Spring 2010 – Otaku Tour in Akihabara
On a cold and snowy day in Tokyo, you wouldn’t expect anyone to be crazy enough to go out walking around, but when the location is Akihabara and you are an Otaku, a little snowflake or two couldn’t possibly keep you away.
Akihabara has everything that an Otaku could want from a little town built just for them. Electronics, games, and anime galore! You name it, Akihabara has it. The tour started from Akihabara Station’s Electric Town Exit. Our tour guide Patrick provided us with not just the sights of Akihabara but also its history. We learned about the origins of the shops we visited as well as how and why some of them were moved from other locations in Tokyo to Akihabara. Some of the sights that we saw included figure shops, gachapon parlors, doll shops, manga shops, a weapons shop and the ultimate kawaii experience…maid cafés!
Cos Club Café is one of the most popular Maid Café’s in Akihabara. You are greeted by the maids dressed in various styles from school girl uniforms to full maid costumes. When your drinks are served, the maids provide an extra service by feeding you the first sip of your drink. “Ahn!” says the maid as she instructs you to take two short sips then one big sip of your drink which earns you a “yokatta ne” (”good job”) in return. You can get a picture with one of the maids if you pay 2500 yen or if you can drink a “specially mixed” drink in one gulp. Our guide Patrick offered to win one of us a picture by drinking the “specially mixed” drink. If he is able to drink the drink in one gulp he wins the picture. If he doesn’t, he gets slapped. He also has to win Jan Ken Pon (paper scissors rock) three times in a row to get the ingredients that he wants. If he loses, he gets slapped even if he is able to drink the whole concoction. This may sound easy but only if you win. Patrick, unfortunately, only got to choose one ingredient and the maids chose the rest.
So what was in this “specially mixed” drink? Well, there was Straight Tea, Strawberry Jam (Patrick’s only choice), Fermented Seaweed, Natto, Hot Mustard Sauce and Soy Sauce…shaken and a little stirred. Amazingly enough, Patrick downed it and won the picture which was given to one of the students on the tour. “Go Patrick!” At the same time he got slapped for losing Jan Ken Pon twice to the maid. “Sorry Patrick…better luck next time.” Everyone was delighted by Patrick and his amazing feat but a little grossed out as well.
The day ended with a visit to the Tokyo Anime Center, located in the UDX Building near the station, where you can purchase anime merchandise and tour the mini museum. The students were thrilled to be able to see and experience all that Akihabara has to offer. Some of the students decided to hang out together after the tour to have lunch and to go back to the various locations we visited. You just can’t get enough of Akihabara…the Otaku Mecca!
- Andrea Johnson, OSS Student Worker
