Shopping for Electronics?
 

It's a bit of an open ended question but I'm hoping for tips and suggestions on shopping for electronics in Japan. We haven't booked yet (but I think we're getting pretty close) so our itinerary is open. But I suspect we'd be in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka for sure.

I'm not targeting anything in particular but I love the latest gadgets and stuff (eg. camcorders, cameras, etc). I'd probably stay away from the larger stuff (eg. tv) unless I can ship it home inexpensively and without too much hassle.

Any suggestions on what shops to visit? I don't suppose there's anything equivalent to a BestBuy (ie. "Generally" one of the lowest prices in town)? I see from previous threads there is a Costco in Tokyo which I might have to visit just for the sake of visiting it.

Are deals in the Akihabara district generally good or should I limit myself to particular stores?

Any other things to be aware of?
- I'd buy with the expectation that I won't be able to get any warranty service once I'm back in Canada. Low expectations.
- Any suggestions on voltage issues? I also see from previous threads that devices with block type converters (eg. laptops) should be fairly safe for use in North America while small appliances like rice cookers can be hit and miss.:) Any more rules of thumb?
- I'm assuming they would accept my Costco AMEX card in the Tokyo Costco.

TIA.

There are several existing threads on electronics, Akihabara and Costco. Did you try searching?

Summary:
- electronics. Can be used abroad mostly, but with some performance issues
- Akihabara. New cool stuff. But prices not cheaper than the US.
- Costco. Works just like Costco at home

Big box stores are Yodobashi Camera, Bic Camera, Sakuraya, etc. They don't discount off MSRP, instead they give discounts in store points applicable toward future purchases. Every item carries a 3% 5% or even 10% of its price in points rebates. Signing up for a point card for a foreigner may be a challenge though.

Temporary visitors can claim consumption tax exemption at the time of purchase. Ask for Menzei. Once I saved my friend about 1manen on a laptop at Tsukumo in Akiba.

Kansai people will claim Osaka's Nihonbashi dendentown is just as good if not better than Akihabara. ;)

The big boys have English-speaking staff who are happy to walk you through signing up, it's pretty painless. However, at Yodobashi you can't combine tax-free with points, so you have to pick one or the other (points will usually save you more), and you have to wait one day until you can use your new points for additional purchases.

Read through the warnings here before you buy any electronics gear, or you may end up with an expensive paperweight outside Japan:

http://wikitravel.org/en/Japan#Shopping

I had no problem signing up for the card and the woman even re-charged everything in batches to cascade the discount. Started from the most expensive item which gave me some points which she applied to the next item, etc.

No, not a problem. Just show you're willing to buy and they'll be more than happy to sign you up.

I did find Yodobashi, Bic, et al, to have lower than MSRP prices. I was able to get both duty-free and points for a large purchase at Sakuraya.

While Akihabara is the most well known, going to the same stores in Shibuya may be easier while netting the same prices.

I haven't been to the Costco but, to me, Costco is Costco. If you want the latest stuff, you don't go to Costco.

You're right about voltage. If it uses a brick, it's fine. If the voltage converter is built in , there may be some performance issues. My rice cooker lasted 7-8 years in Cda before it died on me.

Yes, I did search on Costco (hence why I wrote "I see from previous threads there is a Costco in Tokyo"

No, I didn't do a search on Akihabara. I tried a general search on "shopping electronics" (and variations) and pulled up some info about the fried rice cookers.

Thanks everyone for the info about the points. It's probably impractical for me to make use of these points programs but handy know in the event I do.

Great info on the specific stores and alternate neighbourhoods too. Thanks!

For most big ticket items, such as Nikon or Canon DSLRs, they are more expensive there than in the US (acknowledge you are from Canada) after tax-free is factored in. Be sure to do your window shopping at home first so that you can compare prices. Aside from warranty issue, you might be hit with an import tax at your home country's custom.
In general, I love to browse in the big shops (all mentioned in prior post minus Costco), and do my purchasing back home in the US. My favorite shop is Yodobashi Camera near Umeda Station in Osaka. Den Den Town has lost most of its former appeal since Yodobashi moved. Since you will be in Tokyo, besides Akihabara, Shinjuku Station has a couple of big electronic stores as well. Check the west side as well as the east side of the station.

Not necessarily. Let's say you are buying 3 items priced JPY 10000, 5000 and 1000. Sign up and get the card. Do one transaction for the 10000 item. Lets say you get JPY 500 of points for this purchase. Next ring up the JPY 5000 item and get JPY 500 off and only pay 4500. For that purchase you get JPY 225 in points. Ring up the 1000 item, only pay JPY 775 and you get JPY 38 points. Those you will not be able to use unless you find a small item around that price.

Assuming that my points percentage were correct, and I don't recall what they actually are, you'd have saved 775 JPY on purchases of 16000 or about 5%.

In your scenario you saved 725 JPY.
If you had paid for the first two items together you'd have saved 750 JPY.

3-5% is fairly typical for credit card purchases. You get more points for cash.

Ooh!

What's a fried rice cooker?

(Very interested now)

One piece of advice is due diligence. Last time I was there, I was flirting with the idea of buying a "Japan only" model of a Sony camera. Before I bought, I spent 30 min-1hr at an internet cafe, checking reviews and prices for similar cameras in the US. Turned out, it wasn't that different from the international models, and US prices (if you know where and how to shop) were significantly cheaper. I'd say only buy something that you really can't get in your home country.

One thing I like buying in Asia are Sony's retractable headphones. They are awesome for the gym/just walking around, and aren't available anywherein the the US.

Also, be aware that DVDs and DVD players in Japan are Region 2, although they are NSTC. This means that you can play Japanese VHS tapes on a North American VCR (something you can't do with European VHS tapes), but you can't play Japanese DVDs on a North American player unless it's been hacked to be region-free.

In addition, FM radio in Japan is on lower frequencies than FM radio in North America, although AM radio uses the same frequencies. I go to Japan often enough that I've bought a little pocket-sized FM radio specifically for listening in my hotel room over there.

This is just something to keep in mind when you're shopping for electronics.

Sorry, bad terminology. Not "fried rice" cooker but burned out/non-functional rice cooker. Voltage compatibility appears to be a concern on some items.