today we're visiting popular anime  locations in tokyo to learn more about japanese  anime subculture

come with us

otome road is an  otaku girls haven

and it is one of the best places to discover more about japan's anime subculture

this place is filled with manga stores

anime merchandise stores

anime cafes

and everything  you can imagine

compared to akihabara

which is tokyo's most popular anime location

ikebukuro's  OTOME road takes a bit of a different approach

often times manga stores with its varieties  merchandise that appeases to a wide variety  of otaku girls

are in the underground stores

not always easily noticeable

although the majority of customers are girls

the content  here is not only limited to female clientele

this is where female anime fans get to find  light novels dedicated to their anime crush  

this place is especially important for the DOJINSHI fans of boy's love genre

these stories focus on the romance of popular anime male leads

for example a story about naruto and sasuke, romantically involved with each other

there  is literally no end to these kinds of stories

and you can spend all day looking for your  favorite character's alternative story

it is also a place where most cosplay events  happen in tokyo

apart from that you might also be lucky to find fan fiction stories

and  merchandise of characters from popular otome games

Otome games are story based videos where the  main goal is to develop a romantic relationship  

with one of the characters

as this is a  very non-mainstream type of entertainment,

there are not many places where you  can find the otome game merchandise

that is why otome road is so important for  female anime fans

it rose to fame thanks to its high concentration of boy love genre comics

and  non-typical anime content

before that ikebukuro was just another anime center in tokyo like akihabara and nakano

but with the rise of Dojinshi, otome road gained a new level of importance  for female anime fans

who come here to look for new materials merchandise of their favorite  character or a new costume for a cosplay event

Ene from taiwan is an anime fan  and a rich anime culture of ikebukuro  

was one of the reasons why  she decided to move here

In high school I would watch Prince of Tennis.

The reason why everyone liked it was because the main character is super handsome,

especially when he plays tennis.

At that time everyone in my class would was talking about which character was their boyfriend

and which one was their husband.

Since then I have always liked Japanese anime.

I used to come to Japan a lot and visited anime places like Akihabara or Tokyo Station

or Ikebukuro search for merchandise

Why is Otome road important for female anime fans?

The great thing about Otome is that it is not too big, it is just a one street but you can find everything you want there.

If you want to go to a cafe house you can find it there easily,

if you want to find cosplay stores, it is also there,

and there are also many anime products well liked by male and female anime fans.

The most Important is that BL is a huge thing there!

But if you want cuter anime stuff you can also go to the Sunshine city right next to it.

There you can find regular anime content like ONE PIECE, Pokémon or hello kitty.

and why would you recommend otomer  to the travelers that visit japan

I recommend this place because you can also find second hand anime goods here.

Stuff that you might not be able to find elsewhere and it is also cheaper!

There are so many things to see.

That's also why I moved to Ikebukuro.

if you would prefer more family-friendly anime content

you might stop by sunshine city right next to the OTOME road

where you get to enjoy  standard anime content like one piece or pokemon

we decided to visit Pochama Sweets in Sunshine City

and try their variety of pokemon inspired desserts

interesting thing about this cafe is that you  you're not allowed to eat inside

the interior was solely designed for you to take pictures with  your cute desserts

and eat your dessert outside

ice cream

good?

i have to eat the egg first

yes

very delicious

and which place would you visit in ikebukuro?