I visited Nipponbashi as part of a field trip led by local Kansai Gaidai students. It is known as the "Akihabara of Osaka": a mecca for all things anime, manga, video games, and other interests attributed to otaku.

 This was really a trip dedicated more to my geek interests rather than my interest in Japanese history and culture. The two biggest stores I visited here were Animate (styled "animate") and Super Potato. Animate is one of the largest store chains dedicated to anime and manga merchandise in Japan, and I also visited branches in Kyoto and Tokyo. However, this one was the largest- a huge five-story tall building with each floor dedicated to different kinds of Japanese media... just make sure to check what's on the floor you're visiting since it's not all safe for work. Super Potato is dedicated to retro gaming, with a ton of old video games and consoles at reasonable prices. Considering how expensive the market for retro games is in the US, it's worth checking out stores in Japan to get into it. I personally picked up a Super Famicom, the Japanese name for the SNES, as well as an original copy of my favorite game, Chrono Trigger. That's not to mention the manga and gacha machines I indulged in. It was truly a dangerous place for my wallet.

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Published __/__/22

Key words: Ashton Leigh Will visual artist graphic designer The Consulting Arts manga digital art comics comic book illustrator anime oil pencil charcoal Randolph-Macon College Ashland Virginia VA Kansai-Gaidai University Osaka Japan Kyoto Okinawa Gilman Scholarship Valutivity LLC