Lost in Akihabara Finale

Alright, so this is the continuation of my article "Lost in the Streets of Akihabara" if you haven't read it yet, kindly do so by clicking the article's title, the link is already included in it for your perusal. These articles With that out of the way, let's jump right into it shall we?

After having myself entranced with the dazzling facades of each store I tried to examine every merch I was able to put my hands on. For souvenirs I decided to for those little things that are cheap enough but looks cool enough to remind me of how awesome Akihabara is.

A budget for shopping should really be set aside before diving into stores because if you are not very careful, you might splurge all your money before you can see the everything the town has to offer. If you really have the time I think it's best to circle around the town first and buy the things you like on your way back.

My feet used to give up in the middle of the day when I am walking around the mall. But for that day, maybe I was too busy enjoying stuff that I didn't even feel my feet became sore, I didn't even feel them complain. But well, I felt everything when I got back to the hotel.

Anyway, just checking out the things they are selling in the stores in Akihabara, you will be fulfilled and you can't help but feel a bit sad in your tummy since you can't possibly bring home everything that you want to bring home. Budget-wise and well, transportation wise. The prices of the merch there aren't really that cheap. Well that's just in my opinion, if you are okay throwing out $10 at the very least for a ballpoint pen, then go ahead. It's a free country. :)

What I like best about the stores though is that they have this discount corner that you could buy stuff at a bargain. Given that majority of the stuff sold in these corners are old release, they are still amazing to someone who isn't a regular visitor to those places. If only I could have, I would have bought everything from there.

Aside from shopping and losing a lot of money from trying your luck on those Gachapons, there are also tons of way to blow your money away. Arcades are also over the place in Akihabara. If you are in for those fighting games and shooting games, you will find an endless choices of games to play.

There are also skills based games to try there like crane games. If you think about it playing crane games there will hit two birds in one 100Yen coin. You will be playing a game and if you are lucky enough or spent enough, you will have a souvenir to take home.

I find it relaxing watching that little crane try to pick up or push a prize item into the winning box. Of course, some skills are required to be able to get your hands upon the prized items. You need hand and eye coordination and a lot of money on your pocket. If I can remember correctly that first night on Akihabara, we managed to spend around $500 playing crane games.

But here's a little secret among the players there, if you managed to spend a lot of money and still couldn't quite get how the machine works, you can still take home the prizes. You can ask a staff or a personnel in the shop to help you. They are really helpful and so generous that if you evidently poured enough money into an item, they would actually give you assistance on how to get that particular items. If I had just known that at the very start, we would be able to bag a lot of these figures at a lesser expense, oh well, now I know, so until next time. But don't expect that they will just hand the item to you, you still have to play, and win it yourself. And with that, I just have to say, crane games in Japan, not a scam!

I'm just comparing it on the crane games I played here. When you play crane games here it will really take a lot of patience and money to get some stuffed toys.

Walking around of course expends a lot of your energy and when my energy source is depleted I tend to go hungry. And this is not a worry in Akihabara, there are a lot of food stores and food stalls scattered all around the town. But since, it's customary to sit or stay still on a single place when eating in Japan it will also serve as your rest stop or breaks. I can still remember clearly how that piping hot karaage (fried chicken) melted in my mouth and into my heart. Karaage there is just a street food. You just hold a huge piece between two pieces of paper and you're good to dig in. I really want to go back there just for that taste. And they come in different flavors and seasonings.

To tell you honestly, I really wasn't able to take tons of pictures from there. But I am not regretting it, I was just busy capturing the moments into my mind and into my soul that I forgot to take snaps from the experience. Though, if I ever go back there, I will still be enthralled by the beauty of it and forget taking pictures altogether again. To wrap this article up I'll just show you a couple more shots that I was able to take from there.

As I mentioned before, it was winter there when we came so the heat of the sun and the sweat from all the walking we did aren't included with our worries. We just walk and walk without aim really when it comes to direction.

When the sun goes out to rest, and the darkness embraces all of the town, Akihabara transforms into this magical illuminating city. Lights everywhere.

With this final view, I vow to myself that I will be back in Akihabara with a vengeance. Rematch with all those cranes and all the souvenirs I had to skip on. I will be back.

Hey there!

Thank you for being lost with me in Akihabara. I appreciate your time going through my little journey across the holy land for Anime lovers.

What about you? Is there a place you would like to visit once this pandemic ends and travel is a bit more convenient again?

Before you answer that, let me guess my glass and as always,

cheers!!!