Title: 11 Must-See Anime & Manga Attractions in Tokyo
So, you love anime & manga and you’re planning to come to Japan for anime tourism?
Well, you are in the right place!
In this post, I’ll show you the best places to visit in Tokyo to scratch that anime and manga itch.
Japan is all about anime, so don’t miss these spots!
1. Akihabara
First, let’s begin with the crown jewel.
Akihabara or Akiba, also known colloquially as “Anime Heaven” or “Anime City”, is the biggest anime shopping district in the world.
It is, frankly, the ultimate otaku destination where any fan of anime and manga will enjoy every moment this city has to offer.
Some of the things you can find are:
- Anime & manga stores (figures, keychains, etc)
- Real-life locations featured in anime
- Anime T-shirts
- Arcades
- Maid cafés
- Electronics
- Restaurants
- Retro video game stores
- Gashapon (Japanese toy capsule)
- Anime themed cafés
In other words, there are stores for every type of fan, and a lot of fun too!
For the anime merch crowd, there are plenty of shops selling anime figures, keychains, buttons, pins, and so much more. The prices for these can range from a few hundred yen in stores like Surugaya or Lashinbang to over 100,000 yen at any display case store or for certain high quality new or rare items. It really depends on the quality of the figure and the store you go to.
Because of the sheer amount of eye-catching shops filled with all kinds of merch, my advice is to check as many as possible before buying anything. You can often find the same product in a different store at a lower price, especially for pre-owned items. Why? Because a pre-owned item in Japan is often as good as new, or even sometimes IS new, they will be unopened yet still cheaper). Compare prices before buying anything! Don’t get antsy!
(Note: Because this is considered “Anime City” you can find a lot of real-life locations featured in anime too!Some examples include Steins;Gate, No Game No Life, Love Live, to name a few. (Radio Kaikan, a key place in Steins;Gate holds several otaku-based shops such as Ami-Ami.)
The electric town, another nickname for this wondrous and exciting city, is a place for every nerd, from the gamer to the anime fanatic.
Review: If you are in Tokyo, you need to go to Akihabara. It is the biggest anime district and the best anime attraction in the world.
Closest station: Akihabara JR, Akihabara Tokyo Metro, and Toei Iwamotocho Station
Estimated time: It depends on you. You can spend a whole day in Akihabara and still have more to see, as there are a lot of side alleys and hidden shops, a great place to explore!
Cost: Free
English-friendly: Yes
2. Odaiba
In Odaiba, you can mainly find 4 anime attractions:
Review: Even if you’re not a big fan of Gundam, Digimon or anime in general, this is one of the top tourist attractions in Tokyo. Because there are many things to do there, you’ll have a lot of fun. Just keep in mind that Odaiba is around 40 minutes away from central Tokyo.
Closest station: Tokyo Teleport Station
Estimated time: 4-6 hours
Cost: Free
English-friendly: Yes
For more info:
3.Nakano Broadway
Photo credit: Japan-guide
Nakano Broadway is a small indoor anime district. Compared to Akihabara, it’s smaller, so you won’t get lost!
Some of the things you can find are:
- Anime & manga stores (figures, keychains, etc)
- Maid cafés
- Anime posters
- Electronics
- Arcades
- Retro video game stores
- Gashapon (Japanese toy capsule)
In comparison, Akihabara has more but you can often find older or rarer items in Nakano, so it is worth checking out.
Review: If I have to choose between Akihabara or Nakano Broadway, Akihabara would be my choice, due to Akiba being the biggest and best place for your anime fix. But, if you’ll be in Tokyo for more than 4 days, I definitely recommend you to go to Nakano Broadway too. This anime-shopping district is where I found the cheapest anime figures like Ed of Full Metal Alchemist and cool anime posters of Code Geass and Gundam.
Nakano Broadway is worth visiting, but perhaps not as a top priority.
Closest station: Nakano Station
Estimated time: 3-4 hours
Cost: Free
English-friendly: Yes
4. Ghibli Museum
Photo credit: Tripadvisor
If you love Ghibli movies, then look no further than the Ghibli museum. This treasure trove of everything Ghibli doesn’t just display artwork and design materials, the building is designed to look and feel like you’re in a Ghibli movie brought to life!
With the classic natural and wooden atmosphere and an almost maze-like interior that’ll have you ducking to fit through small doors and climbing up spiral staircases, the museum itself is also designed by Studio Ghibli’s, their one work that you can only experience in person.
The museum also screens a short film that you can view nowhere else.
Photo credit: Tripadvisor
You can even tour through the remade example workspaces of Ghibli animators including the legendary man himself Hayao Miyazaki, complete with the ashtray and cigarettes to make the experience of viewing his workspace more authentic and real to you, like he’s there with you.
The main attraction of the museum is ,of course, its accomplished and storied history and unique personality. A tour will guide through the drawings from decades of Ghibli animated films, including a little education about the art of animation and some access to what goes on behind the scenes of the animation process.
(Note: Booking tickets for Ghibli is a nightmare! It is worth the struggle but they sell out, FAST! An extra point to consider is that if you are buying tickets for a group, the purchaser MUST be with the group. It is very difficult to resell the tickets and you must bring your passport. Don’t find yourself getting caught!)
It is, however, well worth the hassle!
Review:The Ghibli museum is a museum for everyone. Ghibli fans and animation enthusiasts alike will be moved seeing the drawings, sketches, and reference materials that were used to make some of their favorite movies, and even those with no interest in in Ghibli films or anime can tag along and get to visit one of the coolest and most elaborate buildings in Tokyo (that serves some top-notch chili soup!).
Overall, I highly recommend this one for sure and you should definitely visit if you can!
