Should you ever be lucky enough to find yourself in Tokyo, there's one district of the city you'll want to head for. And when you've had enough of that you can head for the world's biggest electrical shopping street in Akihabara.

Imagine Tottenham Court Road gone mad and that'll give you an idea of what Akihabara's like - every single shop selling every single electrical item and game you could possibly imagine. When an eagerly awaited game is about to be released (such as Zelda or Metal Gear Solid) Akihabara becomes swamped with literally thousands of 'otaku' (best translated as 'fanboys') who queue for days to get their hands on a copy.

How did Akihabara get to be like this? Originally the downtown area was a black market haven after World War II which did an especially brisk trade in radio parts. So now you know folks.