32 anime, manga, figure and hobby shops across four Tokyo areas, anchored on Akihabara, the Electric Town district where anime goods have their densest concentration in the city. This is a curated pick rather than an exhaustive list, running from the giant used chains and the flagship anime-goods retailers to figure specialists, doujinshi (self-published works) shops and the official brand stores.
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Akihabara, known as Electric Town (Denki Gai), is the center of anime and manga shopping in Tokyo. What began as a postwar electronics market grew into the densest run of anime-goods, figure and hobby shops in the city, stacked floor over floor within a few blocks of the station. This guide maps 32 shops across four areas, organized around what each one does best rather than a single flat ranking. Fifteen sit in Akihabara itself, from the used resale giant Mandarake and the anime-goods retailer Animate to the ten-floor hobby tower Radio Kaikan, the figure makers Kotobukiya, amiami and TAMASHII NATIONS, and the doujinshi (self-published works) shops Melonbooks and K-BOOKS. Three further groups gather the standout spots elsewhere, the official brand stores in Shibuya, the Otome Road fandom hub in Ikebukuro, and the Shinjuku and Odaiba stretch. Shop-type tags on every card say whether a stop is a resale chain, a figure specialist, a doujinshi shop or an official brand store.
Best Shops For...
The Giant Used Anime Chain
Mandarake Complex
The Flagship Anime Retailer
Animate Ikebukuro
Figures and Model Kits
Kotobukiya
The Official Gunpla Destination
The Gundam Base Tokyo
Official Brand Stores
Nintendo TOKYO and Pokemon Center
Doujinshi on Otome Road
Ikebukuro
15 locations·Akihabara
Akihabara, known as Electric Town (Denki Gai), is the anchor of this guide and holds fifteen of its 32 shops within a few blocks of the station. Mandarake resells used manga, anime and figures over eight floors, Animate stocks the current official goods, and Radio Kaikan stacks ten floors of hobby tenants into a single tower. Around them sit the figure makers Kotobukiya, amiami and TAMASHII NATIONS, the doujinshi (self-published works) shops Melonbooks and K-BOOKS, the tabletop and model specialists Yellow Submarine and Volks, and the used-goods branches of Surugaya. This is the one district no anime shopping trip skips.
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See It In Action
7 locations·Shibuya
Shibuya holds the official brand stores. Nintendo TOKYO and Pokemon Center Shibuya share the sixth floor of Shibuya PARCO, which also carries the Jump Shop and the CAPCOM and SEGA stores. The ONE PIECE Straw Hat Store sits nearby in the MAGNET by Shibuya 109 building, and a Mandarake branch below the Shibuya BEAM building covers used goods. This is the group to fold in for first-party merchandise rather than resale.
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See It In Action
7 locations·Ikebukuro
Ikebukuro is the counterpart to Akihabara, centered on Otome Road, the stretch near Sunshine City known as a hub for female fans. The Animate flagship anchors it, one of the largest branches of the chain, and the doujinshi (self-published works) shops Comic Toranoana, Melonbooks and K-BOOKS run alongside it, with the character shop Gamers and the ONE PIECE mugiwara store in Sunshine City rounding out the area. This is the group to fold in for the Otome Road fandom scene.
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See It In Action
3 locations·Shinjuku / Odaiba
Two stops sit near Shinjuku and one out in Odaiba, and each stands on its own. ARTNIA is the official Square Enix store and cafe near Shinjuku, Yellow Submarine keeps a tabletop and hobby game shop in the area, and The Gundam Base Tokyo, the official Gunpla (Gundam plastic model) destination, sits inside DiverCity Tokyo Plaza on Odaiba below the life-size Gundam statue. These are the stops to fold in when your route runs wider than the central wards.
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Tax-Free Shopping (Rules Change Nov 2026)
Tax-free availability varies by shop, so confirm participation and carry your passport. Through October 31, 2026, eligible visitors get the exemption at the register when spending at least 5,000 yen before tax at one store on the same day. From November 1, 2026, eligible visitors pay the tax-inclusive price first, customs confirms at departure that the goods are leaving Japan, and the retailer or its refund provider then returns the consumption-tax equivalent, with the method varying by store. The larger chains such as Animate, Mandarake and the official brand stores are the most likely to handle it smoothly.
Check Condition and Pre-Order Windows on Figures
Used figures are graded and priced by condition, and a boxed figure with its inserts costs more than a loose one, so check what is included before comparing prices between shops. New scale figures and gunpla (Gundam plastic model) kits are often sold on pre-order months ahead of release, so a display sample may be a listing to reserve rather than stock you can carry out. Ask staff whether an item is in stock or on order.
Doujinshi Floors and Age Checks
Doujinshi (self-published works) shops such as Melonbooks, K-BOOKS and Comic Toranoana split their stock across general floors and adults-only floors. The adult floors are gated by an age check and usually ask for photo identification, and photography is generally not allowed inside. Stay on the general floors if you are only after all-ages manga and character goods.
Carry Cash for the Smaller Shops
The larger chains and the official brand stores generally take cards, but several of the smaller figure, doujinshi and hobby shops are cash-first or set a card minimum. Keep some yen on hand so a small purchase does not become a problem, and note that many independent shops close earlier than a mall and can shut one day a week.
Visit on a Weekday
Akihabara and Ikebukuro draw heavy weekend crowds, and the narrow shop floors and hobby-tower stairwells get tight. Weekday afternoons are the calmest time to browse a stacked figure shelf or a doujinshi rack, and staff at the smaller shops have more room to help. A few shops also keep shorter or shifted hours early in the week, so check before a special trip.
Mandarake is the standard first stop, an eight-floor branch of the used manga, anime and figure resale chain, with each floor given over to a different category. From there, Animate carries the current official goods, Radio Kaikan stacks ten floors of hobby tenants into one tower, and Kotobukiya, amiami and TAMASHII NATIONS cover new figures and model kits. Melonbooks and K-BOOKS are the doujinshi (self-published works) stops.
Otome Road is a stretch near Sunshine City in Ikebukuro known as a hub for female fans. It anchors the second major anime shopping district after Akihabara, built around the flagship Animate branch and the doujinshi (self-published works) shops Comic Toranoana, K-BOOKS and Melonbooks, with the character shop Gamers and the ONE PIECE mugiwara store nearby. It is the group to fold in for the fandom scene rather than resale.
Nintendo TOKYO and Pokemon Center Shibuya share the sixth floor of Shibuya PARCO, so you can cover both in one visit, with the Jump Shop, the ONE PIECE Straw Hat Store and the CAPCOM and SEGA stores nearby. ARTNIA is the official Square Enix store and cafe near Shinjuku. The Gundam Base Tokyo, the official Gunpla (Gundam plastic model) destination, sits inside DiverCity Tokyo Plaza on Odaiba below the life-size Gundam statue.
In Akihabara, Kotobukiya sells its own figure and model-kit lines, amiami runs a multi-floor figure tower and a Radio Kaikan branch, and TAMASHII NATIONS is the official Bandai figure store. Mandarake carries used and vintage figures across its floors. For gunpla (Gundam plastic model) kits specifically, The Gundam Base Tokyo on Odaiba holds the widest official stock, from entry grades to high-end lines and store exclusives.
No, and it is not meant to be. Akihabara and Ikebukuro alone hold more shops than any guide could map, and there are figure, manga and hobby shops across the city. We highlighted these 32 for the strength of their stock, how they cluster into walkable areas, and what each one is genuinely best for, so every stop is worth a deliberate visit.
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