I usually don't go to Akihabara when I'm in Tokyo. Shinjuku, Shibuya, Odaiba, a whole pile of other places...and wherever I end up drinking with friends take precedence over Akihabara. I think the last time I was there was back in 2005.
For starters...one doesn't go to Akihabara for food. I paid ¥800 for a less than happy meal of katsu-curry. The curry was basically reheated stuff scooped out of what looked to be 5kg plastic bags. The rice was passable but the tonkatsu was pretty thin by my standards. For the same price I got a much more interesting meal (duck on rice with salad, soup, and mango juice) in Ikebukuro at a Thai restaurant named Pirabukao which is housed in a hut.
The other thing is that I kind of took the long way around to getting there. I took a JR train from Shin Nihonbashi station to Tokyo station and then the Yamanote line to Akihabara. I could've walked to Tokyo station.
As for Akihabara itself...it's there. Big deal, eh? I cruised through a number of stores just to see if anything caught my eye. I really had only two things on my mind: one, visit the two Volks shops, and two, find a drugstore. Yes, finding a drugstore in Akiba can be a bit of challenge. The Volks hobby shop was what it was but their doll showroom was a touch more interesting than their showroom in Sendai.
Given that I had no real plan of attack, I managed to get myself comfortably disorientated but not lost. I passed through the areas with plenty of little electronics shops, the obligatory pachinko and slot shops; the maid cafes, the Gundam Cafe which is next to the AKB48 Cafe, and the big name chain stores.
My haul...hardly anything. Figures...zero. Goods...three folders. Memories...well, at least I now know which part of Akihabara is a bit of a menagerie. It's the block where one will find the hedgehog, cat, and owl cafes! (^o^)
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