The Tokyo Anime Center (東京アニメセンター) is a facility that was created to market anime to residents of Japan and foreign visitors. The facility hosts events such as live radio interviews with creators, voice actors, and merchandising fairs. It once included the AKIBA 3DTheater. It dubs itself "the definitive spot for anime and anime-related entertainment."
18-623: It was previously located on the fourth floor of the Akihabara UDX building near JR Akihabara Station . In 2007, many promotional displays for the then-upcoming Rebuild of Evangelion movie were set up inside the Tokyo Anime Center, including life-size cardboard stand-ups of Rei Ayanami and interactive demos. More permanent sections of the center contain merchandise from popular anime series, such as mugs, keychains, promotional flyers, mouse pads, etc. On January 10, 2011,
36-590: A facility operated by Apaman Shop Network in Kitakyushu , Fukuoka . On July 29, 2017, the Tokyo Anime Center ended its operation inside the Akihabara UDX building due to the expiration of its tenant contract. It subsequently changed its management to Dainippon Printing Co., Ltd. and moved to DNP Plaza in the Ichigaya -Tamachi district of Shinjuku , Tokyo. The facility reopened on October 28, 2017, with
54-510: A time when they were only used by specialists and hobbyists. This brought in a new type of consumer, computer nerds or otaku . The market in Akihabara latched onto their new customer base that was focused on anime , manga , and video games. The connection between Akihabara and otaku has grown to the point that the region is a center for otaku culture. The streets of Akihabara are covered with anime and manga icons, and cosplayers line
72-649: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Akihabara Akihabara ( Japanese : 秋葉原 ) is a neighborhood in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo , Japan, generally considered to be the area surrounding Akihabara Station (nicknamed Akihabara Electric Town ). This area is part of the Sotokanda ( 外神田 ) and Kanda-Sakumachō districts of Chiyoda. There is an administrative district called Akihabara (part of Taitō ward ), located north of Akihabara Electric Town surrounding Akihabara Neribei Park. The name Akihabara
90-434: Is a shortening of Akibagahara ( 秋葉ヶ原 ) , which comes from Akiba ( 秋葉 ) , named after a fire-controlling deity of a firefighting shrine built after the area was destroyed by a fire in 1869. Akihabara gained the nickname Akihabara Electric Town ( 秋葉原電気街 , Akihabara Denki Gai ) shortly after World War II for being a major shopping center for household electronic goods and the post-war black market . Akihabara
108-406: Is an administrative district called Akihabara north of Akihabara Electric Town surrounding Akihabara Neribei Park. This district is part of Taitō ward . Akihabara was once near a city gate of Edo and served as a passage between the city and northwestern Japan. This made the region a home to many craftsmen and tradesmen, as well as some low-class samurai . One of Tokyo's frequent fires destroyed
126-439: Is considered by many to be the centre of Japanese otaku culture, and is a major shopping district for video games , anime , manga , electronics and computer-related goods. Icons from popular anime and manga are displayed prominently on the shops in the area, and numerous maid cafés and some arcades are found throughout the district. The main area of Akihabara is located on a street just west of Akihabara Station . There
144-521: Is famous for its typical Shitamachi districts. The Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center provides amenities to both tourists and locals. Eiken Chemical , a clinical diagnostics and equipment manufacturer, has its headquarters in Taito. Tokyo Ricoh Office Solution and Ricoh Technosystems, divisions of Ricoh , are headquartered in Taitō as of 2008. Chikumashobo , a publisher, has its headquarters in
162-626: The Kuramae ( 蔵前 ) area of the ward. Prefectural public high schools are operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education . Private schools: The school district of the metropolis also operates one metropolitan junior high school: The Taito City Board of Education (台東区教育委員会) operates municipal elementary and junior high schools. Municipal junior high schools: Municipal elementary schools: Taito operates several public libraries, including
180-585: The 1970s. Tait%C5%8D Taitō ( 台東区 , Taitō-ku ) is a special ward in the Tokyo Metropolis in Japan . In English, it is known as Taitō City . As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 186,276, and a population density of 18,420 persons per km . The total area is 10.11 square kilometres (3.90 sq mi). This makes Taito ward the smallest of Tokyo's wards in area, and third-smallest in population. The ward
198-809: The Central Library, the Central Library Asakusabashi Branch, the Negishi Library, and the Ishihama Library. The Central Library is located in the first and second floors of the Lifelong Learning Center. The city operates the Lifelong Learning Center, a complex including a multi-media room, a studio, and other facilities. The Central Library is on the first and second floors of the Lifelong Learning Center. The City of Taito operates
SECTION 10
#1732791863751216-615: The Tokyo Anime Center temporarily closed. It reopened on a trial basis on February 26 of the same year, under the sole management of the Association of Japanese Animations , and then renovated and officially reopened on April 12. It closed again in February 2012 and then reopened on August 25 of that year under a joint management agreement with Apaman Shop Network. The facility was renamed "Tokyo Anime Center in Aruaru City," after
234-442: The area in 1869, and the people decided to replace the buildings of the area with a shrine called Chinkasha (now known as Akiba Shrine 秋葉神社 Akiba Jinja , lit. ' fire extinguisher shrine ' ), in an attempt to prevent the spread of future fires. The locals nicknamed the shrine Akiba after the deity that could control fire, and the area around it became known as Akibagahara, later Akihabara. After Akihabara Station
252-406: The district to grow as a market city. In the 1930s, this climate turned Akihabara into a market region specializing in household electronics , such as washing machines, refrigerators, televisions, and stereos, earning Akihabara the nickname "Electric Town". As household electronics began to lose their futuristic appeal in the 1980s, the shops of Akihabara shifted their focus to home computers, at
270-662: The new name "Tokyo Anime Center in DNP Plaza." On April 16, 2021, it moved to the 2nd floor of "Shibuya Modi" in Shibuya , Tokyo, aiming to provide new experience that combined the real and virtual. The name of the facility was changed to "Tokyo Anime Center in DNP PLAZA Shibuya. On April 13, 2024, the first overseas location opened in Japantown, San Francisco , California. This anime-related organisation article
288-496: The sidewalks handing out advertisements, especially for maid cafés . Release events, special events, and conventions are common in Akihabara. Architects design the stores of Akihabara to be opaque and closed, to reflect the desire of many otaku to live in their anime worlds rather than display their interests. Akihabara's role as a free market has allowed a large amount of amateur work to find an audience. Doujinshi (amateur or fanmade manga) has been growing in Akihabara since
306-526: Was built in 1888, the shrine was moved to the Taitō ward , where it resides today. Since its opening in 1890, Akihabara Station became a major freight transit point, which allowed a vegetable and fruit market to spring up. In the 1920s, the station saw a large volume of passengers after opening for public transport. After World War II, the black market thrived in the absence of a strong government. This disconnection of Akihabara from government authority allowed
324-652: Was founded on March 15, 1947, with the merger of the old Asakusa and Shitaya wards when Tokyo City was transformed into Tokyo Metropolis. During the Edo period , the Yoshiwara licensed quarter was in what is now Taitō. Taitō shares the same Chinese characters, "台東" with Taitung , a city in Taiwan . Situated in the northeastern portion of the wards area of Tokyo, Taitō is surrounded by five other special wards: Chiyoda , Bunkyō , Arakawa , Sumida and Chūō . Taitō
#750249