Otaku Sight-Seeing: 10 Spots You Won’t Want to Miss in Japan

If you give an anime fan a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, chances are they will end up in Japan. Japan is the birthplace of anime, manga, and video games, and hosts a variety of awesome locations you have to see if you’re an anime lover.

There’s so many great anime tourist locations to visit that it can be overwhelming for any first-timers. If you’re afraid of wasting your time in Japan on a wild goose chase, don’t worry – this list of famous anime destinations in Japan has you covered. Check out the awesome attractions below that no otaku should miss in Japan.

Tokyo Anime Center

The Tokyo Anime Center is the perfect place for tourists to indulge in their love of anime because it was designed with that mind. Located on the fourth floor of the Akihabara UDX building near JR Akihabara Station, the Tokyo Anime Center provides anime information and entertainment for foreigners and Japanese residents. It regularly hosts live radio interviews with anime creators and voice actors, and holds events like autograph signings.

J-World Tokyo

J-World Tokyo is like a small-scale Disney World of Shonen Jump anime characters. The indoor amusement park in Ikebukuro’s Sunshine City celebrates the biggest anime action franchises from the magazine like One Piece, Hunter X Hunter, and Dragon Ball Z. It’s worth the price of admission for the amazing atmosphere alone. You’ll marvel at the real-life recreation of the Going Merry from One Piece, or the ninja ramen shop from Naruto. Any Toonami fan will jump for joy visiting the J-World Tokyo amusement park and participating in all the fun activities based on their favorite show.

Akihabara

Akihabara is often characterized as the embodiment of anime culture and for very good reason. An insane amount of electronic shops and otaku-oriented venues are located here, welcoming you with its big and loud anime visuals. After buying all the anime and manga you can handle, you can unwind with a delightful meal at the various maid cafes and be treated like royalty, or simply enjoy a nice musical performance at AKB48’s music theater.

Asagaya Anime Street

With Asagaya surrounded by many famous anime studios such as A-1 Pictures, Madhouse, and Production I.G, it makes sense to create an otaku paradise at the heart of anime culture. While it still has a way to go in catching up with Akihabara, Asagaya Anime Street is still worth visiting for its anime shops, theme cafés, and original character goods.

Tokyo Character Street

Anyone eager to spend their hard-earned money on anime merchandise will want to take their wallets to the Tokyo Character Street. The underground shopping street right below Tokyo Station features numerous item shops dedicated to the biggest anime and gaming franchises in Japan. There’s the Studio Ghibli Official Shop, Hello Kitty Shop, Rilakkuma Store, the Pretty Cure Shop, and so much more.

Suginami Animation Museum

Anime fans who are interested in the history and making of anime should definitely visit the Suginami Animation Museum. There are exhibits about animation, dubbing, and the future of anime. The museum also boasts an anime library, a theater, and interactive workshops.

Otome Road

Otome Road (AKA Maiden Road) has shopping centers filled with anime, manga, magazines, and novels that are directed toward a female audience. Most apparent are the shops and restaurants featuring yaoi, or Boy’s Love, merchandise, to the point where Otome Road is often nicknamed “Fujoshi Street.” Otome Road’s popularity skyrocketed in 2005, thanks to the film Densha Otoko. The movie portrays Otome Road as a female otaku’s dream.

Kyoto International Manga Museum

Any anime fan will be able to appreciate the International Manga Museum in Kyoto. The facility strives to preserve, study, and research the culture of manga throughout history. You’ll see heaps upon heaps of all kinds of different manga, exhibitions about influential manga artists, and seminars and workshops about manga.

Washinomiya Shrine

Lucky Star fans looking for a fun way to spend their New Years in Japan will want to check out the Washinomiya Shrine in the Saitama Prefecture. Washinomiya is the birthplace of the Hiiragi sisters, Tsukasa and Kagami, and features them working as Shrine Maidens in the anime. Thanks to Lucky Star’s popularity, Washinomiya is one of the hottest spot for anime tourism in Japan, as over 100,000 people visit the shrine to pray, hang up their New Year wishes, and buy otaku goodies.

Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library Of Manga And Subcultures

It goes without saying that Japan values its manga industry, but you don’t often hear the names of the people who helped legitimize the art form. That’s why visiting the Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subcultures at Tokyo’s Meiji University should be a high priority for history lovers and manga enthusiasts.

The library features the manga collection of Yoshihiro Yonezawa, a manga critic, author, and co-founder of Comiket. He was known for filling houses with manga to the point where he would just buy a new home if he ran out of room. This was a process he repeated several times. Yonezawa’s collection features a wide arrange of books that are not normally saved, such as throwaway manga from vending machines. Of course, his collection boasts famous works like the 1956 Tetsujin 28-go manga (Gigantor), the first robot manga in Japan.

These are only just scratching the surface of places for otakus to visit in Japan. Let us know in the comments if you know of other places we should cover in future articles.