Bye-Bye Radio Kaikan
The D-day is coming at last. Radio Kaikan, the representative building of Akiba as you well know, is going to be closed due to aging of the facilities at the end of this July. The building is dismantled completely and the shops which vacated from it are relocated to new Radio Kaikan no.1, no.2, & no.3 located around the JR Akihabara station or other places not far from there. I used to love this good old and exciting base for the transmission of otaku culture for a long time. And now, I'm going to miss the place of memories. OK, I'll show you my Radio Kaikan photos which I took last weekend.
Kotobukiya seems to be the last shop which stayed in Radio Kaikan.
(´・ω・`)ｼｮﾎﾞｰﾝ Kawaii:)
If you have been to Radio Kaikan, you are sure to know here:)
There used to be Kotobukiya showroom here.
Kotobukiya Akihabara-Kan will open at new place on 23rd July 2011.
K-BOOKS already opened a new shop "秋葉原新館 Akihabara-Shinkan" located near the MANDARAKE.
You can see repairs after the terrible earthquake on walls as white lines.
I couldn't believe that K-BOOKS used to be on this floor.
KAIYODO is relocated to new Radio Kaikan.
VOLKS was just moving at this time.
Seems the new VOLKS shop "ホビー天国 Hobby Paradise" will open at new place in the other side of JR Akihabara station on 16th july 2011.
You can see New Radio Kaikan facing the main street.
nice hat and camera :D
Grazie:)
this actually looks quite sad. nothing in the displays but just some curtains remaining. I'd be downright bummed out if I had a place like this in my neck of the woods and it would have to relocate to somewhere else
I sat on the bench and remembered the good time I talked with my friends here.
All these posters will be thrown away? Wish to bring one of these home and hang them =)
Haha. That's what I thought, too^^;;;
Omg, Radio Kaikan had the some of the best stores in Akiba, K-books, those glass cabinates stores, and Volks... its where i got some of my favourite figurines ther, so sad...
Any idea if the stores is moving away to elsewhere in Akiba?
Unfortunately, we're going to miss the place that is strongly-condensed otaku culture. However almost all the stores are still alive around the central Akiba. Don't worry about them at this time.
How many physical store locations does Kotobukiya have in Akihabara? During my visit to Japan, I remember going into the Kotobukiya store and the beginning of the Shunya bishoujo craze and being allowed to take pictures. I asked them and they approved. Great times.
Oh, yeah. Kotobukiya staff are very kind and approved we take pics in their showroom. You must check the new place out when you come back to Akiba^^
Too bad was there in May cool but old place
You are lucky. Twas the last chance to see there.
I was actually looking forward to seeing this place in Sept/Oct this year. Now i'll have to track the Volks store and other down around the area.
I'm really looking forward to visit the reopened Kotobukiya. I'm sure that will become a must-see place in Akiba:) http://www.kotobukiya.co.jp/kotobukiya/topics/110618/
Awesome :P
I took it for BusouShinki-fan on figure.fm:)
It's too bad it didn't stay long enough for me to visit :(
Have you come to Japan before?
Only digitally (FSX and racing games) and by dream. :P I want to go physically over there lol.
That news makes me a little sad. I had a good hunt through the place on my first (and only) trip to Akiba and still remember the experience of walking through Radio Kaikan from a few years back. God I miss Japan and look forward to my next trip there.
Akiba is constantly changing and constantly evolving. You can find out something new anytime you visit there.
This is truly sad for me. Radio Kaikan has been such a landmark for otaku worldwide that to see it closing up is heartbreaking. I was just there in May hitting several of the smaller shops that featured small figures from gashapon and the consignment shop on the ground floor. Where will these shops go to now? The big stores are mentioned in this article but what about the little guys? I can't believe Danny didn't do some sort of article about such a major change in Akiba. I had commented on a previous article that it felt like Danny was moving away from the community and such a major event getting ignored by him convinces me my feelings were correct. A very sad day indeed.
>> What about the little guys?
They seem to have moved in the New Radio Kaikan no.1 that I mentioned at the second last pic. http://www.radiokaikan.jp/building/
Danny-san will mention about it soon after he went back to Japan, I guess:)
Thanks for the link. I don't read Japanese but that looks like there will be 3 separate buildings right?
Right.
"it felt like Danny was moving away from the community"
sounds like he's trying new things, leaving his comfort zone. maybe...
Perhaps but he shouldn't overlook something like this. That building is an icon to people like us and for Danny not to have made even a small post about it seems wrong to me. The majority of the posts here are about figures and this place was one of the big ones for people looking to buy them for years. As Ken-Works who wrote this post comments below: "It's the end of an era". Danny should have written about it.
Danny is busy with his business, can't blame him. He is behind with most of his blogging as he need to keep his business going to survive this tough world. What can I say, a busy man is busy ^^;
I do agree with you that he should have made a small post/ comment about this. It feels like he is missing things, making "us" missing things. As last year was the only time I got to see Radio Kaikan in real life. Was hoping I could go there again for my next visit.
Thinking about it, everytime I entered the building I came out with lesser money.
At least I can say I have been there before all this.
I want to help the busy man. That's one of the reason why I posted this article instead of him:3
That's a "good boy" *pets head* :p Just kidding.
Keep it up!! Maybe you should ask Danny to give you your own small corner on Figure.fm or Dannychoo.com. I think that would be a great idea, especially if you keep us updated with things we like. At least the post will be longer visible. If it ends up on page 2 or so, people might miss it, I think
Thanks for your post Ken. Its appreciated.
I think you nailed it. I started coming to Dannychoo.com because here was a guy living in Tokyo who loved the same things we do and shared what he saw and did with us on an almost daily basis. Now that he is tied up with all his business ventures, he feels more like a "guest host" rather than the main man. His missing stuff like Radio Kaikan closing certainly made me miss it until Ken's post here. I like your idea of letting someone like Ken take over those daily duties he used to do if business is so busy. Danny deserves his success and I wish him the best but at the same time I feel like I'm losing out on what made his website magic. It was the man himself and his presence here that made the magic work. Whether someone can fill in at least partially is yet to be seen but its better than the current state of affairs.
Sorry to see Radio Kaikan go. Thank you for documenting the place for us.
Cheers:)
It's too bad they can't rebuild it in the same spot since it's such an iconic place. TT
It's no doubt that the disappearance will be an end to the era of good old Akiba.
Totally agree with you. Glad I got to shop there this year before they close it up.
Ah Radio Kaikan~ That was my first Dolpa After Party event, I miss how confusing those stairs were the first time going up them @_@ and how every single level was good lol. Azone store with Pure Neemo's in the displays in the walls, and the Volks store of course! What was the name of the place below it that had all the square cabinets with goods in them? 6(=w=; )
>> What was the name of the place below it that had all the square cabinets with goods in them?
The place is "アストップ Astop", I guess. http://blog2.akiba-guide.com/?eid=623558 The square cabinet is called "レンタルショーケース Rental Showcase".
I was there 2 weeks ago! It was my first time there but I kinda love the place. Its too bad its going down already :(
Radio Kaikan seems to have been loved by people all over the world more than I thought...
I appreciate your post, althought it is a sad one in my opinion. Had so much fun there "running around like a kid". As there are sad and happy things... I do like to see some more photos when they start building the "new Radio Kaikan" whenever that is.
Can you keep us, at least me up-to-date?
Roger Dodger^^
It's a sad day for this landmark! It seems that Akihabara is changing...
"Like a Rolling Stone"