Stamp Rally
Despite the weather this past Sunday being a balmy 36 degrees, which felt like 43 with the humidity, I spent my afternoon strolling through Akihabara on the hunt for just one thing; stamps. After entering unknown stores, climbing endless flights of stairs, and becoming drenched in sweat, I had gotten all 8 stamps. I returned to the information desk and claimed my prize, brimming with satisfaction.
Stamp rallies, while tragically not something we have in the west, are a great way to explore new areas. Usually organized by train operators, tourist associations, shops, or some combination of the three, stamp rallies encourage you to visit different places of interest. I heard Akihabara was holding its first ever English stamp rally, and this felt like the perfect excuse to visit some new places.
The hardest part of this whole rally was actually finding the information desk to get the sheet. The article where I found out about the stamp rally had some general information, and an embedded google maps feature, but it was all in Japanese. I saw one information desk, and asked about the sheet. The staff member sifted through some papers for a while, before giving me a general direction, which turned out to be wrong in the end.
Finally, I found the tiny information desk, which I had probably walked by several times while searching for it. Google maps tends to get a little wonky in such dense areas like Tokyo, or maybe I’m just that bad with directions. Once I found the desk, they had the stamp sheets ready and waiting. It had a map of the area, and provided directions to each of the 8 stores, and information about each location.
Akihabara Radio Kaikan (AmiAmi)
My first location was right next to the information desk, and seemed like as good a place to start as any! Apparently this building is quite the landmark in Akihabara, and the original building was the first high rise in the area, built in 1962. It was replaced in 2011 due to structural concerns, and is quite the nice building.
My destination was the store on the 4th floor, AmiAmi, which purports to be one of the biggest figure stores in Akihabara. It was certainly a big store, and very busy, with small aisles and plenty of different anime figures. Between the people and the small aisles, it was a little difficult to navigate. I wandered around for a bit looking for my first stamp, but eventually decided to ask a staff member.
I had to follow them quite a distance to reach the stamp, so I was glad I asked. There was a small desk in an out of the way area of the store. You placed your sheet on the desk, used the inkpad, then give yourself a stamp. Now that I knew what sort of thing I was looking for, I figured the rest of this rally would go a bit smoother.
Sofmap
This was the furthest location from the starting point, so I decided to knock it out next. Softmap is a chain store that mainly sells computers and everything that goes along with them. I’ve never been a big PC enthusiast, and while I had originally brought my laptop to Japan with me, I sent it back with my parents when they visited for Golden Week.
So I briskly made my way up the 7 sets of escalators required to reach the stamp station. Incidentally, this floor was the most interesting, being esports related, and having personal setups that could be rented. I’d probably never make use of it, but it was a neat idea in theory. I grabbed my stamp, made my way back down, and went on my merry way.
Akiba Cultures Zone At-home Cafe & Astop
Another collection of various stores, this building was the only location to have 2 different stamps, albeit on different floors. First was the At-home Cafe, one of the (in)famous maid cafes you may have heard about. While not the main location, At-home cafe is one of the biggest maid cafes in Akihabara, and a sign board displayed a waiting time of 2 hours. I can’t say maid cafes hold too much interest for me, so I grabbed my stamp and moved along.
Astop, on the other hand, was probably my favorite location. Like AmiAmi, my first stop, this was a large store filled with different figures across different games and anime franchises. Unlike AmiAmi, this was a lot less busy, with more room to navigate the aisles, and better display cases. It says that it’s Akihabara’s largest rental showcase that sells goods on behalf of individual customers.
I’m not entirely sure how that works out in practice, but in my mind that makes it more akin to an artist alley like the kind you see at conventions. Except instead of individual vendors, it’s under one umbrella, but with many different collaborators. Regardless, I’ll definitely be back to this store. The quality of the figures on display was excellent, and the prices seemed quite reasonable. For now though, I grabbed my stamp, mentally bookmarked this store, and carried on.
