(Rainy) Akihabara

As much as I love the geeky paradise of Akihabara with its hobby shops, cosplay girls, casinos, bars, restaurants, and electronics warehouses, this time, in this weather, I was miserable

At the entrance the automatic wet umbrella sleeving device, this place was six floors of anything that goes, from Apple to cameras to small appliances etc etc.

And how could this one not put a smile on my face - it was Halloween

Everything relates to games or Japanese animation.

Another popular genre, scale models of war machinery. Sometimes displayed only, sometimes for sale by the artists.

A friend of mine loves teddy bears, This would be one for him

Some models are naughty, some are nice, and if finished, never cheap. They sell them as unfinished kits, too.

And, needless to say, Star Wars and BB-8, in particular, immensely popular

Kits are made in the US, Japan, China, or Germany

And one of the magazines that addresses the modeling hobby here in the US is this one. Linked to their webpage.

All you need to have is money, patience, and an airbrush system. This is all very serious and heavily discussed business

There is a problem, according to Japanese social scientiests, a widespread disinterest in communicating with the opposite sex. Here are some of the reasons.

This floor caters to these large dolls. There were young, well dressed men walking away with very large and elegant shopping bags filled with clothing and props. That's apparently their hobby. They, typically for the Japanese culture, go all in and try to achieve perfection, and probably a level of stepping out into a fantasy world and temporarily forgetting their actual high pressure professional environment.

 

My parting shot in the JR station. They were in a much better mood than I, and made me happy too. Also, I had just figured out a slightly faster train route back to Fussa

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