We Out: Japan - Akihabara/Odaiba

The GUNNERPHI crew made it to Japan. In the six-part miniseries “We Out: Japan”, we’ll be documenting our big trip overseas including video, music, and photos  from Clifford S. Coleman. We out!

One of the most anticipated parts of our trip was seeing Japan’s anime district, Akihabara. While I’m not the biggest anime fan, the art form has had an indelible impact on our culture. The shows are watched worldwide, so the idea of seeing a square entirely committed to them and their characters was exciting.

We reached the area via the East Japan Railway’s Yamanote Line. As soon as we stepped out of the subway station, we were greeted by a huge building with Sega branding. That set the tone for what we would see the rest of the day. The buildings were littered with posters and ads for prominent anime and manga characters. Inside, you could find small statues and figurines for nearly any animated character you can think of

The term “anime district” could be a bit misleading, as it is mostly confined to one block. It is substantial, but it’s mostly a tourist trap hidden among a larger downtown area in Tokyo. You will see everyday employees ignoring the day’s mayhem and festivities as they walk through the blocks in suits on their way to work. There are dozens of packed shops and arcades to explore, more than enough to keep you occupied for hours.

My motivation in coming to Japan was seeing the famous life-size Gundam statue behind the DiverCity mall in Odaiba. Gundam is the one anime series I can truly vouch for since I was a kid. The themes of war, peace, politics, and its impact on the community always resonated with me. Unfortunately, the original statue from the initial 1979 series was knocked down about a year before our visit. After about 6 months, they unveiled a new 60-yard statue for their more recent flagship series, Unicorn Gundam. This one is a sleeker, brighter, and more futuristic looking model. Suffice to say that I wasn’t disappointed with the view I traveled halfway across the globe to see.

The entire top floor of the adjacent mall is committed to the history of the Gundam series, from its inception to now. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is Japan’s equivalent of Star Wars. Besides clothes and other paraphernalia, they had the most extensive collection of gunpla I’ve ever seen. Gunpla are the small scaled models of the mechs from the series.

If anime and video games are your bag, you can see much of what Tokyo has to offer in that arena in about one day.