【英语国际】东京的宅男天堂

Akihabara, a neighborhood in eastern Tokyo best known as a gadget mecca, has become the epicenter of geek pop culture, where otaku (geeks) shop for Japanese animation paraphernalia and frequent cafes staffed by girls in maid costumes.

Just outside the eastern city gate of old Tokyo, Akihabara emerged after World War II as a black market for rare and high-quality electronics. From the 1950s to 1980s, its shops rode the huge demand for televisions and refrigerators, then VCRs and videogame consoles. Today, electronics stores, hobby shops and anime-paraphernalia stores rub shoulders with the themed cafes, and new office and retail complexes that were built in the hopes of attracting greater business interest.

Adrian Lozano, a Southern California native who helps run an English language otaku blog and conducts tours of Akihabara, took me on a visit. Until a few years ago, otaku hangouts'and the geeks themselves'had a seedy reputation. But the widespread popularity five years ago of an ostensibly true love story called 'Train Man,' about a geek and a beautiful girl he meets on a train that was turned into a book and television series, improved their image. Akihabara got fresh attention.

Robots and a Shrine

Gundam Café is a popular coffee shop decorated in the theme of an iconic animation series about giant robots'the Star Wars of anime,' as Mr. Lozano described it. Young women dressed in a space outfit greeted us as I ordered an iced Jabro coffee, named after a place in a Gundam story, for about ¥320 ($4). We sat down at a table and watched as other customers came up to a large Gundam robot and took photos. From there, we went to the component market, a warren of tiny stalls known that sell everything from vacuum tubes to LED lights and radio parts. On the second floor, in a discreet corner by the stairs, lay what remains of the area's namesake, the Akiba Shrine, in a box. Mr. Lozano explained that the actual shrine was moved to a different location in the late 1800s when the railroad was built.

Radio Kaikan

Our next stop was Radio Kaikan, Akihabara's first high-rise, which now sells figurines, customizable dolls and amateur comic books based on popular anime. We went up to the lesser-known sixth and seventh floors, where private sellers can rent transparent lockers to display their goods, which include everything from Power Rangers and Star Trek paraphernalia to Korean Gundam figures.

The same items can cost as much as 50% more on the first floor, a premium for the convenience of access, said Mr. Lozano. Some items were racy, but Mr. Lozano says he tells people to look away if they don't like something. Rule No. 6 in his guidebook requests that visitors 'refrain from taking Akiba too seriously.'

Weapons

After stopping briefly at the Asobit City hobby shop, notable for its shooting range where otaku can play with soft-pellet guns. In the back streets, up a narrow staircase in a tiny building, weapons-props store Bukiya sells fake Japanese and Western swords and armor that can cost up to hundreds of dollars. On the way out, I noticed a photo studio where people can dress up in rental costumes and get their photo taken for a taste of 'cosplay,' or costume play.

Electronics, Old and New

Retro gaming center Super Potato has every video game ever sold. For about $40, one could buy an original Nintendo console in reasonably good shape. If one was willing to fix broken items, there are good deals to be had on electronics and computers. As we passed by huge electronics stores on Chuo Dori, the main Akihabara drag, Mr. Lozano said last month he paid ¥5,000 ($60) for a broken 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro that ended up requiring only a new hard-drive cable and power adapter for it to work again. 'It was a gamble,' he said.

Imitation Noodles

Japan is well known for its vending machines, which sell rice, beer and hot soups in a can, in addition to the usual soft drinks. So it shouldn't have been a surprise when Mr. Lozano led me to a vending machine only found in Akihabara that sells ramen and a fishcake stew called 'oden' in cans for ¥300 ($3.70). It was only after I bought one that he told me the noodles were imitation and made out of konnyaku, a gelatin made out of potato starch. It's translation in English is devil's tongue.

Maid Cafes

On the following day, I went back to explore Akihabara, this time with my 65-year old mother. We headed first to a maid café where waitresses dressed in pseudo-kimono wear pretended to be our servants, addressed us as 'Mistress' (yes, my mother too) and welcomed us home.

These cafes were initially places meant for otaku to have a cup of coffee in between shopping, but about six years ago, some of them hit upon the idea of introducing a role-playing element. Cafes now court families, women and even foreigners. (A sign at one location provided information on when an English-speaking maid would be present.)

