The motherland of our absolute favourite mangas and animes, Japan is THE place for all manga/anime enthusiasts to congregate and share fan theories. From bagging limited edition collectables to living out your dream of becoming your favourite character, the possibilities are endless ?
So, what are you waiting for? Time to embrace your inner otaku and check out these 9 places in Japan every manga and anime lover must visit ?
P.S. If you're heading to Tokyo, don't forget to download our HHWT Travel Planner App available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android! ?
1. Catch ‘em all at Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo
If you’ve never heard of Pokemon, you’ve definitely been living under a rock (or an alternate reality ?). With all the craze over Pokemon Go, fans are eager to own their captures in real life too!
Credit: jemmawei
Pokémon Center Mega Tokyo is located in Tokyo’s downtown area Ikebukuro. There’s a famous shopping mall called Sunshine City, and the Pokémon Center can be found in this building too.
Credit: Matcha Magazine
Be prepared to be amazed by endless shelves filled with adorable plush toys of every type, from every region imaginable! Yes, we know you’ll be tempted to buy them all but leave some for the rest of us ?
Credit: Matcha Magazine
Credit: Matcha Magazine
The center also sells sweets, children’s clothing, Pokémon cards, back packs, lunch boxes, smartphone cases, key rings, and pretty much every other Pokémon product anyone could possibly think up of!
Credit: @sofiablinks on Instagram
#HHWT Tip: Look out for the price tags! Products with light blue ‘original’ price tags are sold at Pokémon Centers and official web stores such as Amazon. Those with red price tags are limited “Gotochi” products, which means you can only buy them there.
Address: Sunshine City alpa 2F 3-1-2 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, 170-6002
How to get there: It’s a 8 minute walk from JR Ikebukuro Station
Operating hours: 10:00-20:00
Website: http://www.pokemon.co.jp/gp/pokecen/english/megatokyo_access.html
2. Immerse yourself in the world of Studio Ghibli Museum
Dedicated to Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli, one of Japan's most famous animation studios, the museum is curated to include design elements from iconic films like My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea!
Credit: Seth Vidal on Flickr
Make your way to the theatre on the first floor to catch some short movies by Studio Ghibli that are exclusive to the museum. Do note that no photography or videography is allowed in the museum!
Fancy yourself a cuppa after a day of immersing yourself in the Ghibli world? The museum also has a café which serves foamy cups of coffee garnished with cute character designs.
Credit: Wilson Bilkovich on Flickr
The café isn’t halal certified so do dine at your own discretion!
#HHWT Tip: Tickets are not sold at the museum so remember to purchase them in advance! You can get them from ticket vending machines in Lawson convenience stores around Japan.
Address: 1-1-83 Simorenjaku, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo 181-0013
How to get there: From the JR Chuo Line, take to Mitaka station. From Mitaka South Exit, it’s a 15 minute walk along the Tamagawa Josui "Waterworks" to the museum.
Operating hours: Open daily except Tuesday, 10:00-18:00
Fee: Over Age 19: ¥1,000, Age 13-18: ¥700, Age 7-12: ¥400, Age 4-6: ¥100 *Children under 4 are admitted free of charge
Website: http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/top.html
3. Spend hours browsing at Animate in Akihabara
Japan’s largest retail chain for anime goods, Animate in Akhibara is the one stop destination for all of your manga/anime shopping needs.
Credit: Antonio Tajuelo on Flickr
With 7 (!!) entire floors dedicated to mostly one product respectively, you can expect floor after floor of manga, anime DVDs, figurines, collectables and so much more!
Credit: Antonio Tajuelo on Flickr
Expect to find shelves filled with raw mangas of iconic series like Naruto, Inuyasha, Bleach and Attack on Titan. Though the raws will be in Japanese, it’ll be so hard to stop yourself from spending every single cent you have on authentic and limited edition merchandise ?
Credit: Antonio Tajuelo on Flickr
For all those aspiring manga artists out there, the second floor is for you! You’ll find plenty of different ink brands and sketchpads used by professional mangakas in the industry. For those who prefer the non-traditional route, the floor also sells drawing tablets, manga drawing programmes and lit up tracing boards.
Address: 4-3-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo 101-0021, Japan
How to get there: It’s a 3-minute walk from JR Akihabara Station (Denkigai-guchi exit)
Operating hours: 10:00-21:00
4. Have a blast at J-World Tokyo
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This immensely popular theme park is where your character dreams come alive! Filled with themed attractions and rides from your favourite Shonen Jump animes, you’ll be beside yourself with excitement ?
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Experience what it's like to be a character from One Piece, Naruto or Dragon Ball-Z by taking pictures with the costumes on display and life sized cut outs of the characters! Great for that perfect Instagram shot?
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Address: 3F, Sunshine City World Import Mart, 3-1-3 Higashi-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo
How to get there: It’s a 5 minute walk from Higashi-Ikebukuro Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho Line
Operating hours: 10:00 – 22:00 (admission by 21:00)
Fee: Ages 16 and above: ¥800, Ages 4-15: ¥600 (Admission Ticket)
Ages 16 and above: ¥2,600, Ages 4-15: ¥2,400 (Unlimited Attractions Pass)
*Unlimited Attractions Pass include entrance fee and unlimited one-day rides for attractions.
