-
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.
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/ -
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.
-
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.
-
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. -
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. -
Wished I had had this list when I visited Tokyo back in 2018.
I still wandered around and purchased a Japan-made Sanwa analog multitester.
I had previously visited this area in 1989, and definitively the amount of electronics shops has shrunk. -
Yeah, I noticed two stores have disappeared so far since the Corona virus thing alone when I was there today. One was a shame as they had a good range of TDK PSU modules and connectors and stuff (But I found the TDK trade counter anyway).
Another consolidated two stores into one, but no real reduction in stock besides less toy electronics kits to make space.
Hopefully more new electronics stores open up in the vacant spaces instead of yet another used laptop/cell phone store... -
I know it has not been updated for 3 years, however it is a master list and Japan has already re-opened after COVID.
Mrs will go to Japan in April, I want to ask her to buy some electronic components, kits and / or a used 6.5 digits DMM.
It would be very much appreciated if anyone could update this list.
-
Made a few updates (Classic Components moved location for example) but the stores are all still there.
Don't forget to wander around near these places, there are other stores all over the place that may be of interest. Have fun!
-
Could you suggest few online used equipment shops? As Mrs will go to Japan, I have to stay home and look after the kids.
-
Here's a few for online shopping (only within Japan).
This company from the list above:
https://www.keisokuki-land.co.jp/store/index.html
And their second-hand gear store:
https://www.keisokuki-land.co.jp/resale/index.html
And this one where I bought my Keysight 34461A 6.5 digit multimeter:
https://www.keisokuki-world.jp/products/detail.php?product_id=4110
And I bought my Siglent spectrum analyzer from here:
https://adwinshop.com/ -
Very nice. I am hoping to get the chance to visit Japan in the next few years (as a tourist), so will have to visit some of these places.
-
I enjoyed a long weekend in Tokyo a week ago.
Sengoku and Marustu both remain up to scratch, much the same as pre-pandemic.
However Akizukidenshi seemed to have a number of empty shelves, and a significant portion of the back of the shop re-assigned to a Kinko-like print/copy shop.
Focus nowadays seems to be even more on Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP-32 (especially M5Stack stuff) etc.
One other thing I noticed was that a lot of the higher priced items now you have to take a product card and request it at the check out, I guess even Japan isn't immune to retail theft. -
Did you see that Akizukidenshi now has a second floor with more stuff? They recently expanded and moved stuff upstairs to provide more space to move in the store.
The section at the back of the first floor with the PC there is a place you can check part numbers and stock and make orders for things they don't have in stock.
During the pandemic Marutsu shrunk a bit and no longer have the second floor with all the microcontroller and modules and stuff, they crammed it all into the first floor.
I think they have basically the same stuff, just in a smaller space to save on rent. -
Did you see that Akizukidenshi now has a second floor with more stuff? They recently expanded and moved stuff upstairs to provide more space to move in the store.
The section at the back of the first floor with the PC there is a place you can check part numbers and stock and make orders for things they don't have in stock.
What???!??!?
I didn't see any evidence of a second floor. It was getting toward the end of the day, and when I went back they were closed but Sengoku a couple of doors down was still open. How is the second floor accessed? Is it the door at the left side, because ISTR that just looked like a maid cafe entrance to me.
Looks like I'll have to go back!
The only place I spent any money was in Marutsu, they have a reasonably good selection of SMD breakouts of which I restocked on the more esoteric ones: of the common ones, these days I make a lot of my own SOIC/SSOP with narrow standard 0.3" DIP breakout bodies which typically are either very expensive or difficult to find. -
Yep exactly, looks like a maid cafe entrance, but that's the 3rd floor.
I didn't know until they told me when I noticed there were parts missing and I asked, then I saw the signs in Japanese, and not signposted as clearly as it could be....
Completely obvious, when you know it's there..... haha.
Also, if you do head back, Marutsu sell jumper wires that have little tiny clips on the ends that will go into the through-holes on PCB's, perfect for prototyping with solderless temporary connections to your breakout boards. -
Thanks again for the list! We are going to be in Tokyo late Feb to mid March. Do you know if there is something interesting (electronics wise) happening around that time?
Also looks like Nishikawa Electric Parts has closed down D: -
Yeah, Nishikawa seems to have been bought out by Sengoku, who may be moving into that entire building or something.
It seems like Sengoku might be continuing to sell the nuts and bolts that Nishikawa were selling, and expanding into that building to give them room to grow.
I'm hoping they won't get rid of the hardware stuff, but time will tell. I'll update once things are finalised.
I don't know of anything in particular happening, but I'm sure you'll find something interesting to poke at when you visit anyway.
-
Just had a look around yesterday.
Nichibei Shoji - great little shop, seems to be mostly NOS / surplus - a bit like a small version of Rockby in Melbourne.
Marutsu is good, as mentioned above.
Akizuki is good - don’t just look at the ground floor, you’re missing most of it.
Follow the signs for the sus-looking maid girl cafe, that’s the right way to get to the upstairs part of Akizuki.
Sengoku is a few shops down from Akizuki, so you’ll want to do both at once. The range of electric guitar components and spares in 2F Sengoku is cool.
