Nakano Broadway: 15 Things to Do in Tokyo's Pop Culture Paradise

Nakano Broadway: A Vibrant Pop Culture Hub in Tokyo

Nakano Broadway is a renowned shopping complex located just a 5-minute walk north of Tokyo's Nakano Station through the Nakano Sunmall shopping street.

There is an amazing diversity of shops in Nakano Broadway catering to customers of all ages and backgrounds. There are anime and figurine stores along grocery shops, luxury watch and jewelry shops sitting side by side with capsule toy dispenser centers, izakaya pubs neighboring medical clinics, drugstores just across game arcades, antique and postal stamp shops, cafes, tiny eateries accommodating just up to five customers at a time, book shops, fashion stores, and so much more!

If you plan to visit Nakano Broadway, you should know that most of the shops on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors open after 11:30 or 12:00. So don't come too early, especially if you come for Mandaranke, the anime, comic, and figurine specialty stores, which open for business at 12:00.

Read on to learn 15 fun things to do in Nakano Broadway and its surroundings.

Nakano Broadway: 15 Things to Do

1. Enjoy a Casual Walk in Nakano Broadway
2. Treasure Hunting at MANDARAKE: Comics, Figurines, and More!
3. Marvel of Sci-Fi Art in Nakano Broadway
4. Capsule Toy Specialty Shops: Fun for All Ages!
5. Coffee Zingaro: Enjoy Coffee, Desserts, and Art
6. Sakakoshi Coffee Shop: Stylish Coffee and Desserts
7. Kissa Emu: Homemade Dishes and Delicious Pancakes
8. Shop for Cute Japanese Stationery at nota nova
9. Indulge in Picture-Perfect 8-Layer Soft Serve
10. Discover Vibrant Subcultures at Hakaba Gallery
11. Try Your Hand at Crane Games
12. Explore Tokyo's Sacred Ground for Watches
Nakano Broadway: Brief History and Fun Facts

Fun Things to Do Near Nakano Broadway
13. Explore the Nakano Sun Mall shopping Street
14. Enjoy a Drink at Vow's Bar
15. Bar Hopping on Rengazaka Street

1. Enjoy a Casual Walk in Nakano Broadway

Nakano Broadway, opened in 1966, is filled with many cultures representative of Nakano. It is a complex building combining a shopping center on its lower levels (from the first-floor basement to the fourth floor) with a housing complex on its upper levels.

The shopping center houses a total of over 300 shops, including stores offering anime, comics, cosplay, and toys, local shops selling clothing, as well as grocery stores, bookstores, and luxury watch shops.

Nakano Broadway may be known as being a popular spot for all things otaku, or geeky, but there are a variety of other stores in the complex, too. It’s a place that would be fun to leisurely browse around in.

Nakano Broadway
Address: Tokyo, Nakano, Nakano 5-52-15 Map
Access: 5-minute walk from the north exit at Nakano Station
Official website: http://www.nbw.jp/#!/en

2. Treasure Hunting at MANDARAKE: Comics, Figurines, and More!

MANDARAKE is a store that is especially popular within Nakano Broadway.

The store is split into various sections, with MANDARAKE Anime Hall (4F) selling anime animation cels and scripts, and MANDARAKE Infinity (3F) offering merchandise such as idol group CDs and DVDs.

MANDARAKE itself is made up of about 30 specialty shops, including MANDARAKE Cosplay Hall (2F), where you can buy second-hand cosplay costumes and accessories such as wigs, and MANDARAKE Galaxy (2F) with used game software and strategy guides for sale. We are sure you will find something fun to take home with you if you search carefully.

MANDARAKE
Address: Tokyo, Nakano, Nakano 5-52-15 (inside Nakano Broadway) Google Map
Access: 5-minute walk from the north exit at Nakano Station

3. Sci-Fi Art in Nakano Broadway

As you explore the floors of Nakano Broadway, you'll notice beautiful manga-style artwork on display. Many of these works were inspired by visions of Nakano Broadway's future. The imagination and technique that went into these works are impressive!

The locations with such art displays are photo spots, which means that you should definitely take a photo here with you as part of the illustrated scenery.

4. Capsule Toy Specialty Shops: Fun for All Ages!

HAL Shop, located on the second floor of Nakano Broadway, is a capsule toy specialty shop selling palm-sized toys inside capsules.

The store has over one hundred capsule toy machines, ranging from game and anime character goods to unique, laughter-inducing toys, lined up in rows. Using these machines costs 100 yen per try. The fun of playing with them is that you never know what you'll get!

Why not try collecting all the toys offered by one machine, or getting some toys as souvenirs for your friends?

