Side by Side: Calliope Jackalope - Akihabara Adventure!

Calliope Jackalope, a Kathie Olivas design, is one of the toys in the Circus Posterus and Tomenosuke-syoten sofubi line. Let's join two Calliopes on a very special KK Side by Side as they tour the nerd capital of the world: Akihabara!

The best way to get to Akiba? The train, of course! The station is on a number of lines, including the Yamanote (which circles around Tokyo) and the Sobu, which cuts across the city east to west.

Let's change seats...

 The story continues after the jump:

Welcome to Akiba! These very nice maid cafe maids thought Calliope was super kawaii! For folks not familiar with maid cafes, they're coffee shops or restaurants staffed by young women dressed in various types of maid outfits. If you get something like an omelette rice (white rice (maybe fried with different things mixed inside) surrounded by a scrambled egg), they'll write your name on it in ketchup. It's basically innocent stuff like that. In parts of Akiba, you can see a dozen or more women (and sometimes teenagers) handing out leaflets advertising cafes.

Akiba is known for many things, including toys. I call this shot "On the shoulders of giants." There are lots of toy shops in the area, including a huge Mandarake, lots of Liberty shops, Golden Age, etc.

Here we are on the fourth floor of Akiba Zone, where there's a huge "showcase" style shop. Basically, people rent little showboxes by the month to sell their stuff. You can find everything from Sailor Moon gachapon toys to resin gecko figures.

A princess perch

Just hangin out

When in Akiba, you have to check out the mammoth UFO crane game places! You can tell pretty quickly if it's the type that wants customers to eventually win something or if it's just a 100 yen vacuum machine. It's interesting to watch the technicians adjust the claw width and strength to make it easier or more difficult to grab something. I always get really happy for people when they win!

The Buttons of Destiny

Get the prize!

We may have taken a wrong turn....

Definitely not in Kansas, but this is still Akiba!

Let's get out of here.

Thanks for joining us!

Click here to read my review of the debut Calliope Jackalope.

Here's some info on how CP x T sofubi toys are distributed:

In North America sales are handled by Stranger Factory:
Stranger Factory
109 Carlisle Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87106 USA

International sales are handled by Tomenosuke-syoten.
Tomenosuke-syoten
3-44, HONMACHI
TAKAYAMA-SHI, GIFU, 5060011
Japan

Thanks for reading!