Why it stays with you
A district known as one of Japan's foremost electronics towns. But today's Akihabara isn't one single thing. Alongside the shops packed with electronics and IT gear, it's also a hub of subculture, with stores devoted to games, manga and anime, and it's called a holy ground for cosplayers dressed as popular idols and anime characters. The interest lies in those two coexisting; see only one and you've seen half of it. The way to walk it is to drift along the streets without deciding on a destination and go into only the shops whose signs catch you. Because it's a district rather than a single building, hours differ from shop to shop. Build it in while you still have energy left.