For a mere ¥1,400 ($16), tourists can get a taste of the maid café experience at @Home Hana, a traditional Japanese-themed establishment. When I ordered an iced coffee, our cute 'eternally 17-year old' maid Mizuki poured the cream and stirred it for me until I asked her to stop, using the magic word 'moe,' which is used by the otaku to express burning passion.

The price also included the option to play a game or have an instant photo taken with the maid of my choice. Props were optional, so I put on giraffe ears and posed with Mizuki, who handed me the photo later with her name and lots of hearts drawn all over it in bright pink. As we were leaving, they handed us pink candy and American Express-like plastic loyalty cards that proclaimed us as having a 'license of your majesty.'

Akihabara Girls

The highlight of my Akihabara tour was a concert later that evening by a teenage all-girl pop idol group called AKB 48 , which splits into three 16-member teams to hold daily concerts in a small theater on the top floor of a popular discount store. Under the theme 'idols you can meet every day,' they sing, dance and woo their mostly otaku male fans.

The two hours flew by as we analyzed the psychology behind songs with lyrics such as 'Can I be your girlfriend?' and 'Come, come, lonely people' and watched with interest as the audience feverishly called out to the girls and danced in their seats in unison.

AKB 48 was celebrating its 2,000th concert that night, and audience members were given commemorative t-shirts signed by their favorite idol. As everyone waited patiently in their seats for their turn, my Americanized mother remarked with amusement on 'how Japanese it was that everyone was so well-behaved.'

位于东京东部的秋叶原(Akihabara)地区是老牌的电器及电子产品购物天堂，如今又成了宅男流行文化的中心，宅男们流连于此，寻觅各类日本动漫产品、光顾那些服务生做女仆打扮的咖啡馆。

Yukari Iwatani Kane/WSJ日本秋叶原秋叶原就在老东京的东城门外，在二战之后这里形成了售卖稀罕的高品质电子产品的黑市。从20世纪50年代到80年代，这里的商店先是大量供应电视、冰箱，随后是录像机和游戏机。如今，电子产品店、模型玩具店、动漫产品店和主题咖啡馆在这里并肩共存，新的办公及零售卖场综合大楼也渐次拔地而起，以期创造更多的商业利润。

Yukari Iwatani Kane/WSJ在秋叶原一家动漫店外穿着制服的女孩儿来自南加利福尼亚州的洛扎诺(Adrian Lozano)帮人管理一个英文版的宅男博客，并组织安排秋叶原旅行，他带我去参观了一圈。就在没几年之前，宅男流连的场所──以及宅男本身──名声都不怎么样。不过五年前，一个源于真实的爱情故事“电车男”(Train Man)大行其道，极大地提升了宅男的形像，也为秋叶原注入了新鲜的吸引力。“电车男”讲述了一个宅男和电车上邂逅的美丽女孩的故事，出了书并改编成了电视剧集。

机器人和神龛

高达咖啡馆(Gundam Cafe)是一家很热门的咖啡馆，“高达”是描写巨型机器人的系列卡通作品，洛扎诺称之为“日本动漫版的《星球大战》”。接待我们的是穿着太空服的年轻女服务生，我点了一杯捷波朗咖啡（捷波朗是《高达》中的一个地名），价格是320日圆（4美元）。我们找了一张台子坐下，看着很多人跟一个巨大的高达机器人合影。接着，我们去了元器件市场，这里挤挤挨挨地全是各类小摊档，从真空管、LED灯到收音机零部件，应有尽有。二楼楼梯拐角处的一个偏僻角落里，安放着秋叶神社神龛，秋叶原这个地名正是由此而来的。洛扎诺解释说，真正的神社在19世纪初修建铁路的时候已经搬至别处了。

收音机会馆(Radio Kaikan)

我们的下一站是收音机会馆，这是秋叶原最早的一栋高楼，如今售卖各类小雕像、定制玩偶以及根据流行卡通创作的业余动漫书。我们去了人相对比较少的六楼和七楼，在这里，个人卖家可以租那些透明的柜子来展示自己的货品，从《电力别动队》(Power Rangers)、《星际迷航》(Star Trek)的装备到韩国的高达玩偶，应有尽有。

洛扎诺说，同样的商品在一楼价格可能就会贵出一半，这就是图方便需要付出的额外代价。有些东西很淫秽，洛扎诺说他会告诉游客，看到不喜欢的东西把目光转开就可以了。他的导游书上的第六条原则就是要求游客“来秋叶原不要太严肃较真”。