Website: http://www.namco.co.jp/tp/j-world/en/
5. Be amazed by the full scale model Gundams at Gundam Front Tokyo
If you’ve been to Odaiba, chances are that you’ve caught a glimpse of this prominent figure in front of Diver City Tokyo Plaza. Being a full scale model of a Gundam, the statue is pretty hard to miss!
Credit: IQRemix on Flickr
But did you know that there’s a Gundam themed exhibition inside the plaza? Located on the 7th floor, you can find Gundam models, mockups, interactive exhibits and photo posing opportunities inside.
For the more hardcore Gundam fans, you can shop till you drop for Gundam merchandise in the gift shops!
Credit: Ronald Woan on Flickr
Don’t forget to stop by the dome styled theatre to watch a montage film highlighting the different Gundam series available! The film is shown 3 times per hour so you have more than enough time to wander around the exhibition.
Address: 1-10 Aomi 1-chome, Koto-ku, Tokyo
How to get there: It’s a 3 minute walk from Tokyo Teleport Station
Operating hours: Open throughout the year, 10:00-21:00 (last entry at 6pm)
Fee: High School/College/Adult: ¥1000, Middle/Elementary School: ¥800 (in advance)
High School/College/Adult: ¥1200, Middle/Elementary School: ¥1000 (at the gate)
Website: http://gundamfront-tokyo.com/
6. Read all day long at the Kyōto International Manga Museum
Ok, manga lovers… Don’t freak out but what if you got to read copy after copy of the best selling mangas in Japan, for just a small fee of ¥500?
Credit: Innocent Coppieters on Flickr
Bless Japan, because at the Kyōto International Manga Museum, you can! With a collection of some 300,000 comics and manga-related exhibits, this museum is reading heaven ?
Credit: NelC on Flickr
Visitors are free to read any piece of manga they fancy from the towering wooden bookcases that line every wall and hallway. Prop yourself against a wall, find a nice spot on the floor or chill at the café with a good coffee and manga in hand ?
Address: Japan, 〒604-0846 Kyōto-fu, Kyōto-shi, Nakagyō-ku, Kinpukichō,
How to get there: It’s a 1 minute walk from Karasuma Oike Station on the Karasuma and Tozai subway lines.
Operating hours: 10:00-18:00 (closed on Wednesdays and New Year's holidays)
Fee: ¥500
7. Go on an Anime Pilgrimage
It’s one thing to visit places inspired by your favourite anime but it’s another to visit real life places that served as backdrop inspirations for it.
Credit: 436petabytes
Credit: 436petabytes
Take the town in Clannad, for example. Modelled after Mizuho, a district in Tokyo, diehard fans of the popular Japanese visual novel can live out their dream of walking down the very path their favourite characters did.
Address: Mizuho-Machi,Nishitama-Gun,Tokyo
How to get there: From JR Shinjuku station, take the Chuo Line to Hachioji Station. At Hachioji station, transfer to the Hachiko Line and ride to Hakonegasaki station. It’s a 20 minutes walk from Hakonegasaki station to Mizuho View Park. For a detailed map, click here.
8. Scour for your old favourites at the Mandarake Store in Shibuya
Unlike Animate’s 7 storey high outlet, this underground Mandrake branch has all its manga and anime goods on one massive floor.
Credit: gaijinpot
Mandrake is also one of Tokyo's largest vendors of used/retired anime and manga-related products. So if you’re looking for copies of decade old mangas still in good condition, this is definitely the place for you!
Artbooks are sold below the glass cases with various goods inside. The items sold changes almost every day based on what stock comes in.
Credit: Jamie Lynn Lano
Mandarak also operates by a “sellback” policy; they buy items from people who bring them in, and then resell them to the public. So grab that collectable that you’ve had your eye on while you still can!
Address: 150-0042 Shibuya BEAM B2 floor, Udagawa-cho 31-2, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
How to get there: It’s a 5 minutes walk from JR Shibuya Station Hachiko Exit
Operating hours: 12:00-20:00
9. Get your cosplay on at Tokyo’s Studio Crown
And finally, you can’t leave Japan without partaking in a bit of cosplay right? At Tokyo’s Studio Crown, transform into the character of your choice!
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The studio has 3 courses; Basic, Easy Anime and Perfect Anime. If you’d like the complete transformation (full face make up, wig and all), opt for the Perfect Anime package! Your make up will be done by the professional make-up artists there.
Credit: mcha-jp
After the 40-60 minute makeup session, you’ll have your very own 20 minute long photo shoot! Strike a cool pose or two (all in character, of course) and at the end, you’ll receive 6 digital images and 1 Polaroid.
Credit: mcha-jp
Address: 5/F East Building B, Sasage Building, 2-4-6 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
How to get there: It’s a 6 minute walk from the Electric Town Exit of Akihabara Station
Operating hours: Open year round, 10:00-22:00
Fee: Basic Course: ¥4000*, Easy Anime Costume: ¥9000*, Perfect Anime Costume: ¥15000*
*Price given is before tax
Website: https://studio-crown.com/experience/
So there you have it, fellow manga/anime lovers! Did we miss out on any of your must visit places? Let us know in the comments below?
P.S. If you're heading to Tokyo, don't forget to download our HHWT Travel Planner App available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play for Android! ?
