*Shopping Area > Akihabara, Tokyo

Akihabara is the well known 'Electric Town'. If you want gadgets - this is where you will find them. We came to Akihabara to browse but on the top floor of some of the stores they sell souvenirs, not just electronics. We bought in Laox and Onoden (I just found the receipts!)

What to buy: We ended up buying chopsticks, a maneki neko, a fridge magnet and a phone charm, nothing electric.

What to pay: We paid 840 yen for something and 735 yen for something else, I don't know what these things were but they sure as hell weren't electronics!

4 more images

Akihabara is a place you must go for all things electronic. From little shops to huge multilevel stores, you will find a dizzying array of consumer electronic products. The large stores are especially amazing. there are thousands of products, all screaming for your attention (literally, there are sales people with bullhorns shouting about sales!).

Even if you aren't into consumer electronics, you should visit this area, just to understand the shopping experience in Tokyo. We learned a new word when we were there, 'otaku', which is what we might call a 'nerd'.

Have fun!

What to buy: Check out the headphones. You'll see a lot of younger people wearing headphones as fashion accessories. You will find a larger selection here than in most places.

What to pay: Do your research before hand. Just because you are in Japan don't assume that Japanese products will be cheaper. Although, there may be things here you won't easily find in other countries.

There are so many things to buy in Tokyo's Akihabara. There are many electronics to choose from- but make sure to bring home some receipts to show to immigration to get a tax exemptions!

Also if you are buying the Samurai's, make sure to bring a receipt to show that the ones you bought is a reproduction and not the real one. This will save you a lot of problems at the immigration later on.

What to buy: Electronics and Samurai

What to pay: t depends on what kind you are buying. But for the Samurai, depending on the craftsmanship, the regular price is $80.00!

I've been to Tokyo quite a few times now, and have even lived there for a while.
Anyway, when shopping for electrical goods in Akihabara, stay clear of the ones that advertise 'Duty Free' as these items would work out about the same price as what you would expect at home. This is because all the duty free items are international stock, so therefore they are the same price wherever you are. A good example of the kind of shop to avoid the the one directly under the railway line to the left of Club Sega (games arcarde) which has a loud speaker advertising cheap goods in muliple languages (Chinese Mandarin, English....)
Yodobashi Akiba has an excellent selection if cameras etc. I would advise going there first to 'window shop' and make notes of prices of the items you are interested in and then look around at the other stores for cheaper deals. Also don't be afraid to haggle for extras - like memorycards or cases for your new camera ^_^

Also keep in mind that one building may contain several different shops - one on each floor. Don't be afraid to check the smaller side streets either! (but try and keep you bearings).
If you've had enough of shopping visit a 'maid cafe' for a drink /snack - V. cool and something you won't forget.

What to buy: Anime & Manga Merchandise, Toys, Electrical Gadgets, Computer/console games, Adlut toys.

What to pay: Too much - just because you'll want everything you see!

I spent almost nearly a day meandering thru Akihabara before stopping by Yodobashi.
It's quite ironic because Yodobashi is right by the station itself.
Yodobashi is definitely better in terms of pricing and selection and easily beats LAOX, AKKY, and other well-known electronic shops 99% of the time.
I compare it to Best Buy, but it is better and much larger. It is a one-stop emporium. Besides, electronics, it sells souvenirs and toys.

What to buy: Electronics, Japanese Series toys/collectibles, souvenirs (though Asakusa has the best souvenir selection)

What to pay: Hard to say since the Price depends on what you want to buy.

What to buy: Akihabara or Akiba, is a great place to buy electronc goods such as computers, digital cameras and other such nick-nacks. You can get some really good deals too for example some shops have boxes outside labeled "Junk" but will contain good quality components such as, for instance I saw DVD drives for £1.5 = $3 which is an absolute bargin. However the problems begin when you get the stuff home and they arn't compatible with your computer. Software will have the same problem but for some strange reason, some things will work whils others won't, for no rhime or reason.

What to pay: Peanuts to an arm and a leg.

The only shop in Akihabara I found to sell quality used electronics is located just 2 minutes from the metro station. Take the main exit from metro station to Akihabara and don't turn right in the direction of the main street, but continue straight.

Take a small street that goes directly from metro exit and go to the end of it. On the opposite side you will see a yellow shop, open to the street, which sells quality used electronics.

What to buy: You can get a fairly good Nikon D70 (used) for around 300 eur (body only). Lenses are also sometimes available, and you can get many other cameras, SLR or consumer.

Video cameras are priced according to model and year of make, but I bought the Sony DCR-SR100 for 95.000 yen, which was at the time way cheaper than new one, and this one was only 2 months old.

Nice thing is you can also get an Ipod in excellent condition for less than half a price of a new one!

Beware, goods are sold quickly, so if you don't buy it today, don't count on it being in the window waiting for you tomorrow.

What to pay: Much less than in other stores

This is a new building right next to the JR station. I always like to go to Yodobashi camera in Shinjuku, but this one in Akihabana is also fantastic.

The shop just opened in 2005 and is a multi-storey shop like a department store. Each floor has a main focus of electronic gadgets. For example, cameras and related stuff on one floor and mobile devices on another. They even got a section for different types of paper you can use with your printer at home and in the office.

It's just amazing that I could spend all day in the shop just browsing around all the different sections.

What to buy: Their prices are competitive in Tokyo. But what makes it worthwhile is the variety you can choose from.

You don't need to go to other shops after stopping at this one.