View source for Akihabara

{{Short description|Shopping area in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Electric Town|Electric City (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Akihabara
| official_name      = 
| image_skyline      = Sotokanda, Akihabara Electric Town at night 20231114.png
| image_caption      = Akihabara in 2023
| nicknames           = Akihabara Electric Town, The Otaku Capital of the World, Anime City
| native_name        = 秋葉原
| settlement_type    = Urban area
| pushpin_map        = Japan Tokyo city#Japan
| coordinates        = {{Coord|35|41|54|N|139|46| 23|E|display=inline,title}}
| native_name_lang   = ja
| map_caption        = Akihabara (Tokyo City)
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flag|Japan}}
| subdivision_type1  = City
| subdivision_name1  = {{flag|Tokyo}}
| subdivision_type2  = [[Special wards of Tokyo|Ward]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Chiyoda, Tokyo|Chiyoda]], [[Taitō]]
}}
{{Nihongo|'''Akihabara'''|秋葉原|lead=yes}} is a neighborhood in the [[Chiyoda, Tokyo|Chiyoda ward]] of [[Tokyo]], Japan, generally considered to be the area surrounding [[Akihabara Station]] (nicknamed ''Akihabara Electric Town''). This area is part of the {{nihongo|Sotokanda|外神田}} and [[Sakumachō, Tokyo|Kanda-Sakumachō]] districts of Chiyoda. There is an administrative district called Akihabara (part of [[Taitō|Taitō ward]]), located north of Akihabara Electric Town surrounding Akihabara Neribei Park.

The name Akihabara is a shortening of {{Nihongo|'''Akibagahara'''|秋葉ヶ原}}, which comes from {{nihongo|'''Akiba'''|秋葉}}, named after a fire-controlling deity of a firefighting shrine built after the area was destroyed by a fire in 1869.<ref name="Cybriwsky">Cybriwsky, Roman. ''Historical dictionary of Tokyo.''Scarecrow Press, 2011.</ref> Akihabara gained the nickname {{nihongo|'''Akihabara Electric Town'''|秋葉原電気街|Akihabara Denki Gai}} shortly after [[Pacific War|World War II]] for being a major shopping center for household electronic goods and the post-war [[black market]].<ref name="Nobuoka">Nobuoka, Jakob. "User innovation and creative consumption in Japanese culture industries: The case of Akihabara, Tokyo." ''Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography'' 92.3 (2010): 205–218.</ref><ref name="Yamada">Yamada, Kazuhito. ''Entrepreneurship in Akihabara.''</ref>

Akihabara is considered by many to be the centre of Japanese ''[[otaku]]'' culture, and is a major shopping district for [[Video games in Japan|video games]], [[anime]], [[manga]], [[electronics]] and computer-related goods. Icons from popular anime and manga are displayed prominently on the shops in the area, and numerous [[maid café]]s and some arcades are found throughout the district.

==Geography==
The main area of Akihabara is located on a street just west of [[Akihabara Station]].<ref name="Nobuoka" /> There is an administrative district called Akihabara north of Akihabara Electric Town surrounding Akihabara Neribei Park. This district is part of [[Taitō|Taitō ward]].

==History==
[[File:Akihabara 1976.jpg|left|thumb|Akihabara in 1976]]
Akihabara was once near a [[city gate]] of [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] and served as a passage between the city and northwestern Japan. This made the region a home to many craftsmen and tradesmen, as well as some low-class [[samurai]]. One of Tokyo's frequent fires destroyed the area in 1869, and the people decided to replace the buildings of the area with a shrine called Chinkasha (now known as Akiba Shrine {{lang|ja|[[:ja:秋葉神社 (台東区)|秋葉神社]]}} {{Transliteration|ja|Akiba Jinja}}, {{Literally|fire extinguisher shrine}}), in an attempt to prevent the spread of future fires. The locals nicknamed the shrine Akiba after the deity that could control fire, and the area around it became known as Akibagahara, later Akihabara.<ref name="Cybriwsky" /><ref name="Nobuoka" /> After Akihabara Station was built in 1888, the shrine was moved to the [[Taitō|Taitō ward]], where it resides today.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tokyo Akihabara "Must See" Top Five|website=[[HuffPost]]|date=6 September 2013|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/gail-nakada/tokyo-akihabara-must-see-_b_3863989.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=秋葉神社（台東区松が谷）|date=22 May 2014|url=http://jinja.tokyolovers.jp/tokyo/taito/akibajinja|access-date=17 August 2015|archive-date=15 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215105558/https://jinja.tokyolovers.jp/tokyo/taito/akibajinja|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=秋葉神社の概要|url=https://www.tesshow.jp/taito/shrine_matsu_akiba.html}}</ref>

Since its opening in 1890, [[Akihabara Station]] became a major freight transit point, which allowed a vegetable and fruit market to spring up. In the 1920s, the station saw a large volume of passengers after opening for public transport. After World War II, the black market thrived in the absence of a strong government. This disconnection of Akihabara from government authority allowed the district to grow as a market city.<ref name="Yamada" /> In the 1950s, this climate turned Akihabara into a market region specializing in household [[electronics]], such as washing machines, refrigerators, televisions, and stereos, earning Akihabara the nickname "Electric Town".<ref name="Nobuoka" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Akihabara: Electric Town For Tech, Games, Anime!|url=http://japanistas.com/en/archives/18410 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121050912/http://japanistas.com/en/archives/18410 |archive-date=21 November 2015 }}</ref>

