Hello everybody,

I m going on a 2 weeks trip to Japan in september. I m landing in Tokyo then planning on heading to the south (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara..)
I was wondering if you guys knew any cheap please (>20 $ per person) to stay at in those big cities.
And about Tokyo, does the Sony building worth it? Does the admission still free?
What are the good addresses (I wont find in books) I gotta go to and shouldn t miss.
Is it really a good please to buy electronical stuff? What is the v.a.t over there?

Well any advice about the country and visit that could help me out planning my trip will me much appreciate
Thanks a lot
Thom

anyone?

If someone doesn’t speak English, yelling it at them doesn’t help. 

Uh… havent been there yet but seems to me that Japan is everything but cheap!

thanks guys :wink:

Seriously, do you guys know a good electronic shop in Tokyo where i can find bargain deal for camera?
thanks

What a coincidence, I just returned from 2 weeks in the Tokyo/Yokohama/Yokosuka areas.

In Tokyo and the other major cities (i.e. Osaka) for that matter there are chain stores called LAOX, Camera Sakuraya, Bic Camera, and Yodobashi Camera that are all super electronics stores that have everything. The ones with the camera in their names tend to have a few more camera related items. These places are easy to find and most typically are near the main train station hubs for each area. Tokyo is crazy large though so there are multiple locations for each store.

If you have time then you have to go to Akihabara which is the “electronics town” of Tokyo. That place has all the places mentioned above among other electronics shops. The place is littered with electronics, anime/manga/cosplay shops, maid cafes, and nerds galore.

Other popular areas such as Shibuya (the young people’s hangout area and style conscious area) has a Bic and a Sakuraya within a block of each other.

One cool thing about these camera stores is that they also sell “previously owned” cameras so it’s possible to pick up an older or hard to find model for cheaper. Of course, the downside is that they only have a 90-day warranty…which is domestic anyways.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, when shopping for any electronics in Japan, you’ll have to decide if it’s truly worth it. In general, most countries (especially the US) more or less have the same models. Japan typically has more styles per model. For instance, most countries get the typical silver color for any particular camera. In Japan, you can get the same camera in 5 other color styles. Next, you’ll want to know if it’s an overseas model or not. This has two reasons. First, it’s common that a lot of models are Japanese interface only so if you can’t read japanese then you’ll have a hard time using the product and reading the manuals. Also, a JDM (Japanese Domestic Model) only has a warranty valid in Japan. An overseas model has an international warranty. On a side note, an international warranty is typically better than your own country’s domestic warranty. For instance, in the US most companies give 1-year parts but only 90-days labor (which is so weak). The same japanese “overseas” warranty would be at least 1-year parts AND labor!

So check out the shops but don’t expect to find too many bargains unless your country’s currency gives you a favorable exchange rate.  :wink:

..

I’ve been to Japan many times, actually the hotels in Tokyo are cheaper than in New York or other major European cities.  When I go to Tokyo, I always stay in http://www.hotel-sardonyx.com in Ueno, around $60 USD for double twin beds, but keep in mind the room is small, but very new and has high speed internet for free, oh, breakfest is free too!!!  Sony building is in Shinjuku, I remember its free, but not 100% sure.  There are so many thing to see in Tokyo, even I went there more than 10 times, but still, love to go there. 

Kyoto is so beautiful, and worth to stay there for three days.  I stayed in Westin Miyako hotel, when I was there last April, got a good price for a 5 stars hotel around $100 per night.  A lot of temples and shrines to see.

Osaka, the second largest city in Japan, also has the electronics district called Nihonbashi, pretty good size(good price for used stuff). Asked concierge for location.  Must go: Dotombori(in night time), umeda(largest underground shopping in the world).  Osaka is also famious for its food, must try “takoyaki”-octopus balls and “Okonomiayki”-like chow mein but 100x better!  I stayed in Hotel New Hankyu, but the price is not cheap as I recalled. 

I was not be able to go to Nara last April, but was there 13 years ago.  I remember there’s a temple, full of crzay deer, they will chasing you if you have cookie on your hands.  Kinda fun.

bic camera is the must go, the one in ikebukuro is huge.  Most my japanese friends like to shop in bic camera, because they got the best price, plus they wil give you 10% to 13% bouns cash, which good toward to next purchase.  Plus you always can get the tax free once you show your passport.  To be honest, I usually don’t buy electronics in japan because they are expensive compare to US(most of them are available in US in few months later), but cheaper than Europe.  Beware to shop laptop in Japan, because the keyboard layout is slightly different, and it does take some time to get use to it.  Akihabara is must go, but try not to go to Tax free shop, they are expensive…  Anyway, enjoy your trip and eat a lot of Ramein…..hehe

I am in Europe right now on holiday so took me some time to reply.

If you want to buy something check http://www.kakaku.com first.
While you can go to the aforementioned Bic, Yodobashi cameras etc. and pick up almost anything from the shelf you can save a lot with a litle search.
I got my everio camera 300$ and the AR70 1000$ cheaper than Yodobashi’s seling price.  8)

If you are looking for used goods in Akiba go towards the river from the station on the other side of the street are a few stores which sell used goods (many of these were just opened but did not live up to the expectations of the buyer), they have plenty of cameras.

While Laox advertises itself as Tax free their prices were much higher than other stores not a real bargain (haven’t been there for ages but I doubt it changed).

The consumption tax is 5%,

I went to Hakone this year for golden week and in my opinion the best place if you want to try an onsen. Private open onsen’s with beautiful view and the meals oh my.

Thank you all for your answers !!!
thanks Kateikyoushi for your link but since i don t speak/read japanese what kind of website is it? Are they new products or second hand?
I would be looking for a Canon Eos. I have found interesting prices on your site but…

In general you guys say that price for electronic stuff is cheaper over there than in europe?

thanks you !!

The page is like pricewatch.
The site lists both used and new goods but by default you get unused product results.
You can just search for the model number if you can not read japanese, most stores have maps to aid you in locating them.

Taxes are higher in Europe than in the Us or Japan and as I noticed prices are even higher than the taxes would indicate but honestly I did not look for anything just noticed it, while my girlfriend was shopping.

Now I checked the Us price of my notebook and it is 900$ higher than how much I paid on sonystyle it is not listed in pricewatch.

It would depend on how good deal can you find.

I m looking for an Canon Eos 5D
http://kakaku.com/prdsearch/detail.asp?prdkey=00500210882

But what does that say? thanks !!

Do you think it worth it for me to go buy it in japan?
thanks