a popular steakhouse and meat restaurant located right across the street (1 Kanda Sudacho, Chiyoda). Don’t worry – the sandwiches are replaced daily, meaning you’ll be getting fresh sandwiches made that morning.

There are five different sandwiches in the vending machine. The signature mankatsu sando (¥800) has a deep-fried pork loin cutlet with the restaurant’s specialty sauce between two slices of white bread. There’s also the nimankatsu sando (¥1,150), which has double the amount of meat inside, plus the 'volume' fillet katsu sando (¥1,000), which uses meat that’s thicker than in the standard sando.

Those who want a less fatty cut should go for the fillet katsu sando (¥750), while the hamburg sando (¥800) has a deep-fried black beef patty instead of pork.

One of the best times to visit this restaurant, which specialises in 100 percent Japanese beer burger patties, is during lunch, when you can get a teishoku set meal with a bowl of rice, miso soup, pickles and your choice of onion, steak or ponzu sauce.

The standard set meal comes with a 200g hamburg (¥1,580), but you can also upgrade to a 300g patty (¥2,100) or downgrade to a 100g patty (¥1,000). It’s possible to add sides to your set meal (starting from ¥100), including wasabi sauce, fried garlic and cheddar cheese.

This popular place for gachapon has been operating in Akihabara for more than ten years. The store has approximately 500 capsule toy machines, mostly stocked with unique toys for grown-ups. The offerings are constantly refreshed with 50 new collections replacing older stock every month.

The store’s popular machines dispense items from the Tamagotchi ring (¥300) and miniature Casio watch ring series (¥400), which are both wearable and adorably tiny. The store owner speaks English, so feel free to ask questions if you’re ever at a loss.

Mandarake is a must-visit if you’re into Japanese anime, collectible toys, games and the like. Each floor in this eight-storey building is categorised by the type of products, so it’s easy to navigate and find what you’re looking for. 

There are plenty of collectible toys from popular Japanese anime and American comics, as well as an impressive lineup of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Don’t miss the collection of retro games, which include Nintendo’s very first console, the Family Computer (also known as Famicon in Japan). You can also find the Megadrive, Gameboy and other Nintendo classics.

Low-Non Bar is decked out with all the trimmings of a classic Tokyo cocktail bar: moody lighting, wooden countertops, soft jazz, shelves lined with glittering glassware and attractive bottles of liquor, and a skillful bartender. The only difference is that the cocktails are low- or no-alcohol. But don’t worry, you’ll barely miss it with the selection of inventive drinks. 

Low-Non Bar is run by Orchard Knight, which has seven other bars across Tokyo and Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture, such as Cocktail Works Jimbocho. The idea behind this one is to have a healthier lifestyle without missing out on the nightlife. Cocktails are made with a diverse selection of ingredients – shrubs, non-alcoholic spirits, tea, infusions, and seasonal organic produce from farms around Japan. 

The signature cocktail is the Low-Non Bar. Served in a highly Instagrammable glass bird, it’s a mix of cranberry juice, berries, grapefruit, red paprika and the botanical drink Shrb Orange & Ginger. Make sure to try the Umami Virgin Mary as well, featuring non-alcoholic gin, fresh tomato, shiitake tea and black truffle salt. 

There’s also a selection of food, from bar snacks like olives and dried tomatoes to heartier options like an assortment of sausages.

Akihabara wouldn’t be known as Tokyo's ‘electric town’ if it wasn’t for the area’s massive shopping complexes dedicated to electronics. One of the most famous is Yodobashi-Akiba, unmistakable for the colourful advertisements covering the building, which is just outside Akihabara Station.

This nine-storey building stocks all kinds of household electronics including computers, televisions, cameras, kitchen appliances and much more. There are even games, toys, fitness equipment and bicycles on the sixth floor.

Shopping is hungry work, so you'll be pleased to hear that there are restaurants and cafés in the Yodobashi-Akiba building. On the eighth floor is the Yodobashi Akiba Gourmet, an area with more than 20 restaurants serving popular Japanese dishes such as ramen, sushi, tonkatsu, yakiniku and the like, alongside Korean food, steak and craft beer.

You can become a taiko drummer within an hour at Taiko Lab in Akihabara. Each person will get their own taiko drum and a pair of bachi wooden sticks for the lesson. Whether you’re a complete beginner or an experienced drummer, the instructor will teach you how to make rhythmical sounds on the taiko, and you’ll even learn how to perform a song. Lessons are open to any age and English lessons can be booked for groups of up to 30 people via the website. 

This climbing gym has daily lessons for beginners who'd like to learn more about bouldering or rope climbing, and also features training sessions for first-timers and children. It's a great place to find new climbing buddies – no reservations are required, and all classes are free of charge (except for registration and entrance fees). Just in case you forget, the blacklight-decorated 'Space Wall' will remind you that you're still in Akihabara.

After a long day exploring Akihabara, this spa is the perfect place to relax. It has three types of baths – a carbonated bath, daily seasonal bath and an ice bath, in addition to a spacious dry sauna.

Make sure you go up to the fourth floor to visit its relaxation lounge with napping pods, hammocks and bean bags, complete with a library stocking over 6,000 novels, comics and magazines you can read freely. There’s also a restaurant and pub serving local grub and craft beer, plus a co-working space.

Anime lovers should make a bee line for this shopping complex that carries officially licensed products of your favourite Japanese characters across 16 floors in two buildings. The first building is dedicated to merchandise from anime like One Piece, Haikyu, Jujutsu Kaisen, Spy x Family and more. You can purchase everything from stationery, figurines and keychains to clothing like T-shirts and hoodies.

The second building focuses on books and magazines. You’ll find a wide range of classic and new comics from leading publishers like Shueisha, known for its Jump Comics line of manga anthologies. If you need a break from exploring, head to Cafe Gratte on the second floor, where you can get an illustration of an anime character printed on your latte.

Kikanbo translates as an 'ogre’s iron club' and this corner-lot ramen-house feels suitably demonic with its black-painted interior, taiko drum music and festival-style devil masks on the walls. The spice heat here can also feel like purgatory if you choose a dish that’s above your threshold. You order through a vending machine, then the staff will ask for your preferred spice level on a scale of five – for two types of spice mix, ‘kara’ and ‘shibi’.

‘Kara’ refers to the chilli heat and ‘shibi’ the numbing spice of sansho pepper mix (the Japanese version of the closely related sichuan pepper). This combination is a classic spice pairing in China's Sichuan province, where the effect on the palate is called ‘ma-la’ (or numbing-hot). The base of the soup is a light brown miso, seafood and meat stock, topped with slices of chashu pork, a handful of bean sprouts and a baby sweetcorn garnish.

Admittedly, Kikanbo is a short walk away from Akihabara proper, but it's worth the trek.