It’s game on in Nakano
THEY sit in a row, slightly hunched and transfixed by the pixelated characters bouncing across the screens. Barely blinking, their fingers feverishly work the controls of the old video game arcade machines, the like of which are now normally reserved for museums or scrapyards.
Yet here, it’s as if they have never gone out of fashion. This isn’t a museum and there is not a teenager in sight. Instead, middle-aged businessmen are indulging in one of Japan’s greatest forms of popular culture, in a district of Tokyo that embraces it more than any other.
Known as the “Holy Land of Otaku” (otaku denoting those obsessed with Japanese animation), the overlooked district of Nakano in the north-west of the capital has long been at the epicentre of anime and manga.
The computer craze has travelled way beyond these Far Eastern shores since its conception in the Sixties. This week sees the Hyper Japan festival (hyperjapan.co.uk, July 10-12) come to London with more than 100,000 people expected to attend the two-day event at the O2.
Yet in Tokyo, and Nakano specifically, otaku is almost a religion.
More nostalgic than trendy, and certainly less commercial than rival neighbourhood Akihabara, this enclave of quirky cafés, hi dden i nns a nd specialist shopping offers a glimpse of a Tokyo that’s fast fading away. “It’s a small area known for its nerdy shops but it’s considered one of the best places to live in the capital,” says guide David Lovejoy. In a city with an insatiable appetite for the modern, Nakano retains a sense of yesteryear that is delightfully refreshing.
Bed in: sky-high views
Despite being one of Tokyo’s most densely populated districts, there are no hotels of note in Nakano. That said, the bright lights (and glitzy hotels) of Shinjuku are just a four-minute metro ride away.
The property currently making the biggest waves is the new Aman Tokyo (00 81 3 5224 3333; amanresorts.com). Overlooking the lush Imperial Palace Gardens (and Mount Fuji on a rare clear day), the property occupies the top six floors of the Otemachi Tower with 84 rooms decked out in camphor wood and screens of traditional washi paper with sunken furo bathtubs starting from JPY75,000 (£389), room only.
There is local art throughout, some inspired by the annual cherry blossom displays, and a black granite infinity pool on the 33rd floor.
Fed and watered: Alien maids and artistic cafés
Nakano’s warren of narrow alleys is teeming with bars and eccentric eateries, not least the Kuroneco Maid Café (00 81 3 5942 7540; neconimi.info). Here, waitresses dressed in French maid outfits and furr y c at ears t ake on characters as felines sent from a distant planet while serving glasses of shochu (a distilled beverage made from barley) and sweet plum wine.
Beyond that are places that offer a little more sophistication. Kasai (00 81 3 5380 4030), a st anding- only re s t aur a nt opposite the northern entrance of the metro station, serves cheap, tasty portions of soba noodles in blue bowls from Y370 (£2). Judging by the snaking queue and the loud slurps, the locals love it.
Alternatively, grab one of the two coveted tables at Miharu (00 81 3 6677 1990), which is decorated with bamboo shoots and paper lanterns. The speciality is freshwater eel from the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, grilled by wizened chef Suzuki Masaharu. “I’ve been cooking eel for 45 years,” he tells me. “The key is to make sure it’s fresh every day.”
While much of Nakano can be described as more retro than progressive, there are signs of it starting to change. Zingaro (0081 3 5942 8382; bar-zingaro.jp), a trendy bar and coffee shop, serves strong espresso and thirstquenching cups of shaved ice flavoured with novel combinations such as strawberry adzuki and sweet red-bean paste (Y900/£4). The industrial setting is softened by Seventies-style armchairs and prints of s mi li n g fl owe r s by postmodern artist (and proprietor) Takashi Murakami, considered to be the Andy Warhol of Japan.
In the bag: anime for all
Forget fashion in Harajuku and electronics in Akihabara, Nakano is one of Tokyo’s great shopping destinations. Retail therapy here is concentrated almost exclusively around the four- storey Nakano Broadway mall (nbw.jp). It may look a little tired and unremarkable upon first glance, with uninspiring clothes shops on the first floor, but upstairs is an anime utopia attrac ting fans from around the world.
Beyond the retro arcade machines a re-dozens of specialist stores — including 12 branches of leading anime retailer Mandarake (mandarake.co.jp). In some, the shelves heave under the weight of thousands of hand-painted figurines while others stock elaborate manga costumes, vintage video games and rare Japanese comics with price tags upwards of £1,000.
Cultural agenda: comics, comics and more comics
Nakano Broadway offers more than just the opportunity to dress up as your favourite manga character. It also hosts regular pop-up exhibitions featuring works from classic comics and video games, including some by legendary artist and director Hayao Miyazaki, a man often compared to Walt Disney.
Diehard fans can give it a go themselves with lessons at the Manga School Nakano (nakanomangaschool.jp; from Y5,000/£26).
Another of the city’s premier anime cultural attractions is the Tokyo Anime Centre (00 81 3 5298 1188; animecentre.jp) in Akihabara, with cutting-edge exhibits that change every fortnight.
Details: Tokyo
Qatar Airways (0333 320 2454; qatarairways.com) flies from Heathrow to Tokyo, via Doha. Returns from £786. Inside Japan Tours (0117 370 9751, insidejapantours.com) offers five nights in Tokyo from £2,182pp including B&B accommodation at Aman Tokyo, transfers and a day’s private guiding. Japan tourism: seejapan.co.uk