Toranoana, one of Japan’s most iconic and recognized doujinshi-focused retailers, has officially closed the doors to its landmark Akihabara location.
Serving as one of Akihabara’s most iconic storefronts for 28 years, the location attracted crowds of fans and longtime customers for its last day on August 31st. Even on the last day, staff members of the location continued to ring out orders, with the branch manager coming outside after the final order to give a thank you to all of the attendees.
The chain, initially having 5 physical locations, now only has one in Ikebukuro that focuses on doujinshi targeted towards a female audience. It will, however, continue operating its online store, which according to the company is substantially more popular for its customers.
Local rival doujinshi-retailer Melon Books also put up a statement on their storefront, displaying a heartfelt message of gratitude and sorrow. However, for more astute passerby’s, reading only the characters on the left side of the message reveals a more sly sendoff: “victory is ours”.
This marks yet another iconic retailer to leave the Japanese pop culture mecca, just following the announcement that landmark arcade GiGo location right next to Akihabara Station will be closing. This closure, in addition to many others in recent years, can be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.
