TravelAug 28, 2026 JST

Akihabara for Figure Hunters: A Half-Day Walking Route

A four-hour Akihabara route for figure buyers: Radio Kaikan floor by floor, Mandarake Complex, Tamashii Nations Store Tokyo and Gachapon Kaikan.

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If you have one afternoon in Tokyo and figures are the point, Akihabara is still where the density is: a ten-floor building of hobby shops across the street from the station, an eight-floor secondhand tower four minutes away, Bandai’s own flagship store one minute from the ticket gates, and a dedicated capsule-toy hall a short walk north. This route covers those four in about four hours on foot, with the hours and access details taken from each shop’s own website as of August 28, 2026.

It is written for a first visit. If you already know the area, skip to the route and the practical notes at the end.

Why Akihabara, and why this order

The shops here sell the same new figures you pre-order online, often at the same recommended price, but the reasons to come in person are different: secondhand stock you cannot browse from abroad, store exclusives, tax-free checkout for tourists, and the simple fact that you can see a 1/7 scale figure at eye level before spending ¥20,000 on it.

The order below runs from the station outward: Tamashii Nations Store Tokyo first because it is at the exit, Radio Kaikan second because it is across the street and opens at 10:00, Mandarake Complex third because it opens at noon, and Gachapon Kaikan last because it is the farthest north and the cheapest place to end.

Getting to Akihabara

Akihabara Station is served by JR East’s Yamanote, Keihin-Tohoku and Sobu (local) lines, plus the Tsukuba Express and, a short walk away, the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line at its own Akihabara station. Every shop on this route is reached from the Electric Town exit (電気街口) on the west side of the JR station, so follow those signs whichever line you arrive on.

• From Tokyo Station: Yamanote or Keihin-Tohoku line northbound, two stops. Around five minutes.
• From Shinjuku: Chuo Line rapid to Ochanomizu, cross the platform to the Sobu local line, one stop to Akihabara. Around 15 minutes.
• From Haneda Airport: Keikyu line to Shinagawa, then the Yamanote line north; or the Tokyo Monorail to Hamamatsucho, then the Yamanote line north. Allow 45 to 60 minutes either way.
• From Narita Airport: Keisei Skyliner to Nippori, then the Yamanote line south, four stops. Allow about an hour.

These routings are the standard ones; fares change with the annual revisions and none are quoted here, so check a route app or the JR East fare finder for current times and prices. A Suica or Pasmo IC card (or the same card in your phone wallet) works on all of these lines.

The route

10:00 — TAMASHII NATIONS STORE TOKYO (1 minute from the Electric Town exit)

Bandai Spirits’ flagship for S.H.Figuarts, METAL BUILD, Saint Cloth Myth and the rest of the Tamashii Nations brands. Address per the official page: 1-1 Kanda-Hanaokacho, Chiyoda-ku, one minute on foot from the JR Electric Town exit, two minutes from the Tsukuba Express station and three from Iwamotocho on the Toei Shinjuku Line. Hours are 10:00 to 20:00, with the store noting that hours can change when it is crowded, so check its calendar before a weekend visit.

What to do here: the store sells Tamashii store exclusives and shows display samples of current and upcoming Tamashii Nations items. If you are following our S.H.Figuarts pre-order coverage, this is the place to see the figures before you commit. Budget 30 to 40 minutes.

10:45 — Akihabara Radio Kaikan (across the street)

The ten-floor Radio Kaikan (1-15-16 Sotokanda) is the building you see from the Electric Town exit. The building’s hours are 10:00 to 20:00; the basement restaurant floor keeps its own hours (weekdays 12:00 to 22:30, Saturdays 11:30 to 22:30, Sundays and holidays 11:30 to 21:30). Take the elevator to the top and work down; the floors that matter for figure buyers, per the building’s own notices and floor guide:

Floors are as posted on the building’s floor guide and notices at the time of writing; tenants move, so glance at the directory board by the elevators. Plan on 60 to 75 minutes if you actually look at the secondhand shelves.

AmiAmi’s store is the one most overseas readers will want, and buying a figure in person avoids the shipping decisions we cover in the buying guide, but you then have to carry a figure box for the rest of the day. A common approach: browse here, buy at the end of the route if the item is small, and order online if it is not.

12:00 — Mandarake Complex (4 minutes from the Electric Town exit)

Mandarake’s Akihabara tower (3-11-12 Sotokanda) opens at 12:00, closes at 20:00 and is open every day of the year, per its store page, which also gives the walking time from the Electric Town exit as four minutes. It is eight floors of secondhand stock, and the store page lists what each floor holds:

For figure hunters the 8th, 7th and 6th floors are the visit. Expect fixed prices on the tags; condition notes are in Japanese, but “未開封” (unopened) and “開封品” (opened) are the two words you need. Give it 60 minutes, more if you are after vintage Chogokin or Saint Cloth Myth.

13:15 — Lunch

Akihabara has more fast food per block than almost anywhere in Tokyo. The practical tip is to eat before 14:00 on weekends, when the lines at the popular places grow, and to eat before Gachapon Kaikan rather than after, because you will end the route in the north end of the district with fewer options.

14:00 — Akihabara Gachapon Kaikan (7 minutes from the Electric Town exit)

The capsule-toy hall is at 3-15-5 Sotokanda in the MN Building, first floor. Its site gives the hours as 11:00 to 20:00 on weekdays and 11:00 to 19:00 on Sundays and holidays, with a note that the latest hours are posted on its X account. Access is two minutes from Suehirocho on the Ginza Line or seven minutes from the JR Electric Town exit; it is a straight walk north up Chuo-dori from Radio Kaikan.

Bring some coins; many capsule machines still take coins, and the change machines get a line. Thirty minutes is plenty unless you are hunting a specific series. Capsule toys are also the easiest souvenirs to get through customs and into a carry-on.

14:45 — Back toward the station

Walking back south on Chuo-dori returns you to Radio Kaikan and the station in about ten minutes. If you decided to buy something at AmiAmi or Tamashii Nations Store Tokyo, this is when to do it, so the box rides in your hands for the shortest time.

Practical notes

Tax-free shopping. Japan’s tax-free system for tourists applies at participating shops on purchases above the statutory minimum, with your passport checked at the register. The system is scheduled to change in late 2026, so confirm the current procedure at the counter and keep your receipts with your passport until you leave the country.

Sundays. Chuo-dori has a Sunday-afternoon pedestrian zone (check the signs at the crossings; it is suspended in bad weather), which makes the walk between Radio Kaikan and Gachapon Kaikan pleasant, but the shops are also at their busiest then. A weekday morning is the quiet version of this route.

Photos inside shops. Most secondhand shops post signs; assume photography of the shelves is not allowed unless a sign says otherwise, and never photograph other customers. Display samples in the Tamashii Nations store are generally there to be looked at and photographed, but follow the posted rules.

Luggage. None of these shops wants a suitcase in the aisles. Coin lockers are in and around the station; use them before you start.

Cash. Cards and IC cards work at the chain shops on this route. Smaller secondhand and capsule-toy stops are where cash still matters.

Closures. Radio Kaikan publishes building-wide closure days on its site, and individual tenants post temporary closures on the same page; Mandarake Complex states it is open year-round; the Tamashii store keeps a calendar. Check all three the night before, especially around the New Year period.

Booking and extras

None of the stops on this route needs a reservation. If you are extending the day to a ticketed attraction, we will add booking links here once our ticketing partner is live.

📦Buying figures in person and shipping them home? Japan Post EMS and the courier counters accept boxed figures; keep the shop receipt for customs, and you may owe import duty on arrival.

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