TAITO Station Akihabara: A Floor-by-Floor Guide

TAITO Station Akihabara is a lively arcade in Tokyo's Akihabara neighbourhood, with Mario Kart, Taiko no Tatsujin and photo booths in the basement, crane games across three floors, video games above them and music games on the fifth floor. That floor-by-floor mix makes it a useful stop when you want to choose between playing, prize hunting or taking a kawaii photo in one place.

What is TAITO Station Akihabara?

The arcade is in Akihabara, a Tokyo neighbourhood in Chiyoda ward generally associated with the area around Akihabara Station. The wider area forms part of the Sotokanda and Kanda-Sakumachō districts, giving the arcade its setting within one of Tokyo's best-known gaming and pop-culture neighbourhoods.

What can you play at TAITO Station Akihabara?

The basement combines several different activities: Mario Kart, Taiko no Tatsujin and photo booths. The Mario Kart game can be played with friends and family, so this floor suits a shared arcade stop rather than only solo play.

From the first through third floors, the focus is crane games. The fourth floor is the video-game floor, while the fifth floor is dedicated to music games. If you are deciding what to do before visiting, the Akihabara anime, manga and games route identifies the arcade as stop 9 of 11 and gives you a place-specific reason to include it.

Why are the photo booths part of the experience?

The photo booths add a distinctly Japanese pop-culture activity to the games. The source describes visitors using the mirrors to apply makeup before entering the booths, then invites you to take a kawaii photo yourself.

They are suitable for friends or family, and the photo option changes the pace from playing or trying a crane game. You can make the basement your shared choice if your group wants a photo as well as a game.

How does TAITO Station Akihabara fit into an Akihabara visit?

This arcade concentrates several parts of Akihabara's anime, manga, gaming and pop-culture identity in one building. Before you go, save this floor breakdown or send it to the friend you are travelling with: you can compare the crane-game floors, the video-game and music-game floors, then decide whether the basement's photo booths or Mario Kart belongs on your plan.

For a route-led way to place the arcade within an Akihabara exploration, start the Akihabara ~ Anime, Manga & Games tour and use this guide to choose what you want to try when you reach the stop.