The geeky allure of Akihabara

Oct 8, 2007

From gadgets to anime to junk food, there's plenty to shop for in Tokyo's famed consumer electronics district.

Welcome to Tokyo's Akihabara neighborhood, one of the world's geek culture capitals. Here, you can buy memory cards by the bulk, along with junk food, anime books, cell phones, weird electronic toys, cameras and PCs. Although it has lost some of its luster in recent years, the district is still an interesting place to visit, as CNET News.com editor Michael Kanellos notes in the following photo tour.

Pictured here is the entrance to Yodobashi Camera's Akihabara outlet. The store consists of several stories of goods: PCs on one floor, game-related products on the next. It even sells household appliances. When the chain opened the store a few years ago, a lot of people complained it brought a corporate atmosphere to the neighborhood. But it generally has pretty good prices.

Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com