Posts Tagged ‘akihabara’

16GB SDHC

Monday, November 10th, 2008

Got this today from Akihabara. ¥3980 for a Transcend class 6 16GB SDHC memory card isn’t that bad a deal. ^^. On my D80, it shows 1.2k RAW, 2.0k fine L JPEG, 4.0k normal L JPEG, 7.9k basic L JPEG, 862 RAW + fine L JPEG, 1.0k RAW + normal L JPEG, 1.1k RAW + basic L JPEG, … etc etc. You get the point.

The most I can take is 24.5k on basic S JPEG setting.

Maybe I will never have to format my new card for a while… ^^.

Visiting Ginza

Friday, October 10th, 2008

No, this isn’t New York or somewhere else in the States. Don’t let that star-spangled banner fool you. ^^

Ginza  007

It’s been a while since I last went down all the way to Ginza. But given its reputation as a posh town, it’s always a good place to bring friends who are visiting shopping.

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Akiba Stroll

Friday, September 12th, 2008

I don’t go there quite often because it’s a little far north for me. Came across this AV factory. Seriously, AV factory?!? I don’t think the ‘A’ and ‘V’ mean ‘Audio’ and ‘Visual’… hmm… hey… Audio and visual isn’t wrong either if you think about it. ^^.

A walk in Akihabara


I believe it was a Saturday when I went (sorry for the late post). As you can see, there’s a police presence there. That white car on the right which is permanently parked there on the empty stretch of road. I like going for walks. It’s a good time to refresh my mind. I don’t really think of anything when I just stroll around. Blank. Just take in the sights and enjoy the surroundings around me. What about you? You like going for strolls?

A walk in Akihabara

Now we’re going to take a walk into the Kotobukiya store in Akiba. It’s right opposite the JR station in this building behind the jumping guy.

A walk in Akihabara

I was hoping to take a picture of the store but… “you can take photos freely! o only items. x not people!!!”. ^^. That was also the case when I visited some hobby stores in Sendai. Don’t mind don’t mind. ^^

A walk in Akihabara

I found this Cyclone going for ¥9900. Wonfes all black edition. Good thing I bought mine back at Wonfes for ¥6000. If you have limited edition items, they can fetch pretty high prices.

A walk in Akihabara

A walk in Akihabara

I thinking of getting Naomi (third from right). A little pricy though. But sukajan, short skirt, tank top and a katana… we’ll see. ^^. I’m a fan of Shunya Yamashita’s work. Mirei san (second from right) is also pretty nice. A got a different figure of her in a different color. Haven’t taken her out yet. ><. Will get to it soonish.

A walk in Akihabara

A walk in Akihabara

I did get a figure though. One of these in this picture below. Care to make a guess? I’ll give you a cookie. ^^.

A walk in Akihabara

You suppose this mousepad is comfy? I can’t imagine anyone using this at work… ok… maybe some of us will. ^^. Will you?

A walk in Akihabara

A walk in Akihabara

A walk in Akihabara

A walk in Akihabara

Yodobashi Jingle

Thursday, September 11th, 2008

Yodobashi is the ultimate electronics store in Japan. Ok… I’m not really sure which is bigger, Yodobashi or Bic Camera. But, I prefer Yodobashi. Somehow Yodobashi stores feel a little brighter than Bic Camera’s. A little brighter doesn’t mean much, but I just feel more at home with the atmosphere in Yodobashi. I suppose other people might feel differently. If you live in Japan, which do you prefer? Yodobashi or Bic Camera?

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In the Kanto area (where Tokyo, Yokohama Kawasaki etc. are), I’ve only been to 4 Yodobashi-s. The main headquarters is in Shinjuku. That’s where it all started. And if I’m not mistaken, the buildings haven’t changed much. All they did was just expand into the surrounding shops. There’s also a Yodobashi in Ueno, Yokohama, Kawasaki and the latest megastore at Akihabara. All these stores are located within 2 minutes of exiting the station… provided you get out at the right exit (lots of exits at major stations).

A walk in Akihabara

The photo here are taken when I went for a walk in Akihabara. Thus, only Yodobashi Akiba (a nickname of Akihabara) photos. Danny has quite a number of Yodobashi Ueno shots when he went for a walk there. It’s the tall thin building in the corner. I tend to visit Yokohama’s Yodobashi alot… because the others are located just that little further away. ^^.

Prior to coming to Japan, I always shopped for electronics at different places. For home appliances I would go to home centers. Cameras, a camera store. Computers, a computer store. Now if you were to ask me, I would just say Yodobashi. I don’t think I can survive outside Japan anymore…. ><. What about you? I would like to know where you go shopping for electronics?

Oh.. crap. I was supposed to be blogging about the Yodobashi Jingle. Seems like I sidetracked quite a bit in the introduction. ^^. I got this bag when I shopped at Yodobashi Akiba.

Yodobashi Jingle

I don’t know if many people notice it, but their jingle is on the bag! I’m not musically inclined… maybe someone can back me up here and tell me I’m right. ^^. The jingle itself is catchy… maybe a little annoying if you have to hear it 24/7. I wonder how their staff deal with it. ^^.

Accompanying the jingle, there are some “meaningful” lyrics. Every store uses the same jingle, but to a different set of lyrics. The Shinjuku store’s lyrics gives directions. Tells you how to get there. “Take the Yamanote line… or the Chou line… to Shinjuku and you’ll find Yodobashi Camera!”. Pretty neat eh.I find it a little more easy on the ear than just “Bicu Bicu Bicu Bic Camera”. I was quite amused with Bic Camera’s theme when I first heard it. ^^

If you think the song sounds familiar, then you probably heard it before somewhere a long long time ago. The Yodobashi jingle is a bouncy cover of The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

This youTube user was generous enough to share with us Yodobashi Shinjuku’s theme song. He made a pretty entertaining video to accompany the tune. I wonder how he got the song. Did he buy the CD
? I wonder if I just walk up to the store and ask one of the clerks if I can have a copy of the song, would they gladly hand me one? ^^

A good thing about Yodobashi though… the cameras are all laid out for you to try. Bring your own SD card, and you can take some photos and bring them home. ^^. This is trying out the fisheye lens on a friend of mine. Just out of curiosity… Anyone of you have a fisheye lens?

A walk in Akihabara

Akihabara knives

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

While the US has gun violence, Japan has its fair share of “knife violence”. 7 died in a stabbing attack in Akihabara today. Japan is extremely safe when compared to the rest of the world. But there’re always some lunatic around. My heart goes out to the families of those who were killed in this random senseless act of violence. Do not take safety for granted!

Story from Japan Today