Tokyo photojournalist
Thought I would post something useful for a change!
Tokyo probably has more camera shops than any other city on the planet. Here are a list of some of the biggest and best. They all sell new cameras. I’ll cover 2nd hand cameras in another post.
1) Ikebukuro Bic Camera: They have stores all over Tokyo. The specialist camera store is in Ikebukuro. Famous for an insanely sticky store jingle. You’ll sing it in your sleep. Not sure why it is called “Bic” camera – if anyone knows, please tell me. Shinjuku shop is good too.
2) Yodabashi Camera: Huge, huge camera store close to the west exit of Shinjuku station. The staff tend to be a bit more knowledgeable and less hassled than at Bic Camera.
3) Sakuraya Camera: Dotted around Shinjuku (are you detecting a pattern here?).
4) LABI: Just next to Shimbashi station. This is the newest of the bunch and I haven’t been there yet. But if it’s anything like the other stores in the chain you can try and bargain down the price (not possible at the above because they use point cards).
5) Zilllions of tiny camera shops: Not recommended as they are always more expensive than the big chains. No idea how they manage to stay in business.
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All content © 2012 by Tokyo photojournalist
No offense, but publishing names of the biggest electronics stores in Tokyo doesn’t make for much of a useful list. Why not discuss something like kakaku.com?
Thanks for the suggestion Sarah. I’m quite new to this kind of blogging. I’ll add some extra info to the post.
Oh my god that jingle is still in my head even though it has been months since I returned to India! Although I really liked hanging out in that store. The staff seems nice and helpful too at Bic Camera. I was just about to go to bed now I am sure I am gonna hear it in my dreams tonight :-)
Thanks for the helpful post. Just visiting Tokyo on assignment now. Do you know where I might be able to get pre-made grids or honeycombs in Japan?
I figure Japan must have an answer to something like this:
http://www.honlphoto.com/servlet/the-23/HonlPhoto-1-fdsh-8-Speed-Grid/Detail
Hi Ted. Yodabashi ought to have some. If not you could try Ginichi http://www.ginichi.com/company.php (The site’s all in Japanese I’m afraid).
Took a look at your website. Nice stuff. How long are you in Japan for?
I`m not quite agree with the 5th option. Actually, the price in Yodobashi, Bic camera and the other big chain store is more expensive than the smaller ones, that’s why they manage to survive. If you try to search it in internet, you could get much more cheaper price. I guarantee this one since i already compare and buy one here.
You could try
http://www.mapcamera.com/
http://www.fujiya-camera.co.jp/
Note: The website is in japanese.
hi to all,
i am going to tokyo next week and i was looking to buy a nikon d90 camera…
i am not sure if it would be more convenience than usa..
what do you guys recommend me?
Do you know how many years of warranty i have for a nikon from japan??
thanks
Yodabashi Camera is a great store, especially the one in Akihabara. You can get just about anything camera related there, but it is very expensive. For anything not hard to find, you’d be crazy buying from there. If you are feeling crazy, make sure you sign up for their point card (point-o card-o –yes, really) so that you can at least go and get a freebie. They’ll do it even if you are just passing through.
The cheapest place I know of to buy new gear is Sampoh camera, but you will have to pay cash and they wont do duty free. Map Camera in Shinjuku is also good for new gear and they will do duty free and take credit cards. They also have used gear but it is at least 10 percent more expensive than Fujiya Camera in Nakano. Fujiya camera is simply outstanding–friendly staff, usually an excellent range (but it does vary; you might not find much on a monday) 6 months money back warranty and cheap … no, I don’t work for them!