Nakano Broadway – The Other Akihabara, Part 2

Yesterday I talked about Nakano Broadway, the true geek heart of Tokyo. Here is the second part to that post, where I’ll show you more of the geek part, the covered shopping arcade.

One of the most famous Manga and anime chain stores in Japan, Mandarake, are established in force at Nakano Broadway, with numerous speciality store covering everything from plastic model kits, cell phone straps, anime cells to cosplay uniforms and antique books and magazines. It is also the place to pick up cheap second hand computers, anime figures, second hand manga and some extremely rare pop culture antiques (shop signs, old posters, enamel novely good from the pre-war era). In short, Nakano Broadway is everything that Akihabara used to be.

To get here, take either the JR Chuo line, JR Sobu line or Tokyo Metro Tozai line and go to Nakano Station. Take the north exit and just follow the crowds. It’ll be one of the high points of your trip to Japan! Just remember to go deep into the arcade, all the way until you hit the end, where there are escalators. Ride them up and prepare to enter the hidden geek heaven of Tokyo!

Mandarake main store at Nakano Broadway, geeks reading comics

What's your poison? Multiply this by 150 and you get the idea

Need to unload your collection? Bring it here for an appraisal and cash in hand

Street Fighter 2? Enjoy some very retro arcade gaming

Original hand painted animation cells. The one bottom right is less than 5 USD

Satisfy your inner geek with some unique souvenirs

Nakano Broadway – The Other Akihabara, Part 1

It used to be that Japan was all about Samurai and Geisha, the Ginza and sushi. In other words, history, food and high style. These days it seems that nothing has been able to capture the minds of foreigners and Japanese as well as Akihabara. You must have heard of it by now, the electronics and geek capital of Japan. Well, today I am going to tell you a little about the other Akihabara, a place you might never have heard of: Nakano Broadway.

A sampling of the stuff you'll find at Nakano Broadway - The other Akihabara

Nakano is a city in Tokyo located in the western part of town. It is famous for being one of the least developed areas of Tokyo and has a reputation for being a cheap place for foreigners and students, even though it is also the home of the first Marui department store (or OIOI department store as many foreigners know it). The streets are crowded and relatively messy. The clubs and shops cater to a less monied class of Japanese. But it is also the home of the greatest shotengai (shopping street) in Japan: Nakano Broadway. Consisting of two parts, a covered street and an indoors shopping arcade it is very popular with locals and savvy people from all over Tokyo.

So what makes this place the Other Akihabara? Well, Nakano was the first and foremost place for geeks and nerds from all over Tokyo, they had toy and figure shops before anywhere else. They also had some of the very first maid cafes in Japan. About ten years ago Akihabara culture started picking up both in Japan and abroad and naturally most geeks diverted their attention there, hence Nakano Broadway suffered and several shops went under, most of the upper story arcades were deserted during day time. But as with most actions there is a reaction and as Akihabara started to become exploited and crowded, under the attention of too much capital and developers, people started returning to Nakano Broadway and sometime this year the place has blossomed again being bigger than ever. This is where the serious geeks and collectors go, the serious foreign fans of anime culture and cosplay. It’s a place where few tourists find their way and hopefully it will be a grow even stronger in the years to come. Tomorrow I will post part 2 of this post, going even further into depths of Anime geek heaven! Stay tuned.

The covered shopping street at the north end of JR Nakano Station

This is the place to go if you are looking to buy a lot of everyday goods, food, clothes and electronics at dirt low prices. You’ll find some of the cheaper brand stores as well but most of it are shops catering to the budget minded.

This alcohol shop has stock that is so old it would classify as antique

These kind of shopping streets called shotengai (商店街) are quite common all over Japan but arguably the best ones are in Osaka, stretching for kilometers! Nakano Broadway is not that long but even here you can get anything from prescription eye glasses (the examination is a DIY affair: peek into the box, answer the questions and hit print to get the results. Once inside the shop the staff will fit your glasses into the frames of your choice for less than the price of a cocktail at a fancy Yokohama hotel.

DIY eye checker

But you’ll also find more expensive electronics, antique stores, gun shops, etc. One of my favorite places (related to work of course) is this fantastic shop for school uniforms. It is getting better and better every year. New this year is a complete selection of Benetton uniforms. Great stuff.

Benetton school uniforms on sale at Nakano Broadway

For aspiring DJs there are also a fine selection of shops selling second hand gear at bargain prices. Being Japan, you can count on second hand stuff being very close to mint condition – Japanese people know how to take care of their stuff.

Second hand turntables at Nakano Broadway