Osaka's electronics and anime district, occupying several blocks of Nipponbashi street south of Namba. The neighbourhood is roughly the equivalent of Tokyo's Akihabara: floors of used electronics, manga, anime merchandise, retro video games, figurines, and cosplay supplies spread across multi-storey shops and narrow specialist stores. The scale is smaller than Akihabara, but the density and the relative lack of tourists makes it feel less like a theme park and more like a working retail district.
The electronics component has largely shifted to online retail over the past decade, and many of the traditional component shops have given way to anime and idol merchandise. But enough of the original character remains to make it worthwhile for anyone interested in Japanese pop culture. Several maid cafes operate in the area, and a handful of izakayas hidden in the side streets offer good eating.