HAL Shop
Address: Tokyo, Nakano, Nakano 5-52-15 Nakano Broadway 2F Map
Access: 5-minute walk from the north exit at Nakano Station

5. Coffee Zingaro: Enjoy Coffee, Desserts, and Art

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Zingaro is a brand of dining facilities produced by prolific contemporary artist Takashi Murakami and the Kaikai Kiki Gallery.

Murakami's signature smiling flower designs adorn the interior of Coffee Zingaro. The establishment has a unique ambiance created through the combination of retro furniture and colorful pop designs.

At Coffee Zingaro, you can enjoy expertly brewed coffee, a variety of whimsical desserts, and light dishes such as burgers and pancakes.

Coffee Zingaro: Official Instagram

Coffee Hall Sakakoshi: Stylish Coffee and Desserts

If you're looking for an elegant cafe with a relaxing atmosphere and excellent drinks, stop by Coffee Hall Sakakoshi. They offer a wide selection of desserts that go well with coffee.

This cafe has a dedicated regular clientele that praises its truly flavorful coffee beverages.

Coffee Hall Sakakoshi
Business hours: 11:00 - 18:30

Kissa Emu: Homemade Dishes and Delicious Pancakes

Emu is a kissaten (old-school Japanese coffee shop) run by an old couple dedicated to treating their customers to delicious homemade cuisine. The shop opens at 11:30, just in time for lunch, and it usually gets filled with customers who regularly have their lunch here.

Emu has the cozy atmosphere of places where community members would gather to interact in the 70s. Lovely drawings by artist Chihiro Iwasaki decorate the walls, inspiring the feeling that you've returned to childhood.

The menu includes curry rice dishes, pasta, shogayaki (pork grilled with ginger), pancakes that go well with coffee, and other dishes.

Emu
Location: Nakano Broadway 2F
Business hours: 11:30 - 19:00

Shop for Cute Japanese Stationery at Haruya Bookstore's nota nova

Nota nova is a stationery shop adjacent to the Haruya Bookstore on the second floor in Nakano Broadway. They handle all kinds of Japanese stationery from postcards, notebooks, and stickers with cute designs to whimsical writing tools, letter-writing sets, drawing utensils, and so much more.

They also have a corner with travel guides in various languages that may inspire you to find your next destination in Japan.

Drop by this shop and you'll surely find an item that will remind you of your travels in Japan. The Haruya Bookstore can be accessed directly from this shop, so how about peeking inside? It's like a maze made of books, magazines, and comics!

9. Indulge in Picture-Perfect 8-Layer Soft Serve

Daily Chiko is located on the first basement floor of Nakano Broadway. Although they also offer udon noodle dishes, the shop is famous for their Extra-Large Soft Serve Ice Cream piled high with eight types of flavors. This dessert is 40 cm tall!

In addition to standard vanilla and chocolate flavors, Daily Chiko offers different flavors depending on the season, like shikwasa citrus and sakura latte. Definitely try this colorful and photogenic soft-serve ice cream. Daily Chiko also offers smaller-sized soft serves in S and M sizes.

Daily Chiko
Address: Tokyo, Nakano, Nakano 5-52 Nakano Broadway B1F Google Map
Access: 5-minute walk from Nakano Station's north exit

10. Discover Vibrant Subcultures at Hakaba Gallery

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Hakaba Gallery is a shop and gallery specializing in products using Japanese SFX and movie illustrations, as well as animation art. Describing itself as a place that mediates "between this world and the afterworld," this gallery promotes both famous and emerging artists and illustrators whose work is inspired by movies, anime, and visual culture.

Some of the products on display can only be found here! For pop culture and subculture fans, a visit to Hakaba Gallery will be just like a treasure hunt!

Hakaba Gallery
Location: Tokyo, Nakano ward, Nakano 5-52-15, Nakano Broadway 3F
Hours: weekdays 12:00 - 20:00, weekends and holidays 11:00 - 20:00
Website: https://hakabanogarou.jp/nakano

11. Try Your Hand at Crane Games

There are several arcade game centers within Nakano Broadway. However, on the first basement floor near the northern staircase, there is a Game Corner with crane games. Here you can try your hand at catching your favorite toy without being pressured by other players waiting in line.

Crane games are basic but there's something very exciting about them. They have a long history in Japan and feel very nostalgic for the locals.

12. Explore Tokyo's Sacred Ground for Watches

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Ever since its establishment, Nakano Broadway has been famous for luxury watch and jewelry shops and divination booths, the latter of which have become fewer now.

You'll notice several watch and jewelry shops on the second floor; they handle both brand-new and used items.

If you're looking for a good quality watch to buy as a keepsake from your visit to Nakano, then stop by Jackroad and Betty. This shop has been designed as a "watch museum" and it has an impressive collection of brand watches with modern and retro designs. Their adjacent stores also handle jewelry and bags.

