TOKYO -- A few years ago, you'd see the Humping Dog all over Akihabara.
It's a USB toy: Plug it into an open slot and the little motorized dog draws power from the PC and starts humping your computer, endlessly. Maybe this was a little NSFW, because the new craze is crunching critters, doing entirely SFW situps against your computer. Hey, remember M.U.S.C.L.E., those little pink plastic non-action figures that came in plastic cans? Now you can have one on your PC. Also, Elmo. Yes, Elmo.
This picture is from Kotobukiya, a store that sells lots of "character goods" -- if you need a stuffed Totoro, this is where you come. Here in the heart of otaku country, it's also full of geeky souvenirs. One more example:
Emoticons, from Japanese message boards, on lovely and functional kitchen containers.
Every year that I visit Akihabara, it becomes more of a tourist attraction and less of a serious destination for hardcore computer nerds needing spare parts. Yes, those stores are still all over the place, but now they're competing for space with places like Kotobukiya filled with tchotchkes, trendy restaurants, dessert stands, etc. It's very interesting to watch, although I wonder if the electronics stores -- the smaller ones, not the big-box stores that still dominate the landscape -- are eventually going to start complaining that they are being crowded out of their turf.
Then again, it's tough to really complain to the maids in the maid cafes when they're bowing deeply to you every time you look at them. Maybe that's been their plan to conquer the world, all along.
Photos: Chris Kohler/Wired.com
