Is Nippombashi Denden Town becoming Akihabara?

So, for my final full day in Japan, I've decided to visit the Denden town of Osaka, that was said to be the Akihabara of Osaka. First is to check out if there are anything worth buying, and second, to attend a screening event where I should not be spilling the contents of the event (but it's a lot of fun and laughter!).

Because I was very busy shopping, I definitely did not remember about taking many pictures around the area. In the morning, around 9am, I departed to Namba station and walked my way towards the event area to make some confirmation of entry, because to be frank, Denden town is unlike Akihabara. This place is not labelled as 'Denden town', and it's actually located in Nippombashi (or some of you spell it as Nipponbashi) of Osaka (hint: Nipponbashi is in Tokyo, in Osaka, it's Nippombashi even though the writings are the same). You can access to Denden town if you get off from Namba station or Ebisu station, whichever that is convenient to you.

Upon my event entry's confirmation, I walked around to look for local food such as Takoyaki and also filled my stomach with food that I bought from Tamade Supermarket, which is cheaper compared to convenience stores like Lawson or Family Mart, and went in and out of stores along the streets in Denden town. I also went shopping for different goods and played some retro games, then headed back to the event, and resumed my shopping in Animate, lurked around Namba to listen to indie bands, and headed back to Hanazonocho to pack for my leave on the following day.

Some of my friends have asked me if Denden town is really worth going, so I decided to continue writing about it in this post too.

So... Question time: Is Nippombashi's Denden Town becoming Akihabara?

In Denden town, there are electronic shops that you could buy home appliances, retro games and consoles, anime goods, materials for crafting for all your BJD's (ball-joint dolls) needs, and there are also many second-hand stores. Also, there are stores that sells items for your computers, but I never checked them out because I find the prices not exactly cheap compared to Malaysia (because there are factories that manufactures IT gadgets here) and I would like to avoid getting myself taxed heavily if I carry electronics home.

Because of the range of items that you could find in Denden town, it is why Denden town is called the Akihabara of Osaka as most of the stores in Akihabara are selling things that are either electronic-related or anime-related. There are also maid cafes, arcades, trading card stores, places where you can play card games with other players, etc. in both towns.

To be frank, I managed to haul a couple of figures that I've been looking for in Denden town, where the prices are cheaper than the ones I saw in Akihabara, but there are also a couple of things that I did not manage to find in Osaka that I did regret not getting them in Tokyo. I also found a bag that has a really beautiful illustration of Free! Eternal Summer in Denden town, but later of the day I realized that I didn't need the bag because I have a ton of bags at home, so I didn't get it.

The next question is... "Is Denden town as good as Akihabara?"

My answer? It depends on how you see it, though most (including me) would take "no" as an answer.

Many stores in Denden town tend to close around 8:30pm, though some (like Animate Nippombashi branch) are open until 10pm or later, but night time in Denden town isn't exactly a pleasant experience if you think that the dark is rather creepy. Unlike Akihabara, especially around the Akibahara station, you can see many giant screens and the area is generally very well-lit in the evening.

Besides, Akihabara of Tokyo is very crowded with both locals and foreigners and you could see many taking photos around, but in Osaka's Denden town, it's not as populated, and eerily quiet at night. If you wanted to see people, you might have to walk towards to the Namba station to see more illuminations and the opening convenience stores.

However, the plus point about Denden town is that it's close to Namba station that if you are visiting there in the evening, you could snag a chance to listen to various street performances, shop in shopping malls/streets (they are very close to each other so it makes shopping easy!), or viewing night illuminations in a walking distance. Unlike Akihabara, you might need to take a train to go to shopping districts. So I think Osaka would suit families pretty well where, the parents that have no interest in the Japanese anime culture could shop in shopping malls and the kids could spend hours in secondhand store for some treasure-hunting. (Well, if the parents like anime or gadgets they could just decide to go Denden/Akihabara together too)

In Akihabara, there are many high-rise buildings where you can see blocks of arcades, there are lesser buildings like those in Denden town. There are still arcade buildings, but it's definitely not as much compared to Akihabara, but most the games that are available in Akihabara are also seen in Denden town. Furthermore, if you walk along the alleys of Akihabara, you will also find a series of smalls that sells souvenirs, digital parts, home appliances, screws or tiny parts. It is, however, not a sight that you'd see in Denden town of Osaka, as the stalls are usually outside of a store individually.

Another question: Is Denden Town the replacement of Akihabara?

Of course, a huge no. Or at least, not in a short time period. I'd say that Akihabara is a lot more living and vivid compared to Denden town, and Denden town is definitely not going to be seen as a replacement of Tokyo's Akihabara anytime soon.

Then, the following question: So should I visit Akihabara instead of Denden town?

In my opinion, I think Denden town is good to visit if:
(1) You do not plan to go up to Tokyo for anything else other than Akihabara (you should visit Tokyo for many other things though!), since it's not economical to visit Tokyo from Osaka solely to visit Akihabara itself because transportation fees are not cheap at all.

•       (1.1)  If you have less than 7 days in Japan...  It isn't very wise to go around from Tokyo to Osaka or the other way round -- You'll miss out A LOT. 

(2) You have nothing else to do in Osaka (lol)
(3) You wanted to see what Denden town is like (and shop there lol) :D

A reminder for those that are going to compare Denden town based on your expectations from your visit to Akihabara, PLEASE DON'T DO THAT, it's going to only bring you disappointment if you do so.

Why? Not just because you might think that many things you see in Denden town could be found in Akihabara, but also the significantly lesser stores compared to Akihabara, and the earlier closing hours of stores in Osaka as well. If you are a huge fan of Gundam or AKB48 and wish to visit their cafes in Akihabara (it's very close to the Akihabara station!), then I believe that Akihabara is a good place. However, if you are a lady that is more into otome series (reverse harem) then Ikebukuro of Tokyo is going to interest you a lot more than both Akihabara and Denden town.

Of course, I would like to strengthen the fact that Tokyo and Osaka are two different cities of different scales, different sizes, different history, and people with different cultures. Tokyo is a large city that offers a lot and it's the capital of Japan in the Kanto region, but Osaka is smaller compared to Tokyo, and has more of the traditional elements and is the Kansai region. Not to mention that Osaka is also closer to places like Kyoto and Nara. So don't impose your expectations from Akihabara to Denden town because these two places are different.

To conclude, if you could afford to visit both Denden town and Akihabara, good for you and I hope you enjoyed both places. If you can't and only visit either one, it's completely okay too, you can always visit the other one next time if you work hard enough for it. But always keep in mind that although they are places to shop for your favorite digital/ anime goods, these two places are not at the same scale. So please do not put the two places on a side-by-side comparison and place unnecessary expectations so that you won't be disappointed in your travel.

Jin, signing off!