"Please get a 4K camera!"

"Bro, you really need to start filming in 4K Ultra High-definition video!"

Ultra high-definition 4K

Louis C.K.

8K SUPER

COCK-A-SAURUS!

4K Video ey?

Hmmm...

*Catchy 80's Music*

Akihabara, or Electric Town in Tokyo

is regarded as the spiritual center of Japanese pop culture.

With over 250 electronic shops of all shapes and sizes.

Whether you're looking to spend your pocket money on retro video games or sexually provocative figurines,

This is the place to do it.

We're going to spend the day in Akihabara and discover some of the top things to do in this

5 THINGS TO DO

IN AKIHABARA

VIDEO

Hidden down a backstreet in Akihabara is the greatest shop in the world.

Err, second only to the build-a-bear workshop.

To walk into this shop is to travel back two or three decades, to a simpler time.

A time when handheld games consoles looked like bricks.

At Super Potato which is genuinely the name of the shop,

you could buy just about any video games console ever made.

Best of all, many of them look like they could have rolled off the assembly line last Tuesday.

Look at this, we've got loads of Nintendo's Super Famicoms.

Look at the condition!

It looks almost brand-new! ¥3,480.

Comes with one controller. Whole stack of them.

Before I had any console ever, this was the first thing I had. The Gameboy. It's the same size as the

iPhone but, look at the thickness. That's amazing. Little bit discolored, not gonna

lie. And it's quite expensive. ¥8400. Expensive, expensive, yeah it's

pretty expensive. So depending on the condition of the Gameboy, the price is

quite different so this one has a little mark on it, apparently, so it's ¥2000

cheaper. So, I quite want to get one. I spend so many hours on this in the back of the

car or when we're going places, playing it. God bless the Gameboy.

Found “Golden Eye.” My first games console was Nintendo 64 and this was the first game

that I'd ever played, “Golden Eye.” I played “Golden Eye” earlier in this year for the

first time in like 15 years. It doesn't hold up. It just looks like a big blocky mess but

the memories still live on. I can't help but feel some of the magic thats been lost

by downloading video games just off the internet. These are made, these are so

cool. Like the VHS tapes, they're so perfectly wrapped and the artwork on the

box. The artwork is half the fun. What's your favorite game Natsuki?

Nostalgic, my time very hard, different, don't clear. What year was

this game? Do you remember? Junior high school, game center

1990. As well as being able to spend your hard-earned credit

card on nostalgic childhood games consoles, you can even play retro arcade

video games upstairs in a dimly lit room. I won't lie, most of these games are a

little bit before my time so I don't really know what they are. Do you remember these? Yeah, a high

school style. Gamers can purchase snacks and drinks in the small shop, and it was

not long before Natsuki settled down for a round of Street Fighter.

My favorite thing about Street Fighter was always the background. This is

supposed to be China, and I just love the people in the background doing the

washing, watching the fight and casually going on. That's what China looks like. Whilst

Akihabara is Japan's pop culture capital today, it got its nickname of “Electric

Town” after the Second World War when the area was well known for its black market,

where people could pick up cheap electronics. In particular, radios. As the

sixties and seventies rolled around, the district became filled with shops

selling TVs and records. And then in the 1980s came the arcade games. Despite

its new pop culture image, the neighborhood is still true to its roots

with an abundance of independent street vendors still selling electronic goods

to this day. Just about every manner of electronic item you'd ever want.

And once again, it's not long before something catches Natsuki's eye.

Natsuki is err is going to buy some lights. Which? Where's the difference?

This one looks better. Cool. My room, illumination.

Your room, illumination? Bedroom? Shop? Window side. Ahh okay for the beauty salon

Natsuki owns a beauty salon. Oo white? Ah blue.

Blue.

Shopping for lights is hungry business and whilst there's no shortage of

restaurants in Akihabara, why not try something a little bit unique

while you're here? “Yarou Ramen” is a popular ramen joint just off another back

street in Akihabara, famous for their ludicrous portions that resemble

mountains with bowls overflowing with over a kilogram of food.

Natsuke and I decided to challenge each other to see who could finish the bowl

the fastest. A challenge so large we dedicated an entire separate video to it,

which you can find in the description box below.

Just make sure you make it to the end of the video where you can witness Natsuki's

questionably good magic show. And even if you don't want your stomach

devastated by monster ramen, they do sell normal human sized portions of ramen as

well. It is definitely worth checking out.

It wouldn't be a trip to Akihabara without seeing the meticulously crafted

figurines. And Kotobukiya is the closest thing to geek heaven with five floors

crammed with everything from Star Wars and Marvel merchandise to anime and

manga characters. And when it comes to figurines, our friend Shiori, who's secretly

been hiding behind the camera until now, is a huge fan. You don't like figurines?

No. It's so creepy. Creepy? It's just like real Japanese..I've never seen such women with those

huge boobs..Look at that! Do you like them? Err not really my thing.

Nice quality. Yeah, I do appreciate the craftsmanship. The craftsmanship is pretty awesome.

You don't want one for your birthday? Haha noo. How much? About ¥10,000! Wow. No thank you~But then again,

You're not really the target market are you? You're not really the customer.

Natsuki's the target market. You want to buy? Umm no.

Oh my god. Apparently, 86 stormtroopers cost ¥645,000.

What's that? $6,500? Oh my god.

$6,500 for 86 storm troopers. You should buy all the

figurines. Put them around your beauty salon.

Yeah well, I do like star wars.

I'm not like super super fan but I do really like it.

What character do you want? Him, this is Darth Sidious, the Emperor. He's a

really nice man. Sitting man. He's a sitting man. That's what he does. He's the Emperor so

he just sits, doesn't he? I must admit, I prefer the original

standard lightsaber, not a fan of that. Heavy? It is quite heavy. Ohh I could probably

kill you with this, I said that quite casually but there you go. Oh nice sound! Good sound.

If you want to leave Akihabara with some kind of figurine but don't have $50 to spend, for

about $5, there's a much cheaper alternative just around the

corner.

Gachapon are capsule toys that you can buy from vending machines throughout the

country. And whilst the concept can be found in countries around the world, in

Japan, the toys are typically much higher quality modeled with greater detail and

slightly pricier. Such is their quality that I've met numorous foreigners living

in Japan who export them to collectors around the world for a tiny profit. By

Akihabara, you can find entire stores stuffed with hundreds of Gachapon

vending machines. Under 18. So Shiori is

going to buy one now and it's not for underage teens.

I didn't choose this one. Right, Natsuki chose it. I might actually have to blow this out. She's good okay. You

want this one. Oh it's hard to turn, okay I got it.

I think, I think I got what I want! Ohhh it's err thing. It's a woman who's sleeping.

Sleeping type on the bed.

Sexy sleeping type. Am I going to have to blow it out? Yeah, where's her head? She's legs up. She's what?

Leg is up. Yaayyy. Finished making it. Nice color, purple.

Yes nice hair color. Comes with a mat? Oh my god. Yeah, she's happy now lying down on

her mat. Relax woman. *Singing* Is that a song? Have you just made that up? *Resumes singing*

Duran Duran! No, it's not Duran Duran, it's Frankie Goes to Hollywood!

So, that was five things to do in Akihabara. If there's somewhere in

Akihabara you want to visit or you recommend, let us know in the comments

section below but for now guys. We hope you've enjoyed this program. In next

week's show, “Is this the end for Mario? Can Nintendo survive fierce competition from

Sega in the coming decade? We don't think so. We'll also be looking at why Apple

computers have been going from strength to strength since the departure of

erratic founder Steven Jobs who has gone on to squander his wealth on Pixar

computers, the company based in the southern Cisco Bay area.