>>94510856I think for Akihabara you'd wanna go to Kotobukiya or Animate for Niji merch but if you're at Kotobukiya it's worth checking out an arcade nearby called Super Potato since it has a few fun games to try out (I played the Street Fighter with Guy in it a lot). The arcade is right on the top floor but you can just take a lift to it. If you're into idol stuff you can also check out Akiba Culture Zone which I think was the 2nd floor from the bottom..? But you'd wanna buy tickets to whatever event they have on before going there.
Also near Kotobukiya is Mandarake which I don't remember having any Niji merch specifically but I think there was some Holo stuff up next to the R18 doujin section.
If you're going to Animate on the other hand you should definitely go to Taito Station (an arcade that's nearby) since they have a lot more modern games and have stuff like taiko and gitadora.
Also for looking at cool merch you can take photos with you can check out Tamashii Nations in Akiba too. It's free to look around and you can take a photo of yourself doing a Getsuga Tenshou if you want.
Also if you're in Akiba you should go to a maid cafe. I'm pretty sure they all have English menus but as part of that I'd recommend getting the menu item that includes a liveshow/song and also a cheki if you can afford it.
Also if you're there past 7PM you should go to Mogra. Even if you don't drink it's a nice place to vibe for a bit to anime and game music. Maybe not if you're taking your mother though since I doubt she's a weeb...
For places to eat I really liked Monhan Sakaba at Pasela Resorts and you can go there with 0 Japanese knowledge and play Monhun between meals if you want. The Eorzea cafe is on the floor under it and is also nice to vibe in but I feel like the food is really sweet so I'd recommend Manhan for a fuller meal. Keep in mind this could be expensive though... I spent over 10,000 yen there...
If you can get to Koto there's a life-size Unicorn Gundam that's pretty cool that I'd definitely recommend checking out if you're a fan of the franchise. Although it only transforms at certain times of the day so you should try to get there a few minutes before that. It might be good to show up half an hour early since there's a Gundam Base right upstairs from it that sells Gundam merch and there's also an Unko (poop) Muesum nearby which is pretty funny.
Also if you do visit the Unicorn you can go to the Statue of Liberty too since it's pretty close by in Koto too.
There's also a Teamlab Planets (cost money and you want to book in advance) in Koto that you could check out but you might wanna wear shorts if you're going there since you need to walk in water for it. Though if you're only going to one of the Teamlab exhibits I'd recommend the Borderless one near Tokyo Tower instead.
There's also the Small Worlds Miniature museum in Koto too which is pretty cool. Also for Koto there's an arcade called Joypolis that also has taiko but more importantly has House of the Dead which is super fun.
