Nakano Broadway
The Alternative to Akihabara for Otaku Shopping
Nakano Broadway is a shopping mall located at the exit of Nakano station, a few minutes from Shinjuku in the west of Tokyo. This covered gallery is renowned for sheltering shops dedicated to anime, manga and Japanese pop culture amateurs.
When speaking about electronic or otaku neighborhoods in Tokyo, one cannot help thinking of Akihabara. While "Akiba" might be an inevitable place to visit in the Japanese capital, Nakano Broadway is also worth a detour.
Located just outside of the eponymous train 🚅 station (west of Tokyo, northwest of Shinjuku), this is a long multi-story shopping mall which provides many different stores, under the shotengai covered arcade Nakano Sun Mall. The stores only open around midday and most of them target a geek and collector clientele.
Less known than many other touristic areas of Tokyo, Nakano’s arcades, contrary to Akihabara, are also less visited by the western gaijin. Consequently, the prices are usually more affordable and we recommend this old-fashioned shopping getaway.
Mandarake for manga and anime figurines
One of the key points of Nakano Broadway is Mandarake, a famous Japanese pop culture shop selling a lot of manga. But many other small shops offer for sale figurines, various merchandising goods and other products, even collectible cards of nude Japanese girls, and Japanese dolls to customize if your budget allows you to.
But the mall is not reserved only for otaku, and there are also clothing, shoes, bags and others stores, located in the basement.