We’ve already covered Tokyo’s well-known otaku hotspots like Akihabara and Nakano ad nauseum here at Otaku USA, but it’s always worth pointing out that there are plenty of other areas Japan’s capital city that ooze otaku cred. Ikebukuro, home of the third-busiest station in Tokyo, …Read more »
Anime Expo is always something of a spectacle. By its very nature of being the biggest anime convention in the United States, held in one of the world’s greatest cities, it creates an environment rarely seen in such fannish gatherings. Approaching the Los Angeles Convention …Read more »
Survey media catering to foreign fans and you’ll typically find that coverage of Tokyo-based otaku hotspots eschew any sort of legitimate local flavor or personality for pure commercialism. Extensive photographic coverage of toy shops, book shops, porn shops, maid cafes, outlandish signage and the occasional …Read more »
At this point, everyone should be well acquainted with the full-scale RX-78 Gundam statue, currently residing between a parking lot and a shopping mall on the man-made island of Odaiba in Tokyo Bay. Despite receiving a considerable amount of media attention over the past few …Read more »
When Toyota designers and engineers were toiling away on the fifth generation Corolla coupe, it’s unlikely that they would have guessed that their humble car would become the cultural phenomenon that it did. Two decades later and the legacy of that humble car, otherwise known …Read more »
Tokyo is consistently ranked as one of the most, if not the most, expensive city to live in. This unfortunately carries over to visiting as well, as vacations in Tokyo aren't cheap. Compounded with the fact that otaku can be notoriously stingy (there are figures …Read more »
Years ago, some clever entrepreneur opened two copyright-skirting bars in Tokyo: Zeon Bar and Federation Bar. Located on different floors of the same building on an Akihabara side street, these saloons offered patrons a Gundam -inspired drinking experience, with decor draped in a sort of …Read more »
My heart goes out to all videogame-loving Gundam fans, constantly strung along with false promises and solidly mediocre games. Now, don't get me wrong, it's not that Gundam videogames are inherently bad – the sheer number released has guaranteed that at least some are pretty …Read more »
The concept of nomihoudai may be Japan’s greatest contribution to the world of restaurateuring. Literally “all you can drink,” nomihoudai allows you to pay a flat fee for as much drink as you can consume within a time limit. It’s an affordable option for drinking …Read more »
Northern California's Bay Area was once a hot bed of anime fandom drama and in-fighting; the financial failure of AnimeCon in 1991 (the first large scale anime convention in the United States) caused the local community to splinter, leading to the creation of two new …Read more »
Sean O'Mara
