The creepy entrance to one of the many "Mandrake" shops on the Nakano broadway. This one specializes in antique collectibles.
I'm not that big into "tourist spots" in Japan, but there are areas which I think are interesting to visit on occasion. I'm not such a great fan of the "classic" spots like Kyoto or Mt. Fuji because I think they aren't "real Japan" anymore than the Grand Canyon is "real America", but I do like areas which have a strange spin of their own. I especially like them if they aren't too far afield from where I reside and if they display unique character. One of those spots is the
Nakano Broadway area. It's an odd mixture of the young and hip with the old and traditional. Walking around there, you see a myriad of shops selling strange items for collectors and geeks (otaku) as well as old folks at repair shops and fortune tellers. It's a great cross-section of what appeals to people of all sorts in Japan.
The
Nakano Broadway area is a curious mix of what's new and weird with what's old and curious and its all packed into a space that you can walk through without wasting and entire day or wearing out your shoe leather, and I'll miss it.
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