General > General Technical Chat
The Akihabara Japan electronics store master list.
TERRA Operative:
I've answered this question a couple times now, so I thought I'd make a post here and list all the places I find in Akihabara in Tokyo, Japan, so if anyone else is heading there on holiday etc, there is a central list of places to check out for electronics etc.
I'll add to this list as I find/remember more places to check out.
Also, Monday seems to be the day many stores are closed (they are open on the weekend instead, so Monday is their 'holiday'), so although many stores are open every day, some of these smaller stores are likely to be closed then.
Tokyo Radio Department Store:
Multiple floors of parts shops to rummage through.
https://goo.gl/maps/P4f8b67sjaKBe73a6
https://www.tokyoradiodepart.co.jp/index.html
Keisokuki-land:
High end test gear and second hand stuff, no bargains to be had though, even their 2nd hand stuff is sold at a premium...
Good to take a look, but the prices are squarely in the "Oh, you need this old thing to keep your production process running? Pay up sucker" territory. But they do come with full warranty and are fully tested.
They sell new Rigol, Fluke, Keysight, R&S, Tektronix, GW Instek and Hioki etc. at market rates too. (But no Siglent :( ).
https://goo.gl/maps/RxHa6c7Fpa8goLSx6
http://www.keisokuki-land.co.jp/
Radio Center:
Lots of stuff in here right next to the station. Lots of stores inside and out. Fluke, Yokogawa, etc. Along with transformers, cables, hand tools, components, connectors and second hand stuff. Be sure to check it out thoroughly and head up to the second floor for more stuff.
There is also a second hand consignment type store full of shelves divided into boxes that are great to look through for random second hand electronic and electrical gear and other random stuff.
https://goo.gl/maps/xMdKJYFVViPSwhu1A
http://www.radiocenter.jp/
Sengoku:
4-ish floors (inc. basement) of all sorts of electronics parts and tools. Awesome shop to check out and one of the larger ones so there's a lot of stuff. They have Raspi, Sparkfun, Adafruit, general and audio parts and enough stuff to build your own electric guitar with the amp too.
2nd floor is the place to check for guitar aficionados.
https://goo.gl/maps/FvY5ayRrHFfxPH7KA
https://www.sengoku.co.jp/
Akizukidenshi:
Another electronics parts shop. LED's, semiconductors, passives, Raspi, Arduino, microcontrollers and programmers etc. They also have a few tools and meters, including the Der-EE DE-5000 LCR meter and all accessories on the shelf for a good price (Competitive with ebay even), if you ask, they might even have a carry case out the back (I got one recently).
Also, be sure to check the 2nd floor too. Exit the 1st floor and you'll see an entrance just to the left as you look back towards the building from the street, head up the stairs to the 2nd floor for more stuff (including a few boxes of random surplus that they often have sitting there in tubs).
You'll find PicoScopes here if you need one of them too.
https://goo.gl/maps/7cNGqVNiM1qD8YkP7
http://akizukidenshi.com/catalog/default.aspx
Akiba LED:
Well stocked LED store, not so competitive vs online, but if you need an LED now, he probably has it.
https://g.page/pikarikan?share
https://www.akiba-led.jp/
Marustu:
Parts and tools, they sell a lot of Digikey/RS/Adafruit/Sparkfun stuff too.
https://goo.gl/maps/tkaUkDP4EkPGciYv6
https://www.marutsu.co.jp/
Nishikawa Electric Parts:
Nuts, bolts, fasteners etc of all sorts and hand tools on the 1st floor, connectors and tools on the 2nd floor.
Need some machine screws or a small connector? This is the place to check first.
https://goo.gl/maps/mBssS8yWSVVL6VY37
http://nishikawa.or.tv/index.html
Fuji Musen:
Antenna, radios and RF stuff on 1st and 2nd floors (Head into the back of the 1st floor for the stairs to 2nd floor) and retro video games at super potato on the upper floors, accessed from the right side of the building, you'll see the signs.
https://goo.gl/maps/gok78xs1trJGYu2AA
http://www.fujimusen.com/
Classic Components:
Possibly Japan's largest tube store. A huge selection of tubes and other stuff like capacitors, sockets, transformers, etc.
Definitely worth a look if you have even a passing interest in tubes and the like.
https://goo.gl/maps/iko3Ji2Y98EsbiHv6
http://userweb.pep.ne.jp/classic/open.htm
Tomoca:
On the 2nd floor, go up the escalator and turn left. Audio and PA gear (Mics, cables mixing desks, lighting, etc), also lots of audio/RF connectors and cable including Amphenol, Canare, Belden, Neutrik etc, etc. They sell hand tools and even DeOxit too.
