Akihabara
I made three trips to Akihabara, Tokyo's center for all things electronic,
during my six-week stay in Japan. Akihabara features enormous department
stores selling electronic goods, movies, music, computer parts, and games,
among many other things. On the side streets are small used-goods stores where
you can find many bargains. Brand-new goods tend not to be as cheap as the
U.S., especially when you compare the Japanese department stores to American
on-line retailers. In any case, I picked up some neat toys like a
SwanCrystal and an electronic Japanese-English
dictionary. Many of the small vendors let you haggle over prices, making it
even more favorable for bargain-conscious shoppers.
