For me, a trip to Akihabara required three days of not leaving the house to recover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t
![\"Akihabara](\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Akihabara-in-Tokyo-683x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\nThis post was originally published in 2017. It has since been updated for accuracy of links and content. <\/em> Also known as \u201cElectric Town\u201d, Akihabara is a neighbourhood in Tokyo known as a shopping centre for video games, anime, manga, and computer goods. If you like any of the above, you’ll probably love Akihabara. It’s known as an otaku<\/i> cultural centre. What is otaku, you ask? It’s a Japanese term for people with obsessive interests<\/i>, generally associated with anime and manga. You’ll get more than your fill of video games, arcades, anime figurines, anime vending machines, and comic books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t Wiki says<\/a> \u201cThe connection between Akihabara and otaku has survived and grown to the point that the region is now known worldwide as a center for otaku culture, and some otaku even consider Akihabara to be a sacred place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sacred. Place.<\/i> As if I didn’t \u201cget\u201d Akihabara enough, it’s also the epicentre of Tokyo’s maid cafes. I didn’t have the courage to go into one, mainly because I figured it was some sort of tame kink thing for Japanese men who want to be doted on by scantily clad Japanese women in maid costumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These \u201cmaids\u201d line the streets of Akihabara drumming up business. I couldn’t get a proper picture of any of them however, because they’re not allowed to be photographed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although tame kink is not far from the truth, apparently, it’s not (entirely) a kink thing. But the inner workings of maid cafes are elusive, since you’re not allowed to take photos or film inside. However some fellow travel vloggers got special permission to film their experience, and watching it was enough for me; I feel I’ve been there. Check out their extremely entertaining video here<\/a>. As a wee peek into the underbelly of Japanese culture, Akihabara \u2013 with its maid cafes and anime \u2013 was bewildering for me. Trust me \u2013 I’m not a prude \u2013 but the overtly sexual nature of the anime video games and figurines and maid cafes was disturbing<\/b>. Video games are for kids, no? And even if these video games aren’t for kids, they’re still surely exposed to this sort of exploitation of women, which must have a cultural impact later on in life<\/b>. I saw a statistic \u2013 an old but telling one \u2013 that 2,201 men in Japan were arrested for assaulting women on trains (they’re famous for grabbing underneath skirts) in 2004. If you want a comparison, London saw 85% fewer total<\/em> arrests in the underground that year. I see a correlation between maid cafes\/anime and this behaviour; do you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is Akihabara?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Akihabara](\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Akihabara-4-600x450.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nMaid Cafes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Akihabara](\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Akihabara-maid-2-600x495.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\n\nSexy Sexy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Anime](\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anime-madness-3-450x600.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\t\t\t![\"exploitation](\"https:\/\/www.theprofessionalhobo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Anime-madness-4-450x600.jpg\")
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