Tickets for the next month are sold on the 10th of every month but sometimes sell out within minutes. Like I said, it’ll be well worth the fuss and rush if you can make it in, because it really is one of the best anime exhibitions out there, and not to be missed.
Closest station: Mitaka Stationery
Estimated time: 2-4 hours
Cost: 1000 yen
English-friendly: Yes
You can find more info on the official website.
5. Captain Tsubasa Town
Now, this one’s a hidden gem.
There’s a whole anime town dedicated to Captain Tsubasa in Tokyo.
You can take pictures with Kojiro Hyuga, Taro Misaki, Genzo Wakabayashi, Odors Tsubasa himself, and more. It’s a fantastic experience, and it is free!
In this town, you can find:
…and much more!
Review:If you love Captain Tsubasa, you definitely need to visit this attraction. It is one of the best anime spots I’ve been to in Tokyo. I highly recommend you go, seeing it all is a lot of fun.
Bronze statue: Ozora Tsubasa
Closest station: Yotsugi or Keisei-Tateishi station
Estimated time: It can take you around 4-5 hours to walk around the town and visit each location.
Cost: Free
English-friendly: Please be aware that the staff at the restaurant don’t speak English, so don’t forget to use Google Translate 😀
For more info:
6. Pokémon Café and Pokémon Center
Pokémon Café, launched in 2018 in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, is a café-restaurant decorated with all your favorite pokémon.
Just next door is the Pokémon Center, a store where you can find all kinds of merch related to the world of Pokémon and Ash Ketchum’s adventures.
(Note:There are also Pokémon centers in Ikebukuro, Asakusa and a Pokémon store at Marunouchi station.)
Review:All in all, it might only be worth going if you’re a big fan of Pokémon. If you’re not, and you’re only in Tokyo for a few days, I think you can skip out on the Café. I’ve done a lot of anime tourism in Tokyo, and there are other better anime spots and restaurants you can visit (like the ones in this article!).
Closest station: Nihonbashi exit B4.
Estimated time: 1 to 2 hours
Cost: Around 2500 yen (22 USD) per person
English-friendly: Yes
For more info:
7. Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa) real-life locations
Created by Makoto Shinkai, Kimi No Na Wa (君の名は ) or better known as Your Name, is the highest-grossing anime movie in the world. That’s right, it made more money than Spirited Away from Studio Ghibli.
Thanks to the popularity of Kimi No Na Wa in 2016, anime pilgrimage has had a rebirth. Many have started to visit the real-life locations that Makoto Shinkai used to create Your Name.
These locations can be found all over Japan.
Review:I enjoyed walking through the real-life locations of Your Name (Kimi No Na Wa). The stairs are one of the most iconic places within the anime pilgrimage community. If you enjoy visiting real-life locations of popular anime, or just enjoy some beautiful and historical sight-seeing, I highly recommend you go. Seriously, you need to visit it!
Closest station: Yotsuya or Yotsuya Sanchome
Estimated time: 30 minutes
Cost: Free
For more info:
8. JUMP Store
JUMP Store is the official store of Shueisha’s Jump magazines. Within you’ll come across a vast variety of iconic products from Shueisha’s Jump manga and anime.
For example, they sell Luffy’s Straw Hat, Senzu beans, Boku no Hero Academia mugs, t-shirts and much more!
In Tokyo, they have stores at:
- Tokyo Dome
- Tokyo Skytree
- Tokyo Station (Character Street).
Note: If you are looking for Dragon Ball Attractions too, you need to check out Dragon Ball VR.
Review:The JUMP store is for otaku who are looking for anime merch for Bleach, Dragon Ball, Naruto, The Promised Neverland, Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and other JUMP shows. Visiting here is a must if you are in Tokyo!
Estimated time: 20 minutes
9. Otome Road
Otome Road (乙 女 ロ ー ド), also known as “Maiden Road”, is an anime street in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.
Compared to Akihabara and Nakano Broadway, where stores are more oriented towards boys or young men, Otome Road caters to girls and young women who like anime and manga.
More specifically, this is heaven for girls (or boys) who love the yaoi genre and is often called the “female Akihabara” because of this.
A park in front of Otome Road.
Review: What makes this otaku spot unique is that Otome Road is the street where I have encountered the most cosplayers (mostly women). So, if you want to take pictures with people that are dressed like your favorite anime characters, you definitely need to visit this anime street.
Closest station: Ikebukuro
Estimated time: It depends on you. It can take from 20 minutes to 5 or 6 hours.
Cost: Free
English-friendly: Yes
For more info:
10. Steins; Gate Real-Life Locations & Cafe
Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0 take place in Akihabara. So wherever you walk, you’re sure to spot a lot of popular places and landmarks featured in the series.
But the best part?
The Nyan Nyan Café also exists in real-life!!!
Review:Steins;Gate is one of my favorite anime and I enjoyed every second visiting the real-life locations. Don’t miss the opportunity to explore the café if you’re in Tokyo. You’ll feel like you’re living in the anime during your tour around Akihabara!
For more info:
Closest station: Akihabara JR, Akihabara Tokyo Metro, and Toei Iwamotocho Station
Estimated time: It depends on you, but you can spend a whole day in Akihabara. There are a lot of things to see.
English friendly: Yes
11. Anime Events
And finally, anime-focused events are one of the best attractions in Tokyo.
Check out our full list of the best events here:
When it comes to popular anime-focused events, you’ve probably heard of J-World, Tokyo One Piece Tower, or Asagaya Tokyo Anime Street.
Unfortunately,they were shut down in 2019 and 2020, so they didn’t make the list. But ,don’t fret! Events like Anime Japan, Comiket, and Wonder Festival are still going strong, so you’ll have plenty of events celebrating anime and manga to choose from.
And that’s all! Tell me, what’s your favorite anime attraction? Let me know in the comments below!