A Gaijin in the Akihabara?

cayle clark asks: "In April I will be on a tour that spends 5 days in Tokyo, and on one of these days I hope to break away from the planned cultural events for a visit to the Akihabara, the world-famous electronics market district, partly just to gawk, partly in hope of finding a deal on a really whizzy mini-notebook or handheld pc. But... can a gaijin ^? who doesn't speak or read Japanese get around in this place? Would anyone who's been there comment on prices, selection, or experience with the many duty-free shops?"

Comments

Hello

[r.suzuka]

I am currently a student in Tokyo and I may be able to assist you.

I am afraid I cannot recommend specific shops since school duties have prevented me from frequenting "Electrical Town" perhaps as much as I would like. However I do not think that you will have any difficulties either navigating the district or the individual shops.

All shops will have prices clearly posted so if you are familiar with a certain piece of electronic equipment, you will be able to identify it as well as the price. If you wish, you can attempt to bargain with the vendors; it would no doubt help to have a Japanese speaking freind or colleague with you, but many vendors will speak enough English to permit basic bargaining.

May I refer you to the following link: http://www.akiba.or.jp/index_e.html. This is an official page with much information in English about Akihabara.

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy your visit to Tokyo.

R. Suzuka

Well, not Tokyo, but Osaka...

[gnovos]

I used to live in Osaka for a few years, and they have a similar area in Nipponbashi, and I had no trouble finding my way around and buying what I needed, and I don't speak Japanese very well at all. As long as you can make intelligent gestures and understand, say, japanese numbers for prices, then you'll be fine. Suprising to me, many of the things I bought had a set of English instructions and the buttons were often written in English, so it was pretty easy to use. One interesteding thing to note, most Japanese computers will have nearly double the memory and HD space than you are used to (supposedly becuase the 2-byte characters require more space to do the same thing that "our" 1-byte characters), so it will look very expensive... But if you look close at the specs, some of it is actually VERY reasonable.

Been There, Done That, Don't Speak Japanese

[nellardo]

Well, when I used to work for this "modest" media and electronics company, I got to go to Tokyo quite a bit - I was corporate. I got along fine in Akihabara. I speak no Japanese. Okay, a little - I can call Tokyo, identify myself, and ask to speak to someone. Usually, I manage to get the accent decent enough that the respondent starts explaining (I presume) why this person can't come to the phone. That's when I say "Nihon go ga wakari masen" - I don't speak Japanese.

The prices seemed reaosnable, though not spectacular - from other comments, I gather you're expected to bargain. Being a foolish gaijin, I didn't realize this. As I was mostly interested in buying things that weren't sold in the States anyway, this doesn't bother me too much. I may have paid more than a native for the metallic orange camouflage MD Walkman, but it was still less than the equivalent functionality model in the States (even at the employee store). So I got a completely wack-looking MD player. Groovy, Bay-bee!

I didn't have too much problem asking after products. The staff will usually show you the register numbers when you look at them blankly after they've stated the total in Japanese. Just stick to the "protocol" of placing your money or credit card on the little tray they'll hand you with a printed receipt. They'll pick up the tray, make change or run the charge, and place the results back on the tray in front of you.

Oh, and one helpful bit of vocabulary: "Sumimasen...." usually said with a long drawn out final syllable - Sumimaseeen - and remember all the vowels are "short" and "pure" - not the dipthongs of English (One woman I was with had a strong Southern accent - she couldn't get passer-bys to understand that "Carry-Oh-Key" was "karaoke"). I'm given to understand that it translates literally as something along the lines of "I'm so very sorry to interrupt you in the midst of your important work, but....." Works wonders - staff on the other side of the shop will rush over. Even in the restaurants of "Little Tokyo" here in the East Village in New York.

Oh, and take a card from your hotel - it will have a map on the back showing where it is. Taxi drivers will need that. If you're staying with friends, ask them what train station is closest (this will also be on the hotel card map). If you can, memorize the kanji for that train station. Then you can get home, even on the subway, which doesn't have Roman lettering (but the JR train does, so it's not so difficult).

Not too hard at all:

[wirefarm]

Repeat after me:
Moe-ni-tah
Bideo-kah-do
She-pee-you
May-moe-rie

You get the picture... Try not to over-translate things - For instance, one time I was looking for Memory (RAM) and translated it to omoide. Once the clerk figured out what I was trying to say, it had him laughing so hard that he had to get someone else to help me.
Akihabara is one of the easiest places to get around for a foreign geek in Tokyo - so many more of the words are 'translated' like my examples above. If you are looking for a complete system, stick to the big stores like T-Zone or Laox or any place that has a big english sign that says 'Duty-Free'. Those places have english-speaking sales staff and know all of the customs info. Bring your passport if you buy anything expensive, as you'll need it to avoid paying tax.
You mention nifty handhelds and mini-notebooks - I too have drooled over the selection here, but there are 2 main problems with those: Japanese Keyboards and Japanese OS. It's really a drag, but on small devices, it's almost impossible to change those two things.
You should see good selections of other things such as digital cameras, MiniDisc players and the like. (Get a minidisc player here - they're cheap, dozens of models and easy to figure out; you'll not regret it. Just make sure the batteries and chargers are compatable.)
Japan uses different power than the US and Europe. For PCs and Laptops, it's never a problem, but for other things, it might be. (Learn what your standard is at home and learn how to read the charger/device you are buying.)
Saturdays, the prices are a bit lower, I've heard, but not noticed. New items tend to be price-fixed at all of the stores, but that just means you don't have to shop all of the stores. Credit cards are usually OK, but bring some cash.
For parts and upgrades, check out DIY (do it yourself) Street. It has a great bazaar feel and some of the best selections of oddball gizmos.
I really don't think much haggling goes on - not just here, but anywhere in Tokyo. Japanese people generally do not haggle, with the exception of Osaka - I hear it is traditionally much more common there.
All-in-all, for most mainstream stuff, you'll do just as well at the big electronics shops all over Tokyo, but you miss the experience of Akihabara. Where it really shines is for the ability to track down literally *any* small part, connector or special cable. We don't have or need Radio Shack here. It's geek heaven.
Also remember that 90% of the shops close at 8:00pm - some are open til 9:00, but get there well before - Stores typically start playing "Auld Lang Syne" when they want to start closing.
There are also dozens of porn shops, but don't bother - Japanese porn is some of the worst in the world, since by law, they must place a spot of 'mosaic' over the naughty bits.
If you're going on a Saturday or Sunday, drop me a line - I may join you and show you around.
Cheers,
Jim in Tokyo