None of these are Digikey equivalents, they don’t have everything - but compared to something like Jaycar it is absolutely incredible that they exist as retail shop front businesses.
Akihabara Radio Center - look for the huge ICOM sign near the big pedestrian crossing just west of the Akihabara train station.
It’s a tightly packed labyrinth of stalls and it’s easy to miss stuff - there’s lots of quality electronics that isn’t obvious from the front entrance. Don’t miss the cramped low staircases that go up to the upper floors. Lots of great stalls upstairs with a huge stock of valves, and the stall with cases is great too.
Tokyo Radio Department is great too, similar to Akihabara Radio Center.
Oyaide is across the road from Tokyo Radio Department. Great specialists in wire and cable. Lots of specific cable and wire - and a broad range of TechFlex plastic braided sleeving.
Fuji Musen - an impressive amateur radio retail shop, I’ve never seen anything like it in a brick-and-mortar shop.
Aisen is good for fibre patch cables, optical connectors, splice equipment, test lasers, fibre pigtails etc.
I’ve never seen fusion splicers and OTDRs in an off the shelf in a walk-in street shop before.
All of these are still active - the only one I think mentioned above but closed down is Nishikawa.
But the Japanese retailer that surprised me the most was not in Akihabara and it’s not an electronics store at all.
It’s 8 pm Saturday in Tokyo, and you want some M2 screws, even M1 and M1.2 screws, some fibreglass resin, a sheet of 2 mm copper, 20mm acrylic rod, a sheet of 5mm rubber, a length of 10mm hex brass stock, some 4000 grit sandpaper, precision tweezers and small precision sidecutters?
You go to Hands, and you’re sorted for all these things and more. The range of “stock” metals, acrylic, leather, foam, wood and rubber - in reasonably small DIY and hobbyist portions - is delightful.
Hands is not just an arts and crafts store, it’s a beautiful monument to just how *mainstream* technical arts are in Japanese culture. This is a mainstream store like Bunnings or Spotlight, it’s not a “nerd” store hidden in an Akihabara alley. -
Ah yes, Tokyu Hands (now called just Hands) is a great chain of stores (althought the Hands Be stores are a greatly cut down version, nothing great in those ones), the one in Shibuya is MASSIVE and on the basement floor they often had themed displays that have most of the displayed collection up for sale (prices are sometimes better than other times on that stuff).
I've seen geodes and crystals and rocks, transparent small vertebrates in jars (they use some chemical to make proteins transparent), retro computers, telephony gear, calculators, Americana, etc, etc. It's always a new thing there.
Definitely worth starting from the bottom floor and working up floor by floor to the cafe up top. They have almost everything in that store.... -
Akizuki is good - don’t just look at the ground floor, you’re missing most of it.
Follow the signs for the sus-looking maid girl cafe, that’s the right way to get to the upstairs part of Akizuki.
LOL, that's the reason I didn't go updtairs! More seriously, I'd been a number of times before pre-pandemic, and didn't remember there being an upstairs, so assumed the ground floor was all there is.
Furthermore, here's a tip for young players (and parochial old farts like me), I found at least some of these stores only take cash. One time I went shortly before the pandemic, I ended up having to do the walk of shame to find an ATM and return to pay. I doubt I was the first (or the last) to fall into this trap. I won't be repeating that experience again. Cash is king in Japan. -
The upstairs at Akizukidenshi is relatively new, within the last year. More stock is more betterer I say!
-
I have often mused about visiting Akihabara and other sources of such goodies.
However, after some reflection, I've come to understand that if I ever get into that neck of the woods, I'm going to go bankrupt before lunch on day 1. -
Quote
I've come to understand that if I ever get into that neck of the woods, I'm going to go bankrupt before lunch on day 1.
And then theres the excess baggage charges on the flight home to consider. -
A couple of other good ones:
Sakaguchi is right next to Aisan, next to the train station.
http://sakaguchi-dennetsu.co.jp/akiba.html
Specialists in heating elements, PTC heaters, pad heaters, temperature PID modules, cartridge heaters, ceramic insulators, thermocouples and all sorts of heating components.
and Rocket Amateur Radio Hongkan, which is on the next street just north of Keisokuki-land.
This is another speciality shop for amateur radio hardware. -
Thank you very much, this is gold
Now I have to manage to fund a trip to Japan
-
I just had my second trip to Akihabara this year, and spent about three hours buying random sh!t that seemed like a good idea at the time. I find myself doing two rounds of the same shops. Not sure why, but that’s the way I roll.
I went to the new upstairs in Akizukidenshi, and it certainly is easy to miss unless you knew about this extra floor ahead of time… or were looking for a Maid Cafe.
This is where, among other things, the small but useful array of low end modern test equipment is stored that used to be downstairs. Rigol DHO800/900 scopes, Analog Discovery 2 and 3 and HackRF One are examples that caught my eye, although the wallet stayed shut at this outlet in the end.
A new one for me was the Akiba LED shop, although it’s been around for a while. Not normally my thing, but they ended up about Y10k better off after I bought some Neopixel arrays.
I spent a bit in Maritsa again mostly on breakout boards, but it was Sengoku’s ground floor that I ended up with my biggest spend, about Y21k mostly on M5Stack stuff.
Kids and candy stores.