Running a grimy motorcycle repair shop amid the high-tech neon frenzy of Akihabara may sound a little odd. But if you know a bit about the district's history, you will understand the pride -- and anxieties -- of the shop's 72-year-old owner, Mikio Kimura.
On a small lane just behind Chuo-dori, Akihabara's main drag, the timeworn signboard on Kimura's shop bears witness to the drastic changes the town has undergone. "My father was born here nearly 100 years ago, and he was in the business of repairing jinrikisha [rickshaws], then later, bicycles. I have been doing this job since I was 20 and my son now fixes cars," Kimura says.
"Before the war, Akihabara was a place of small shops and houses. And there used to be many wholesalers of bicycles here. Recent customers will find it hard to imagine though."