Jackroad and Betty
Location: Tokyo, Nakano ward, Nakano 5-52-15, Nakano Broadway 3F
Jackroad: 11:00 - 20:30
Betty: 11:00 - 20:00
Website: Jackroad and Betty

Nakano Broadway: Brief History and Fun Facts

The building of Nakano Broadway was completed in 1966. With commercial facilities on five floors and luxury apartments on the upper six floors, Nakano Broadway was hailed as an exceptional architectural achievement at the time.

It was right after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, a time of unhindered economic flourishing for Japan. The Nakano area was far less developed than it is today so when the massive Nakano Broadway complex was completed, it became the center of attention. With a rooftop pool and garden used exclusively by residents, it became everyone's dream to live in an apartment in Nakano Broadway. And, indeed, quite a few artists and TV personalities had their homes here. (*Please note that apartment floors can be accessed only by residents.)

There are over 300 shops occupying the five floors from the basement up to 4F. Many of these shops have been around ever since the beginning, in the early 1970s.

Nevertheless, Nakano Broadway has changed rapidly with the times, incorporating new shops and catering to an ever wider clientele. Change has been embraced by the facility and shop owners because they wanted to make sure that Nakano Broadway continued to exist and to be the beating heart of Tokyo's Nakano area with the times.

This diversity and complete lack of uniformity are exactly what makes Nakano Broadway unique! The shop owners, some of whom have been here since the 1970s, as well as their regular customers, take pride in being part of the story that is Nakano Broadway: a facility open to everyone.

Spend a few minutes here and you'll quickly realize that Nakano Broadway is dearly loved by the local community. From senior residents whose lives unfolded at the same time as Broadway's history to high school and university students killing time at the game centers after classes, everyone can have fun here. Visit at any time of the day and you'll find the shops bustling with customers.

*The information in this paragraph is based on "Nakano Broadway Monogatari" by Hasegawa Shoichi, Akishobo, 2022.

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Fun Things to Do Near Nakano Broadway

The surroundings of Nakano Broadway are also full of charm. The Sun Mall Shopping Street is one of the most dynamic and exciting shotengai (traditional shopping streets) in Tokyo; visit around major events such as Children's Day (May 5), the Tanabata Star Festival (July 7), or Christmas, and you'll find it decorated with beautiful displays!

The Rengazaka Street at the South Exit of Nakano Station is famous for its stylish izakaya pubs and dining establishments. Read on to learn more about these locations.

15. Stroll Along the Sun Mall Shopping Street

While there are several shopping streets in the area, the Nakano Sun Mall Shopping Street located right outside the north exit of Nakano Station is the busiest and most vibrant one. This arcade shopping street measures 224 meters in length.

There is a great variety of stores that line this street, including ramen and sushi restaurants, takoyaki shops, cafes, boutiques, shoe stores, and massage parlors. The street is busy with both neighborhood residents and tourists.

Nakano Fureai Road Shopping Street, found on the east side of Nakano Sun Mall Shopping Street, is home to several quaint izakaya bars and restaurants where you can enjoy sampling local cuisines both day and night.

Nakano Sun Mall Shopping Street
Address: Tokyo, Nakano, Nakano 5-64 Google Map
Access: Immediately outside the north exit at Nakano Station

14. Have a Drink at Vow’s Bar

Vow’s Bar is located a five-minute walk from the north exit at Nakano Station. It is a bar where Mr. Genko Shaku, a monk of the Jodo Shinshu Otani Buddhist sect works as the owner.

The bar offers original cocktails with Buddhist-related names. It has a cozy atmosphere accepting both people interested in Buddhism and people that are not. It’s also said that many visitors come here to receive counseling and life advice.

Vow’s Bar
Address: Tokyo, Nakano, Nakano 5-55-6 World Building 2F　Google Map
Access: 5-minute walk from the north exit at Nakano Station

15. Go Barhopping on Rengazaka Street

Nakano Rengazaka Street can be reached in one minute on foot from the south exit of Nakano Station. There are around 30 restaurants lined up on both sides of the brick-covered hill road.

This is a stylish street with cozy establishments such as Nakano Aonisai, where you can enjoy tastings of dozens of types of Japanese alcohol, and Dining Kitchen root, where delicious meat dishes are cooked by a skillful chef. The street also has plenty of shops that are open late into the night, so we recommend stopping by several spots.

Nakano Rengazaka Street
Address: Tokyo, Nakano, Nakano 3-36　Google Map
Access: 1-minute walk from the south exit at Nakano Station

Have Fun in Nakano, Just Five Minutes Away by Train from Shinjuku!

Beginning with Nakano Broadway, Nakano is known as a cultural center in Tokyo. It is also a city with a lively local shotengai culture and a plethora of unique restaurants, packed with charm.

Nakano can be easily reached in just five minutes by train from Shinjuku Station and all the locations featured above are gathered near the station. Do add these spots to your Tokyo itinerary.