Tokyo’s Tech shopper paradise Akihabara Electric Town was just a 'Town' on Friday, due to the first power outage in 30 years – all the RGBs went out

Tokyo’s renowned electronics shopping district was plunged into darkness on Friday due to a rare power outage, reports Akiba PC Hotline (machine translation). The district of Akihabara (秋葉原), often appended with the nickname ‘Electric Town,’ became a simple ‘Town’ for an hour, losing all its neon and RGB glitz for a short period. Multiple stores reportedly shut for this brief dark mode interlude. Some locals claimed this was the first Akihabara power outage in around 30 years.

One of the biggest store chains that closed on Friday was Tsukumo. This chain operates several outlets in Akihabara alone. It offers stores specializing in PC parts, monitors, VR, custom PCs, second hand gear, IoT and maker stuff, as well as an Asus flagship store. Tsukomo closed at least four stores, alerting customers that it “cannot respond by phone or email” until power gets restored.

15, 20, or 30 years without a power outage?

Another store that closed humbly describes itself as a ‘Junk shop in Akihabara.’ A person who posts on behalf of this second-hand electronics emporium noted that “15 years working in Akihabara, and this is my first experience with a power outage.” This store looks extremely cluttered, so we are happy it closed during the outage for “safety” concerns.

A Japanese language news report we saw on the power cuts quoted a PC parts dealer who claimed that they’d never experienced a power cut in “about 20 years.” However, even this was eclipsed (in the same report) by a Tokyo Radio Department Store employee. They claimed that this was the first power cut they had experienced in around 30 years of working in the district.

Interestingly, a commenter also observed that Akihabara didn’t even lose power during the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami (which would precipitate the Fukushima disaster).

We couldn’t dig up any reports with verified explanations of the (albeit brief) Akihabara power cut. There is chatter about an infrastructure fault being to blame, but no official statement can be found at TEPCO, which reportedly confirmed the outage at the time.

Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!