Day 4: Akihabara
Most of Day 4 was spent unpacking, doing laundry, and grocery shopping. Later in the afternoon I decided to go to Akihabara to shop for a new camera. Akihabara is the legendary Mecca of electronics in Japan. It is also known as Electric Town. There is a slightly less-famous shrine to technology in Oosaka called Denki Town (Electric Town).
It only cost 130 yen for the train ride clear across metro Tokyo. As soon as you step out of the train station you're faced with a city block of small electonics shops. There's some kind of rhyme to the madness because one group of stalls will major in car stereo systems, the other personal portable electronics. Some will be manufacturer-specific and others will carry lines from several manufacturers. There's a section for electronic dictionaries, for LEDs, for cable, and even for spy cameras.
But that's not all. Electric Town extends for blocks. It looks a bit like Las Vegas, but no slots or tables. Many of the shops are small, but several have multiple stories, each dedicated to a particular range of goods. Usually cameras, cell phones, MP3 players and such were on the ground floor and the second floor would be home appliances of all kinds. Some stores had separate buildings, each specializing in something different. I found shops for computer software, for computer accessories, for computer cases, for residential electrical wiring, and even for flashlights.
NOTE: It is a long-standing myth that things in Akihabara are cheaper than elsewhere. Not so. All things have the same price. Duty-free shops abound, but the prices really aren't much different. If you look hard enough you can find places that post a discount, but it often requires a tourist visa. A friend from another country had mentioned that one might get a gaku-wari, or student discount, by asking.
I found a camera that was both shock proof and waterproof to 3m. Perfect! I would be ready for the next time I fell in an Osu-daki. I lucked out and ended up talking to the floor manager from the start. I asked, "Kono kamera wa waribiki ga arimasu ka," which means "Does this camera have a discount?" The manager looked at me kind of offended-like, shook his head as he hauled out his calculator and started punching buttons.
NOTE: They all do the calculator-thing in Japan. It will seem bizzare at first that they always show you what the price is on some kind of display even when a 5-year-old can do the math, but you'll get used to it.
Anyway, the price he showed me was a lot more than I expected. "Ichi ban waribiki desu ka?" "Is this the best discount?" He acted a bit more offended and explained how big it already was.
I decided to shop around but ended up coming back. This time I talked to a clerk and went through the same process. But the discount was much smaller! Aha! I asked for the floor manager and through him ended up getting the bigger discount.
In summary:
1. Shop around.
2. Find the most senior-looking person (by age or uniform).
3. Ask politely for a discount (Waribiki ga arimasu ka).
4. Ask for more, just in case (Ichi ban waribiki desu ka).
Also while in Akihabara I found a diner with no cash register. Theres a big vending machine with a bunch of buttons. You pick what you want to eat from the display (usually wax replicas) or a picture on the wall, put in your money and push the button with the same name as the display item. Out pops a ticket which you hand to the person behind the counter. It seems a bit odd from an American perspective, but it is really efficient once you figure out what you want to eat.
Akihabara is also a popular place for cosplay cafes. "Cosplay" is short for "costume play," where the wait staff dresses up as a character from a favorite manga or anime. French maids, little-bo-peeps, cat girls, and nurses with giant syringes seem to be among the more popular costumes, but there are also space rangers, space pirates, space generals and such.
On the way back to the station I found a panya, a bakery specializing in bread - all kinds of bread. They had melon bread for sale which is often described in Japanese manga and anime as being so delicious as to cause stampedes. I don't think I would start a fight over the last melon bread in the store, but it was delicious. It kind of reminded me of Hawiian bread with a sweet crumbly crust.
It only cost 130 yen for the train ride clear across metro Tokyo. As soon as you step out of the train station you're faced with a city block of small electonics shops. There's some kind of rhyme to the madness because one group of stalls will major in car stereo systems, the other personal portable electronics. Some will be manufacturer-specific and others will carry lines from several manufacturers. There's a section for electronic dictionaries, for LEDs, for cable, and even for spy cameras.
But that's not all. Electric Town extends for blocks. It looks a bit like Las Vegas, but no slots or tables. Many of the shops are small, but several have multiple stories, each dedicated to a particular range of goods. Usually cameras, cell phones, MP3 players and such were on the ground floor and the second floor would be home appliances of all kinds. Some stores had separate buildings, each specializing in something different. I found shops for computer software, for computer accessories, for computer cases, for residential electrical wiring, and even for flashlights.
NOTE: It is a long-standing myth that things in Akihabara are cheaper than elsewhere. Not so. All things have the same price. Duty-free shops abound, but the prices really aren't much different. If you look hard enough you can find places that post a discount, but it often requires a tourist visa. A friend from another country had mentioned that one might get a gaku-wari, or student discount, by asking.
I found a camera that was both shock proof and waterproof to 3m. Perfect! I would be ready for the next time I fell in an Osu-daki. I lucked out and ended up talking to the floor manager from the start. I asked, "Kono kamera wa waribiki ga arimasu ka," which means "Does this camera have a discount?" The manager looked at me kind of offended-like, shook his head as he hauled out his calculator and started punching buttons.
NOTE: They all do the calculator-thing in Japan. It will seem bizzare at first that they always show you what the price is on some kind of display even when a 5-year-old can do the math, but you'll get used to it.
Anyway, the price he showed me was a lot more than I expected. "Ichi ban waribiki desu ka?" "Is this the best discount?" He acted a bit more offended and explained how big it already was.
I decided to shop around but ended up coming back. This time I talked to a clerk and went through the same process. But the discount was much smaller! Aha! I asked for the floor manager and through him ended up getting the bigger discount.
In summary:
1. Shop around.
2. Find the most senior-looking person (by age or uniform).
3. Ask politely for a discount (Waribiki ga arimasu ka).
4. Ask for more, just in case (Ichi ban waribiki desu ka).
Also while in Akihabara I found a diner with no cash register. Theres a big vending machine with a bunch of buttons. You pick what you want to eat from the display (usually wax replicas) or a picture on the wall, put in your money and push the button with the same name as the display item. Out pops a ticket which you hand to the person behind the counter. It seems a bit odd from an American perspective, but it is really efficient once you figure out what you want to eat.
Akihabara is also a popular place for cosplay cafes. "Cosplay" is short for "costume play," where the wait staff dresses up as a character from a favorite manga or anime. French maids, little-bo-peeps, cat girls, and nurses with giant syringes seem to be among the more popular costumes, but there are also space rangers, space pirates, space generals and such.
On the way back to the station I found a panya, a bakery specializing in bread - all kinds of bread. They had melon bread for sale which is often described in Japanese manga and anime as being so delicious as to cause stampedes. I don't think I would start a fight over the last melon bread in the store, but it was delicious. It kind of reminded me of Hawiian bread with a sweet crumbly crust.
posted by Scott at Friday, April 14, 2006
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