As household electronics began to lose their futuristic appeal in the 1980s, the shops of Akihabara shifted their focus to home computers, at a time when they were only used by specialists and hobbyists. This brought in a new type of consumer, computer nerds or ''[[otaku]]''.<ref name="Nobuoka" /> The market in Akihabara latched onto their new customer base that was focused on [[anime]], [[manga]], and video games. The connection between Akihabara and ''otaku'' has grown to the point that the region is a center for ''otaku'' culture.<ref name="IMAI">IMAI, Nobuharu. "The Momentary and Placeless Community: Constructing a New Community with regards to Otaku Culture." ''Inter Faculty 1'' (2010).</ref><ref name="CNNtTGG18">[https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/tokyo-geek-guide/index.html The ultimate geek's guide to Tokyo], [[CNN]] travel (18 December 2018)</ref>

==''Otaku'' culture==
{{further|Akiba-kei}}
{{Multiple image
| align             = center
| direction         = 
| total_width       = 900
| image1            = Akihabara -05.jpg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = [[Animate (retailer)|Animate]] and [[Comic Toranoana]] stores
| image2            = Akihabara Night.jpg
| caption2          = [[Club Sega]]
| image3            = Akihabara Maids.JPG
| caption3          = "Maids" promoting [[maid café]]s near Akihabara Station
| image4            = Electric City Akihabara Pachinko.jpg
| caption4          = [[Pachinko]] parlor
| image5            = Japanese shmup arcade.jpg
| caption5          = Arcade with [[Arcade cabinet#Candy cabinets|candy cabinets]]
}}

The streets of Akihabara are covered with anime and manga icons, and cosplayers line the sidewalks handing out advertisements, especially for [[maid café]]s. Release events, special events, and [[Fan convention|conventions]] are common in Akihabara. Architects design the stores of Akihabara to be opaque and closed, to reflect the desire of many ''otaku'' to live in their anime worlds rather than display their interests.<ref name="Nobuoka" /><ref name="Morikawa">Morikawa, Kaichiro. "Learning from Akihabara: The birth of a personapolis." ''Gentosha'', Tokyo (2003).</ref>

Akihabara's role as a free market has allowed a large amount of amateur work to find an audience. ''[[Doujinshi]]'' (amateur or fanmade manga) has been growing in Akihabara since the 1970s.<ref name="Nobuoka"/>

== Transport ==
Akihabara is accessible by train,<ref>{{cite web |title=電車のご案内 – 秋葉原電気街振興会 |url=https://akiba.or.jp/access/train |website=秋葉原電気街振興会 – ようこそ秋葉原電気街へ！ |publisher=Akihabara Electric Town Promotion Association |access-date=24 March 2025 |language=ja}}</ref> bus and car.

[[Akihabara Station]]
* {{JRLS|JK}} [[Keihin-Tohoku Line]] (JK-28)
* {{JRLS|JY}} [[Yamanote Line]] (JY-03)
* {{JRLS|JB}} [[Chūō-Sōbu Line]] (JB-19)
* {{TSLS|H}} [[Hibiya Line]] (H-16)
* [[File:Tsukuba_Express_mark.svg|18x18px]] [[Tsukuba Express]] (TX01)

[[Iwamotocho Station]]

* {{TSLS|S}}[[Toei Shinjuku Line]] (S-08)

[[Suehirocho Station (Tokyo)|Suehirocho Station]]
* {{TSLS|G}} [[Ginza Line]] (G-14)

==See also==
{{Portal|Tokyo}}
*[[Akiba-kei]]
*[[Akihabara Trilogy]]
*[[2008 Akihabara massacre|Akihabara massacre]]
*[[Kanda Shrine]], Shinto shrine near Akihabara
*[[Nipponbashi]], in Osaka
*[[Ōsu]], in Nagoya
*[[Tourism in Japan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikivoyage|Tokyo/Akihabara|Akihabara}}
* [http://akihabara-japan.com/ Akihabara Area Tourism Organization] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511110729/https://akihabara-japan.com/ |date=2020-05-11 }}
* [https://www.akiba.or.jp/english/ Akihabara Electrical Town Organization website]
* [https://www.gotokyo.org/en/destinations/central-tokyo/akihabara/index.html Go Tokyo Akihabara Guide]
{{Taitō, Tokyo}}
{{Chiyoda, Tokyo}}
{{Neighborhoods of Tokyo}}
{{Shopping districts and streets in Japan}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Akiha Faith}}

[[Category:Akihabara| ]]
[[Category:Chiyoda, Tokyo]]
[[Category:Electronics districts]]
[[Category:Neighborhoods of Tokyo]]
[[Category:Otaku]]
[[Category:Shopping districts and streets in Japan]]
[[Category:Taitō]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Akiha faith]]