If you missed the previous journey, you can check out [Tokyo Research Part 3] here.
On the third day, I finally arrived at Nakano Broadway. This was a location I had been considering as the residence for the protagonist of the Japanese chapter, so I approached it with great anticipation. Since Japanese shopping malls tend to close relatively early, I postponed my plan to visit the previous night and arrived the following morning instead. While I briefly considered a quick visit the night before, coming the next day allowed me to explore the space with much-needed leisure, capturing the true essence of the morning bustle.
Nakano Broadway proved to be an entirely unique and eccentric space. First and foremost, the entrance requires passing through a long shopping street (Sun Mall), which was quite unusual for a landmark of this scale. What was even more intriguing was the main entrance itself, which only appears after traversing numerous smaller, traditional shops. The interior layout also defied my expectations: the ceiling is open across two floors, with bridges connecting opposite sides at intervals. Furthermore, the second-floor stores feature balconies overlooking the interior atrium, which was quite a fresh architectural shock, creating a sense of layered complexity.
Taking the escalator up to the third floor, the atmosphere becomes even more peculiar. The contrasting layout—where shops selling high-end luxury watches are lined up directly across from stores selling vintage comic books—is particularly striking. Turning a corner, you might suddenly stumble upon a random vintage clothing store; this inherent mismatch creates a strangely captivating, almost dreamlike ambiance. The ceiling is even covered in wallpaper designed to look like the sky, which seems to maximize the unique “dissonance” of the space, making the interior feel entirely disconnected from the world outside.
The stores themselves were generally eccentric. There were shops dedicated to extraterrestrial collectibles and an abundance of shops selling dolls. These dolls possessed a certain Japanese aesthetic while simultaneously straddling the dangerous line of the “Uncanny Valley.” I even saw a shop with a traditional Torii gate built as its entrance, creating a jarring juxtaposition of the sacred and the commercial. Given the high density of niche, “maniac” shops, I felt that if my character were to visit this place, they would have to be either a fervent doll enthusiast or a deep-rooted Otaku. Overall, it was a fascinating exploration of shops brimming with individuality. The third and fourth floors, in particular, were dominated by Mandarake, the legendary subculture franchise that defines the building’s spirit.
The basement houses grocery markets, including a full-scale fish market that felt like a relic of the past. Historically in East Asia, it was a major trend to create “mixed-use” complexes or blocks where all daily necessities, including food, could be handled within a single radius. At Nakano Broadway—a true pioneer of premium mixed-use developments built in the 1960s—I was able to witness a perfectly preserved, functional slice of that era.
Emerging back to the first floor, I noticed it was filled with more conventional shops and restaurants typically found in standard, modern malls. Unlike the niche, otherworldly atmosphere of the third and fourth floors, the first floor was significantly more crowded with the general public going about their daily business.
Regrettably, there was no way to access the residential area on the fifth floor from the shopping mall side. It is strictly structured so that residents must use a dedicated, private entrance accessible only by key. However, the atmosphere, which grew increasingly niche and dim with every floor I ascended, was exactly as my research had suggested. The contrast was profound: from the bustling crowds of the ordinary first-floor shops and the massive basement grocery market to the myriad of subculture stores and luxury watch boutiques on the upper floors. I believe such a stark environmental contrast is something rarely seen elsewhere in the world. Notably, as Akihabara has somewhat declined, many vintage subculture items can now only be found here at Nakano Broadway. This has resulted in a landscape where scenes that shouldn’t normally coexist—luxury, survival, nostalgia, and fanaticism—are found within a single building.
As this field note has grown quite long, I will continue my report on the next location in the following post.
*This field research is part of a pre-production phase for this website’s multimedia project. All analyzed locations are selected based on their socioeconomic relevance to the target market.