Day six of John’s 2025 Tokyo trip turned into a marathon through Asakusa, Ryogoku, Nakano, and Akihabara, blending historic landmarks with some of the city’s most rewarding anime-collecting destinations. The biggest haul came at Nakano Broadway, where a careful search uncovered production cels, genga drawings, vintage shitajiki, and a surprisingly affordable piece of Kaze Makase Tsukikage Ran memorabilia.
The day began in Asakusa, where the crowds around Kaminarimon Gate were already making photography difficult. The famous entrance to Senso-ji Temple is marked by its enormous red lantern, and the gate remains one of the best-known symbols of the district. Rather than push directly through the packed Nakamise shopping street, John and Phil took a quieter side route toward the temple grounds.
Senso-ji, officially known as Kinryuzan Senso-ji, is Tokyo’s oldest temple according to the temple’s own history. Its principal image is not open for public viewing, so after photographing the grounds, the pair exited from the side and continued toward Taito.
From Bandai’s Building to Ryogoku’s Memorials
The walk offered plenty of unexpected diversions. John and Phil looked through several Japanese kitchen-knife shops, spotted gachapon machines featuring fried shrimp and vinyl Godzilla kaiju, and passed the World Bags & Luggage Museum. John also noticed the Bandai headquarters building, whose exterior is lined with character statues. The building’s visitors’ lobby was closed for the weekend, but that did not stop the travelers from taking photographs with the statues outside.
After crossing Umayabashi Bridge, they followed the Sumida River to Kyu-Yasuda Gardens. Phil had visited the compact garden earlier in the trip, but returned for more photographs. The route then continued past Ryogoku Kokugikan, the famous sumo arena, where banners announced the current tournament. A nearby sumo-themed restaurant provided another photo opportunity, although Phil once again declined to match John’s pose.
The more sobering stop came at Yokoamicho Park. The park is home to the Tokyo Memorial Hall, which commemorates victims of both the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the 1944–45 Tokyo firebombings. John and Phil walked through the grounds, entered the memorial building, and watched its looping ten-minute introductory video before returning through Kyu-Yasuda Gardens to reach Ryogoku Station.
Nakano Broadway Delivers the Day’s Best Finds
After traveling to Nakano, the pair stopped at CoCo Ichibanya for curry. John chose katsu curry, while Phil ordered plain curry, before they made their way through the shopping arcade toward Nakano Broadway.
The original plan was to visit Apple Symphony on the fourth floor and look for a Cream Lemon production cel. Unfortunately, the store was closed for inventory. The setback turned into an opportunity, however, when John and Phil located 2D Gallery, a newer Nakano Broadway shop specializing in production cels and genga drawings.
The store’s high-end material included cels from Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Perfect Blue priced in the thousands of dollars. John instead concentrated on the bargain selections. He purchased two cels and matching genga of Meow and Ran from Kaze Makase Tsukikage Ran for 800 yen, two cel-and-douga sets from Figure 17 for 500 yen, and two cels featuring Seira and Koharu Hotta from the 1998 television series Princess Nine for another 500 yen.
The haul continued at Mandarake’s trading-card shop, which also carried shitajiki, the collectible plastic pencil boards popular with anime fans. John found Zillion artwork featuring Apple, a 1987 Majokko Club board, and an Iczer-One face close-up, each priced at 1,000 yen. Phil selected a Samurai Troopers board at the same price.
Akihabara’s Vintage Anime Hunt
Back in Akihabara, John checked K-Books for adult-oriented doujinshi and later visited Mandarake’s vintage manga floor in search of Cream Lemon material. A first-edition third volume with its obi was available for 6,500 yen, but he decided to leave it behind because he already owned a second edition.
The real surprise was a vintage issue of Lemon People. The October 1983 issue, notable to longtime fans for the early appearance of Tatakae! Iczer-One, was not in perfect condition, but its 400-yen price made it an easy purchase.
John also searched for a previously spotted Lashinbang tapestry and browsed Suruga-ya’s adult doujinshi section. The store’s genre- and parody-based filing system made specific titles difficult to locate, but clearance shelves offered comics for as little as 20 yen each. With closing time approaching, he made a quick selection before leaving to meet Phil at the station.
The evening ended in Aoto with a grocery stop for another liter bottle of C.C. Lemon and dinner at Yoshinoya. Two extra-large beef bowls with extra beef provided a fitting finish to a day that covered temples, memorials, sumo, Bandai character statues, and several of Tokyo’s deepest anime shopping rabbit holes. For collectors, the bigger surprise was how much vintage material could still turn up in the bargain bins.
John’s next stops are worth keeping an eye on, especially if the search for Cream Lemon, Dirty Pair, and other vintage anime collectibles continues.
Sources
senso-ji.jp
nakano-broadway.com