武器

Asobit City模型商店里有个靶场很出名，宅男们可以在这里玩软弹枪。我们在这里稍作停留，之后就进了位于背街小巷的一栋很小很小的房子，爬上一段逼仄的楼梯后就是Bukiya武器道具店，这里销售各式仿真的日本及西方的剑和盔甲，有的价格高达数百美元。出来的路上，我看到了一个照相亭，在这里你可以穿着租来的道具服装拍照，过一把cosplay的瘾。

电子元器件，新老兼备

超级马铃薯(Super Potato)是复古游戏的购物中心，不同时期的电玩都能找得到。花个40美元，就能买到相当不错的原装任天堂游戏机。如果你想修理什么东西，在这边也能买到价格很合算的电子元器件和电脑配件。我们经过中央大道(Chuo Dori)边上那些大规模的电子元器件店铺时，洛扎诺告诉我说，上个月他花了5000日圆（60美元），买了一台15英寸的苹果MacBook Pro，最后加了一个硬盘驱动电缆和电源适配器就可以正常使用了。他说，这就是一次赌博。

魔芋面条

日本的自动售卖机是很出名的，从米饭、啤酒、听装热汤到通常的软饮料，都买得到。所以当洛扎诺带我去看一台秋叶原才有的卖汤面和听装关东煮（300日圆一份，合3.70美元）的自动售卖机时，我也没怎么大惊小怪，不过在我买了一碗汤面之后，他告诉那不是真正的面条，是用魔芋做的，还真是让我很吃惊。魔芋的英文词意思就是“魔鬼的舌头”。

女仆咖啡馆

第二天，我又去了趟秋叶原，这次是跟我65岁高龄的妈妈一起去的。我们先去了一家女仆咖啡馆，这里女服务生都穿着仿制的和服，扮成女仆，管我们叫“夫人”（对，管我妈妈也这么叫），欢迎我们回家。

Yukari Iwatani Kane/WSJ在女仆咖啡馆，你可以跟选中的女仆拍一张快照。这些咖啡馆最初都是面向宅男的，他们在购物的间隙可以过来喝上一杯咖啡，不过大约六年之前，有些咖啡馆引入了角色扮演的元素。如今它们面向的主顾有家庭、女士甚至是外国人。（其中一家咖啡馆的招牌上还标明了一名讲英文的女仆的上班时间。）

@Home Hana是一家传统的日式咖啡馆，只需区区1400日圆（16美元），游客便可体会到女仆咖啡馆的特有服务。我点了一杯冰咖啡，号称“永远17岁”的可爱女仆瑞希(Mizuki)往咖啡里加了奶油，帮我搅拌，直到我示意才停手，这光景只能用那个神奇的词汇“萌”来形容，宅男们用这个词来形容“狂热的爱恋”。

付了这个钱之后，除咖啡之外，你还可以选择玩一盘游戏，或者跟自己选中的女仆拍一张快照，可以自己选择道具。我戴了一对长颈鹿耳朵，和瑞希一起摆姿势拍了照片。后来瑞希把照片给了我，上头签了她的名字，还画满了亮粉色的心形图案。我们离店的时候，她们送了我们一些粉色糖果和类似于美国运通卡的会员卡，表明我们拿到了“贵客特权证”。

秋叶原的少女组合

我这次秋叶原之旅的亮点是当晚的AKB 48少女偶像组合演出，这个组合分为三组，每组16名成员，每天在一家人气折扣店顶层的小剧场演出。演出的主题为“每天都能见到的偶像”，少女们载歌载舞，赢得了以宅男为主体的大批忠实粉丝。

两个小时的演出很快就结束了，我们一边分析着那些歌词背后的心理──比如《我能做你女朋友吗？》(Can I be your girlfriend?)、《来吧来吧，寂寞的人》(Come, come, lonely people)，一边兴味盎然地看着观众在座位上狂热欢呼并整齐划一地随着音乐起舞。

当晚是AKB 48第两千场次的演出，每位观众都可获赠一件纪念T恤，上头是你最喜欢的偶像的签名。大家都耐心地在座位上等候，我妈妈──一个美国化的老太太──觉得很好玩，她说，“不愧是日本啊，人人都这么守规矩”。