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Akihabara or "Electric Town" is where Tokyo shoppers go to buy the newest gadgets and gizmos.

Many come here to see the latest computer games, manga animation or anime.
This is Saber, a warrior from the game Fate Zero. The character was created for the game but subsequently featured in an anime television series.
Around Akihabara new games are shown on big screens ahead of release to whip up excitement among the fans.

Masahiro Miyazaki's sign says he is selling computers that cost 100 yen ($1; £0.56).
Of course, there's a catch. You have to sign up to a mobile network service with a monthly fee which will cost you considerably more.

What makes this 'phantom mouse' different from an ordinary mouse is the red button in the middle. If someone surprises you when you are looking at a website you shouldn't be, one click of that button and the browser disappears instantly from the screen and the task bar.
Vendors say it is much faster than clicking closed a window in its corner. You can also set it to swap your 'dodgy' window for a more appropriate one. Unsurprisingly, they say they sell a lot to secret porn surfers.

This is a microscope, powered by the USB port on your computer. The manufacturers suggest you use it to check your skin for blemishes or your teeth for marks.

The Japanese love to drink coffee in cans from vending machines - warm in the winter, cool in the summer.
These USB powered platforms keep your drink warm or cool - although the risk is that it is easier to spill it all over the keyboard if you keep it close to the computer.

And as summer ends and autumn approaches, how about these slippers, which you connect to your computer to warm them up.
Once the battery is full you disconnect the wires so you can walk around the house, then reconnect to reheat. This shop also sells an eye mask to warm your eyes and soothe you, and heated mittens too, all powered from a USB port.

Hiroyasu Yamamitsu, an Akihabara store owner, is demonstrating the USB neck cooler. The fan is powered by your computer and hidden in the tie.
You put it round your neck and slip the knot over the fan. It blows cold air over your neck and no-one else is any the wiser.
He came up with the idea for the product himself, he says. From time to time he holds brainstorming sessions where staff in his shops try to come up with new gizmos to attract customers.

If all the shopping leaves you peckish, but you are a shy geek, or just too busy to stop off in a cafe, you can get a can of warm food from a vending machine.
This one was selling pasta, noodles, ramen soup and other meals in a tin; some chilled, others warmed and ready to eat as soon as they come out of the drawer below. These ones cost around £1.50 each. In other machines you can get curry noodles, fried chicken or chips.

For those who worry that those hours at the keyboard are leaving you flabby, the 'muscle mouse' might be the answer.
Stick the pads onto your muscles, anywhere you want to tone, and using power from the computer, electrical pulses will be sent to the pads to tone your flab. You can adjust the strength of the pulses by pressing a button on the side of the mouse.

For those who spend a lot of time chatting to friends online, this 'magic mirror' has a USB camera fitted under the surface.
The manufacturers say looking into the mirror while you chat allows you to express yourself better while looking directly at the camera lens. Twenty-four LED lights around the mirror are designed to make sure you look your best.

Michiru, Light and Sayu are 'gothic lolitas'. They are all from out of town - "we would never dress like this where we live" - but they are here to shop and to visit the cafes where the male staff dress up like the androgynous characters you see in many popular manga comics here.
"We're not doing this for attention," they say. "We're just having fun, and in Akihabara you can dress like this and you don't feel uncomfortable."