miller 1 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 I was in Akihabara the other day for the first time in a while. It seems to have changed a lot since I last went. There actually seems to be less choice of big shops - and much more anime / Gundam / whatever all that otaku stuff is going on. I also thought the prices weren't that good and the online prices I had noted down easily beat most places on the big things I was looking at. The best place seemed to be the newish and incredible large Yodabashi Camera. They must have had over 1000 camera bags alone. Prices there still weren't that good, but armed with a kikaku price list I'm sure they can move a bit. Was I missing some places, keen to hear other impressions of Akihabara. Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Kakaku is not that cheap anymore either, especially after PC-success closed down. Link to post Share on other sites
miller 1 Posted June 13, 2007 Author Share Posted June 13, 2007 Well the lowest prices on there were certainly lower than anything I saw in Akihabara. Anyway has it got smaller? Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 It has changed lately, but I am not sure wether it got smaller or not. Link to post Share on other sites
miller 1 Posted June 13, 2007 Author Share Posted June 13, 2007 I just felt there were less "big places" (I'm sure I remember there being quite a few large electronic shops in that area a bit further away from the station - not really much there now it seemed) and more "cheap / duty free" places, as well as a lot of manga-like images everywhere... not sure what all that lot was! Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Because they are duty free, that doesnt make them cheap. Most of the duty free places are a rip-off. Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 "Kakaku is not that cheap anymore either, especially after PC-success closed down." Ahhh, so thats why that incessent daily barrage of email from them finally stopped. One thing I hate about buying online in JP is how its hard to spot the opt-out for email marketing, or even to turn it off from within an email u receive. Generally speaking I find buying online (in japan) isn't cheaper than buying in a shop, be it electronics, furniture or whatever. Link to post Share on other sites
SirJibAlot 0 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Remember kids, Duty Free doesn't mean Profit Free! Link to post Share on other sites
HighlyTrainedNovaTeacher 2 Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Actually I often find the shops cannot compete with online prices. So I find it curious what you say bobby12. Perhaps I need to find better shops! Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 We are talking about this site HTNT: kakaku Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Dunno bout that bobby.. Kakaku is still where I get the cheapest prices (Not always, but 99% of the time) Link to post Share on other sites
bad-robot 0 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Heard a lot about that place and I have been looking forward to checking it out. Link to post Share on other sites
Ezorisu 0 Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Currently, Akihabara is more like "geek/otaku heaven" and not the "electronics mecca" that it was billed to be around 5 years ago. The economy and changing buying habits have pretty much spelled the end of cheap electronic goods in Akiba. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 It is not as good as it was. Again I might just have been dulled by being there so many times. But there has been a lot of the otaku anime stuff appear there over the last year or so. The part outside the station has changed a lot too. Yodobashi is now the biggest and it's on the other side of the station to the traditional main area. Link to post Share on other sites
base40 0 Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Some of those duty free places are really awful. I wouldn't even go in them if I'm looking to buy. I prefer the shops around Shinjuku myself, armed with the lowest price I can find on the internet for added pressure. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 It's been killed by the online retailers Link to post Share on other sites
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