Pasela
After my favorite stop came the most confusing one. When I entered the building I saw signs for Luida's Bar, Final Fantasy Eorzea Cafe, and Grandcypher Kitchen. These were all different game related cafes and entertainment areas, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and Granblue Fantasy respectively. I’ve considered trying to go to Luida's Bar, but I’ve heard reservations are quite difficult to get.
As for what was on the first floor, where the stamp was, I couldn’t quite tell you. Apparently there’s also karaoke available here. The website for this building describes it as “Karaoke Pasela Akihabara Multi-Entertainment Store” which really doesn’t clear things up for me. Confusion aside, I was only here for the stamp, so I located the tiny desk, got my stamp, and headed to the next destination.
Surugaya
The last of the anime figure shops, this one might have been my least favorite. It had the usual problems of small aisles, and while not crowded, it felt the most claustrophobic. In my mind, it also leaned into the more negative stereotypical aspects of anime culture. That is to say, plenty of scantily clad girls with unrealistic proportions.
This store sells Doujin goods, which are self published works. Sometimes these are original ideas, but more often they’re derivative works, similar to fanfiction. While I’m far from an expert, and I don’t want to be too dismissive, I got the sense these kinds of goods might lean into aspects of Otaku culture that I don’t care for. It could have been the heat which put me in a more close minded mood, but I just grabbed my stamp and kept going.
Otachu
Now this stop was a doozy. My destination was on the 7th floor, and while there was an elevator, I knew if I wanted to use it I’d be here for a lot longer than I planned. There was only 1 elevator, and it was quite tiny. Even if I managed to take it up, getting back down would be another story. So, I found the stairs and began to climb.
While most of the staircases here are clean, and feel like part of the main building, this was sectioned off with doors leading to the various stores, and felt more like a fire escape. It wasn’t super well lit, surprisingly dirty, and there was even garbage left on some of the floors. It was quite the surprise.
After climbing up 7 floors, I opened the door, and was greeted by a long line of people waiting to use the elevator. In this case my elevator intuition seemed to be spot on. As I sneaked past the line of people into the store proper, someone darted through the door behind me, probably relieved to know there was another option.
This store was a Gundam specialty store, a long running media franchise that focuses on giant robots. There were plenty of model kits and figures from all the different series, and the patrons usually had multiple boxes in hand. I’ve only seen 2 Gundam anime, and don’t care much for building models, but I can certainly respect the enthusiasm.
Eventually I had to ask a busy staff member where the stamp was. It was over by the elevator and the long line of people of course. I shimmied by, grabbed my stamp, and prepared myself to go back down the 7 dingy flights of stairs.
Akiba Tolim
Last up was a shopping center, one where I ate lunch just before starting the stamp rally funnily enough. I found the stamp on the first floor, so I didn’t really have to do much exploring. At this point I was ready to claim my prize, so I quickly got my stamp, and started heading towards the information desk.
The Finish Line
Once I showed my completed stamp rally sheet, I was given a choice for my prize. I could either get a pen, or a clear plastic sheet with Gundam characters on it. Incidentally, it happened to be Gundam characters from one of the 2 shows I had actually seen, so I chose one of those as my prize. I haven’t actually opened it, but I think you’re intended to use it as a mat for other Gunam figures or models.
While not exactly a stellar prize, I had come for the experience of trying out a stamp rally, and I had thoroughly enjoyed it! I’ll definitely be coming back to Astop when I'm ready to make some bigger purchases, and I feel like I learned more about Akihabara. Most stamp rallies aren’t available in English, but I think with my minimal level of Japanese, I actually might be able to get by.
I want to explore more of Tokyo, but having a structure of where to go makes it a lot easier. It gives you a goal, shows you places you may not have been too, and lets you make plenty of discoveries along the way! It seems like such a brilliant tourism idea, since it benefits everyone involved, that I almost hope we start having them in Vancouver. This was a really fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon, and I hope I get to try more stamp rallies in the future!
