I decided to go to Akihabara to go to Electric Town as well as explore the maid cafes and the AKB48 theatre. This was also going to be the first time I have tried using the Suica card.

Just sitting on the Yamanote Line, it has confirmed what I have been saying the whole time, when I die, I want to come back as a Japanese girl. Japanese teenage girls have a lot of fun compared to the watered down WalMart American life.

 

Akihabara is known as the main place to purchase electronics which means there are a lot of younger men of the geeky variety getting parts for their computers as well as the older men, the hams and others who build things. There are a few hobby shops with everything from building gundams to model railroading. A lot of model railroading, especially of the JR rolling stock. As a licensed amateur radio operator and a tinkerer myself, my brain felt comfortable but as a woman, I was definitely out of place.

What entertains men and stimulates sales for computer parts and video games? GIRLS! Cute cute girls. While Akihabara has been a major home to the manga and anime fandom, the big thing that is taking place there is the maid café. The maids will dress in uniforms, many with very high hemlines, frilly petticoats underneath and a very cute personality inside.

 

On many corners in Electric Town, you will fid the マイド maido passing out flyers to their cafes. The maid café experience is where you are served by one of the maids. To them, you are the “master”. The cafes attract a young male crowd. Many of them just want a girl to talk to for nothing more than just talk. While there are other establishments in Akiba that do a little more than just talk, there’s nothing naughty about the maid cafes. There are also other cafes including a couple with a seifuku (school uniform) theme, one that attracts boys into model railroading and one who uses newhalf (crossdressers) as the maids. The newhalf café is popular because sometimes boys want to talk to other boys about issues with their girlfriends. 

 

 

I eventually found the AKB48 theatre, but access to the 8^th floor was blocked because there was no show taking place. I put in a request for tickets and never received a response.

 

Akiba was a great walk and definitely a great experience. I am back, I am very sore right now from too much walking, I need to rest since I have been on minimal sleep.

Tomorrow, I think I will go to Yoyogi Park and do a brief walk through Harajuku.