Nakano Broadway, the mecca for sub-culture after Akihabara
After passing through Sun Mall Shopping Arcade accessible from the north exit of Nakano Station, Nakano Broadway is immediately ahead. Formerly, there were apartments on the upper floors and it was once a large shopping center but with the launch of Mandarake, a famous manga shop which has everything from specially-priced items to expensive rarities, other related stores gradually came in which sparked a change in the center.
Accompanying the success of Mandarake, aside from the manga shops, establishments which first flourished in Akihabara such as those related to anime, Japanese idols, military goods and maid cafes that represented Japanese sub-culture started appearing in Broadway one after another in great numbers. As a result, the place came to be known as a sub-culture mecca following Akihabara, and now, it has become a famous area for not only domestic visitors but also overseas tourists. The whole of Akiba has been called a sub-culture mecca but for Nakano Broadway, the fact that everything has been squeezed together into one shopping center is a part of its charm. In Broadway, the attraction is its maze-like arrangement in which a deep world is revealed within a tight space. The wide array of products has the reputation of answering the needs of any passionate collector.
Enjoy a walk inside the shops of Broadway
The actual Nakano Broadway is not completely buried in shops of Japanese sub-culture. In addition, the first four floors are of tricky construction with the escalator from the 1st floor heading to the 3rd floor. The 2nd floor can only be reached by stairway, and for a lot of first-time visitors, it is a bit daunting to get around. If there is something that you really want, you have to really research the shop in advance otherwise it’ll be difficult to track down, truly like a labyrinth. In the basement, there is another store that has been the topic of conversation. It’s known as Daily Chiko and it’s a hit for its huge soft-serve ice cream. Its colorful ice cream cone with as many as 8 flavors piled one on top of the other costs a cheap 350 yen. There are also distinctly Japanese flavors such as sesame seed and matcha. How about taking a break from the maze of Nakano Broadway by trying out a gigantic 8-layer soft-serve ice cream cone?
Pamphlets for Nakano Broadway are available in different languages (Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean)