SFF shopping in Akihabara

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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As I've mentioned planning a few times in the podcast, I'm currently in Tokyo! And of course I had to visit Akihabara, the electronics capital of Japan to see what kind of retail presence SFF has in this country that's perpetually short on space.

Akihabara (also known as Electric Town) is an area to the west of Akihabara Station in Central Tokyo, just north-east of the Imperial Palace. It's a hub of geek culture, with many stores and venues promoting video games, anime, manga, and PC hardware.

Read more here.
 

VegetableStu

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Aug 18, 2016
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- Oooh nice!! Travelogue!
- Did you get the Elsa 1050?
- *looks to the right* ... break glass to retrieve case?
- nice, wonder if they stock Silverstone peripherals and adaptors...
- WHOA THEY DISPLAY BOXED QUADROS ON THE SHELVES
- *still looking through* damn, I wish the larger PC shops in Sim Lim were like them.
 
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Phuncz

Lord of the Boards
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Excellent work on the pictures and write-up, seriously enjoyed it ! All the feels for Ncase M1 in a store !
 
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zovc

King of Cable Management
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Wow, this was genuinely mind boggling. Thank you for documenting this!
 

Josh | NFC

Not From Concentrate
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Jun 12, 2015
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Wonderfully entertaining, James. You certainly have a nack for creative informative writing. I got some coffee on my keyboard when I read the line about snakes being in the basement. ;)

As a side note, I too stockpile Logitec M570s. I think I have five of them. But I stopped two years ago because I actually found a far superior mouse which is actually from Japan and is in your pictures! The Elecom EX-G! It blows the M570 out of the water in every regard, and it helped me close the gap against my wrist flicking friends. The only drawback? The actual trackball is bad. But not to worry...pop in one of your old M570 balls and you are good to go. All the features of a gaming mouse, but a lovely trackball. I'm on my second one (I usually wear out a mouse in one year) but highly recommend it. And it is HALF the price in that store from what I have been paying. Less than half actually...

:)

 
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zovc

King of Cable Management
Jan 5, 2017
852
603
Oh no, @Josh | NFC...

I'm not sure we can be friends anymore. I didn't know you used one of... those!

But seriously, I'm going to relay that info to a friend of mine who likes using a trackball.
 

Soul_Est

SFF Guru
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Feb 12, 2016
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Quite ironic that I watched a video about shopping for mechanical keyboards in Tokyo just this morning.


I've used a mouse since I was 2 years old and my dad brought home a Macintosh Plus. I've earned the right to use a trackball (more like fused and worn joints force me to). XD
Having used a thumb-operated trackball before and never (Logitech M570), I'm going for a Kensington Slimblade or Expert Mouse.

Also why don't you both have a look at the Elecom M-DT2URBK? From my research, it is of a higher quality than the Logitech M570.
 
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jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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And I thought Micro Center was big!

Other than the Yodobashi, none of the stores I went to "felt" that big because the ceiling were fairly short and the aisles weren't that wide compared to something like a Frys or Micro Center, but they sure were packed full of sweet parts as a result.

- Did you get the Elsa 1050?

No, one thing I noticed is that the prices varied quite a bit between stores so I didn't want to pick up the first single-slot 1050 Ti I ran across.

- nice, wonder if they stock Silverstone peripherals and adaptors...

I'm sure one or more of the stores I went to did, I wasn't paying that much attention to adapters and stuff.

- WHOA THEY DISPLAY BOXED QUADROS ON THE SHELVES

Yeah, that was really surreal.

Excellent work on the pictures and write-up, seriously enjoyed it ! All the feels for Ncase M1 in a store !

Thanks! And yup, I've been following the M1 for a long time, backed the prototype campaign and got a v1 and all that, so I really wanted to see one on a store shelf.

Wow, this was genuinely mind boggling. Thank you for documenting this!

Thanks!

Soo many tech shops to get lost in! Thanks for the article and photos.

So many shops! I didn't even have time to check out the vintage PC/console shops, and all the other cool stuff here.

Buy me an ELSA 1050Ti SP!

I need to check into it, at this point I'm not sure if it's even any cheaper for me to buy it versus just ordering from Amazon.co.jp

As a side note, I too stockpile Logitec M570s. I think I have five of them. But I stopped two years ago because I actually found a far superior mouse which is actually from Japan and is in your pictures! The Elecom EX-G! It blows the M570 out of the water in every regard, and it helped me close the gap against my wrist flicking friends. The only drawback? The actual trackball is bad. But not to worry...pop in one of your old M570 balls and you are good to go. All the features of a gaming mouse, but a lovely trackball. I'm on my second one (I usually wear out a mouse in one year) but highly recommend it. And it is HALF the price in that store from what I have been paying. Less than half actually...

I'll have to research that, there are certainly lots of Elecom trackballs available here.

I've earned the right to use a trackball (more like fused and worn joints force me to). XD

I currently use both a mouse and trackball, I find switching back and forth helps avoid RSI.

Also why don't you both have a look at the Elecom M-DT2URBK? From my research, it is of a higher quality than the Logitech M570.

I'll have to look into that, there's a surprisingly large number of trackball models from Elecom and I'm not familiar with their lineup at all.
 
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GentlemanShark

Asus RMA sucks
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Dec 22, 2016
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Other than the Yodobashi, none of the stores I went to "felt" that big because the ceiling were fairly short and the aisles weren't that wide compared to something like a Frys or Micro Center, but they sure were packed full of sweet parts as a result.



No, one thing I noticed is that the prices varied quite a bit between stores so I didn't want to pick up the first single-slot 1050 Ti I ran across.



I'm sure one or more of the stores I went to did, I wasn't paying that much attention to adapters and stuff.



Yeah, that was really surreal.



Thanks! And yup, I've been following the M1 for a long time, backed the prototype campaign and got a v1 and all that, so I really wanted to see one on a store shelf.



Thanks!



So many shops! I didn't even have time to check out the vintage PC/console shops, and all the other cool stuff here.



I need to check into it, at this point I'm not sure if it's even any cheaper for me to buy it versus just ordering from Amazon.co.jp



I'll have to research that, there are certainly lots of Elecom trackballs available here.



I currently use both a mouse and trackball, I find switching back and forth helps avoid RSI.



I'll have to look into that, there's a surprisingly large number of trackball models from Elecom and I'm not familiar with their lineup at all.

It's about 23000 yen before shipping, so if you don't mind picking one up for me, I would be happy to pay a little extra.
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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It's about 23000 yen before shipping, so if you don't mind picking one up for me, I would be happy to pay a little extra.

Before I leave Japan in late May then and I'm sure I'll have space/weight allowance in my luggage for it, I'll get in touch.
 
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CC Ricers

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Nov 1, 2015
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Japan sure has some spiffy small GPU cards as far as I can remember. The AFOX HD 7850 low profile was highly sought after at one point.

Also I like that Abee RS04, way better looking than the Silverstone HTPC cases. Not too long ago I have found a case build showing the internals of the RS04.
 

Soul_Est

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Feb 12, 2016
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--snip--
I'll have to look into that, there's a surprisingly large number of trackball models from Elecom and I'm not familiar with their lineup at all.
Excellent. Also, have you seen any Radeon Pro cards or AM4 motherboards there?

Japan sure has some spiffy small GPU cards as far as I can remember. The AFOX HD 7850 low profile was highly sought after at one point.

Also I like that Abee RS04, way better looking than the Silverstone HTPC cases. Not too long ago I have found a case build showing the internals of the RS04.
Those silver cables are wonderful. :eek:
 

jeshikat

Jessica. Wayward SFF.n Founder
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Feb 22, 2015
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I didn't notice any Radeon Pro cards but I wasn't really looking for them either, I only noticed the Quadros because they had a whole endcap.

There were plenty of AM4 boards, but mostly ATX since that's mostly all that's available.
 
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