Akihabara Nighttime Walk

This article is based on a visit made on 12 November 2016.

I embarked upon my latest holiday to Japan in November of 2016 for a number of reasons.  First, I quite frankly needed something to look forward to during the American election cycle.  But politics aside, I chose November over other months in order to see both autumn tree colours and Christmas light displays.  I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed in either of these arenas, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

As always, I arrived at Narita International Airport after a 14-hour nonstop flight.  Despite not getting much sleep aboard the plane (such is the curse of not being able to afford business class), I had enough wits about me not only to locate and board my connecting train, but also to pick up the Japan Rail Pass that I would use later on in my trip.  I even had enough time before my train to do so at the JR East travel office at the airport, where they were promoting Akita Prefecture in northern Japan.

Akita is famous for various festivals, such as the Kanto Festival (3-7 August in Akita City) where skilled men parade while balancing bamboo poles laden with many lanterns (as seen in the previous picture), and the Namahage Sedo Festival (mid-February in Oga), famous for people dressing up as ogres called oni, as seen above.

The train I took this time around was the Skyliner limited express.  Compared to the competing Narita Express, the Skyliner runs at a top speed of 160 km/h (100 mph) and follows a more direct route to central Tokyo, resulting in a travel time of only 45 minutes from Terminal 1 to Ueno Station (versus 60 minutes for the N'EX).  From there, it was a mere 5-minute train hop to my final destination of Akihabara.  For more information on the Skyliner, read my guide on transit from Narita International Airport.

One of the major meeting places in Akihabara is the UDX Plaza, named after the UDX Building seen above.  There is a pedestrian bridge crossing the plaza, from which I took this picture.

Many cities in Japan set up Christmas and winter illuminations as early as November.  (Man, that's almost as early as here in the US!)  I saw proof of this even on my first night, with displays like this animated-light tree that was set up in front of the UDX building (also seen in the previous picture).  There were even a few Space Invaders aliens showing up on the tree, but unfortunately I was not quick enough to get a good picture of them.

On the west side of the UDX plaza, underneath the Yamanote train tracks, stand two cafe-restaurants serving light meals themed after two sub-cultures that are tightly associated with Akihabara: the giant-robot anime franchise Gundam, and the pop-idol group AKB48.

Me being a dude and all, I had my dinner at the Gundam Cafe.  The storefront is guarded over by this scale-model of the RX-78 robot.

The Gundam Cafe also has a take-out window where you can order snacks like "Gunpla-yaki", baked pastries named after the plastic model kits.  They come with fillings such as custard and azuki bean paste; I bought a custard one and, my goodness, it was so delicious!

Walking down the path towards Chuo-dori a bit, I chanced upon this little garden on the side of the road.  Even in places as buzzing as Akihabara's Electric Town, one can manage to find places of relative serene solitude, and I've got to respect that.

A wider shot of the garden from the previous picture, here behind a food truck.

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Access: The Akihabara district is best accessed by, naturally, Akihabara Station (JR Yamanote (JY), Keihin-Tohoku (JK), Chuo-Sobu (JB), Tokyo Metro Hibiya (H), and Tsukuba Express (TX) lines).  Alternatively, Suehirocho (Tokyo Metro Ginza (G) line) and Iwamotocho (Toei Shinjuku (S) line) stations are 5 minutes away on foot.

Gundam Cafe Akihabara

Hours: Open from 10:00 AM to 10:30 PM.  No regular closing days.

Address: Atre Akihabara 2, 1-1 Kanda Hanaoka-chō, Chiyoda-ku, Tōkyō-to 〒101-0028

Directions: From Akihabara Station, turn right out of the Electric Town Exit ticket gates, and continue straight.  The Gundam Cafe building will be on your right, directly past the AKB48 Cafe & Shop on the same side.

Website: (English) (Japanese)