So I finally summoned the will to leave my hotel room where I had sequestered myself for last 24 hours or so. For some reason I was dreading another trip to Akihabara—don’t ask me why, I dunno—but once I got there I soon found enough interesting things I perked right up. There are little alleyways I hadn’t explored before, filled with electronics components and enough raw materials to make 20 Radio Shacks red with shame. Like this store, for instance, which specialized in switches. They sell switches—and that’s all! Each little cubby was staffed by a disinterested shopkeep, who was usually hunkered over some personal electronics project of their own.