They are also on the 3rd floor of the Tokyo Radio Department Store with connectors, fans, 'wall wart' power supplies and NiCd/NiMh/Lipo batteries and 1st floor with arcade machine parts and general electronics tools.
https://goo.gl/maps/adnowBrGK7zTZ8Ms5
http://www.tomoca.co.jp/
Koizumi-Musen:
Amplifiers, tubes, speakers, parts etc.
https://goo.gl/maps/VE7A97kQ2ZsUmYn58
http://www.koizumi-musen.com/
Kasuga Musen:
Amplifiers, tubes, speakers, parts etc.
https://goo.gl/maps/pMCY86o3fZyFV4xFA
http://www.e-kasuga.net/
Nichibei Shoji:
Full of random electronics surplus and junk, the occasional bit of old test gear and often a really good deal on whatever happens to be there at the time.
Don't bother going here though, it's my favourite junk store so I want all the goodies for myself. :D
https://goo.gl/maps/JQjj8H1krxJML5xz5
https://my-site-105174-102944.square.site/
https://twitter.com/superjunkNBS?
Oyaide Denki:
Lots of audio and other cables, connectors, 'audiophile grade' power outlets and plugs etc. (If you want to pay too much for a carbon fiber wall outlet with gold plated contacts, this is your store).
They sell silver solder too, which is useful.
https://g.page/oyaide_denki?share
http://www.oyaide.com/ENGLISH/index.html
Yamada Denki
This is the largest general electrical/electronics/whitegoods/etc store in Japan.
They have everything you could dream of when it comes to computer parts, TV's, Stereos, Camera gear(!), Fridges, appliances, etc.
Check out the 'International' section for stuff in 230V and 115V versions if you want an awesome rice cooker or one of those Japanese heated toilet seat with built in bidet or the like.
On the upper floors is the audio stuff with tubes and other 'audiophile' grade stuff. If you want to audition a set of Dynaudio speakers, then see a 4K projector and buy some expensive tubes, come here.
They do have some reasonable prices on general gear, but it's worth the look around just for the fun of seeing racks of hundreds of earbuds and headphones, and all the camera gear (!) etc, etc.
https://goo.gl/maps/rsmZfyTU5Zj7fJmGA
https://www.yodobashi.com/
Tsukumo
A very well stocked and reasonably priced PC parts store.
They have a number of branches, but I'll link to just the main ones below. Worth a look if you have any interest in PC parts, VR gear, etc.
Main Branch - https://goo.gl/maps/XXTBJYkD4N6bWhE16
Tsukumo eX - https://goo.gl/maps/RzUXCnSayMWqYdHx9
https://shop.tsukumo.co.jp/
Aisan
If you need electrical installation gear (cable ties, switches, power outlets, etc), conduit, mains cables, PDU's, optic fiber gear, LAN cables, and practically anything to wire and cable an electrical, LAN, or optic fiber installation or data rack etc (Including the rack itself), this is the place to visit.
https://goo.gl/maps/gkBF4kGdPZr3AzQg6
https://www.aisan.co.jp/
German_EE:
Nice to see that in the age of the Internet Akihabara is still going strong. I was last there in the early 1990's and could have spent a week there.
TERRA Operative:
Yeah. It's definitely shrunk over time and the old guys have been retiring here and there to be replaced with anime merchandise stores, but there is still a lot of good stores to poke around in. :)
bluey:
Just wondering.... do locals go to real shops or buy online from Rakuten or Monotaro or other???
Yodobashi Camera is not a camera store and worth a look in Japan. Bic Camera has more locations and higher prices - also not a camera store.
Monotaro is good for hardware. Navigating takes some learning but well worth it. Rakuten is cheaper but Monotaro.sg has free shipping over SG200. Anislo (Japan Post) is not shipping ex Japan due to covid.
TERRA Operative:
Here people use a bit of both, some online some real shops. Some stuff I've only found online, some I've only found offline, it's just luck of the draw sometimes.
Rakuten is basically a direct competitor to Amazon, but with a crappier UX (They allow the sellers to do almost as they please in their listings so you get listings that are almost 90% advertising for that sellers other items... Amazon have that rubbish locked down).
Monotaro.jp is good for general business/workshop/tools/office stuff. A better one for real machine parts and tools is Misumi-Vona.
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