A curated list of awesome places, events, and resources related to otaku subculture in Japan. In general, otaku subculture includes but not limited to: anime, manga, games, and music.
This list is far from complete, so contributions are always welcome!
- Akihabara, Tokyo - The holy land of otaku culture
- Otome Road in Ikebukuro, Tokyo - "Maiden Road", which is mainly targeted for female subculture
- Nakano Broadway in Nakano, Tokyo - A shopping complex famous for selling second hand anime goods (Mandarake)
- Pokemon Center
- Gundam Front in Odaiba, Tokyo - The location of 1:1 Gundam statue
- Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo - A must-go place for Ghibli fans, also please note that you need to reserve the ticket weeks beforehand
- Nipponbashi Denden Town, Osaka - Quite similar to Akihabara in Tokyo, this place is another holy land in Osaka
- Shinjuku - This might not be one of the first places an otaku would look for entertainment, but Shinjuku will always surprise you. Kabukicho is where you’ll find the famed Shinjuku Robot restaurant along with the Capcom Bar. Game developers Atlus (Devil Survivor) and Square Enix (Kingdom Hearts) have their headquarters here, and while you can’t go in, you can check out Square’s Artnia café for Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy refreshments.
- Comiket / Comic Market - The largest doujinshi fair in the world, which is not really limited to doujinshi (official goods are also available). The event is usually held twice a year: summer (mid-August, during Obon holiday) and winter (around December 28 - 31).
- Anime Japan - Exhibition of anime-related stuff, which is usually held near the end of March.
- Tokyo Game Show - Video game annual convention, which is held in September.
- World Cosplay Summit - An annual international cosplay event, which parade is usually held on the first weekend of August.
- Anisama / Animelo Summer Live - The biggest annual anime songs music festival in Japan. The event is usually held on the last weekend of August.
- Wonfes / Wonder Festival - The largest exhibition / fair of garage kits, sculptures (figures), mecha / sci-fi character models, etc. The event is usually held twice a year: summer (late July) and winter (around February).
- Jump Festa - An annual exhibition / fair which contains various Jump anthologies, The event is usually held on mid-December.
- Reitaisai / Touhou Project Grand Festival - Initially, the event is held every spring (May), but in the last 4 years, there is also an autumn event (October).
- Comic1 - A doujinshi fair similar to Comiket. While it is usually held during Golden week (end of April or the beginning of May), since last year, it is also being held on October.
- Comitia - Mainly focused on original doujinshi, this event is usually held 4 times per year at Tokyo Big Sight (February, May, August, and November). In addition, there are also a lot of smaller events in other regions, such as Kansai, etc.
For contributors: The compiled event here should have more than 10,000 attendees.
- Anime Pilgrimage - Website, Android App - Japanese, iOS App - Japanese
- "Hunting Grounds" for Goods or Tickets - Yahoo Auction, Mercari, Ticket.co.jp. For tickets, be careful that some events or concerts (usually smaller ones) require identity proof.
TBD
