Here's some additional text that was cut due to space restrictions from my recent Japan Times article on Akihabara.
NO FUN
As real-estate developers size up new digs and construction reaches an all-time peak in Akihabara, some real gems have gone the way of the dodo. Here’s a list of some now-absent friends.
Akihabara Department Store
Ok. So one had ever done any shopping in this large-sized department store connected to the JR station for decades, which couldn’t have helped the bottom line much. But the food court on the first floor long served an invaluable purpose as Akihabara’s very own cafeteria. There, a hungry public could dine on donburi, okonomikyaki, sushi, and steak from one of the many mini-restaurants inside. The grub wasn’t gourmet, but neither are most otaku. It was always fast and (most importantly) dirt cheap, so the place was beloved until the doors slammed shut in late 2006.
LAOX The Computer
A symbol of Akihabara’s do-it-yourself computer know-how, and centrally located in the middle of town, this six-story emporium stocked everything you could possibly need to maintain an all-digital lifestyle. Back in the ‘90s salad days, otaku would line up around the block to snap up new operating systems the second they went on sale, but business was sucked away by the bright and shiny Yodobashi Akiba superstore that opened recently nearby. Now, even the maids who ran a cafe on the basement floor are out of work. Tragic really.
Sofmap Store #13
The Yamagiwa chain, which sold DVDs, CDs, PC software and stuff like that, is merging with the Sofmap chain that also sells DVDs, CDs, PC software and stuff like that. Stores on both sides of the fence are closing down, and reopening under new names. One store that isn’t resurfacing is Sofmap Store #13 (an unlucky number?), which was a haven of new and used video games. So it goes…
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