Things to buy in japan

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One thing that i always do when im in Japan is frequent the electronic shops here. One must visit akihabara to get an idea of what 'electronics gadgets' are. I mean in India we just don’t see the kind of stuff that’s available here. I actually freak out on stuff here. Last time I was here, i spent my entire allowance here on buying electronic stuff. that included a Sony Cybershot P100 (with 128 MB memory) (see review), an MP3 player for Megz, earphones and an absolutely delightful and whizzy remote controlled car. This time around i have been very conservative. With my marriage approaching and pressure from parents/sister/friends not to mention Megz, im actually trying to save money. things you must get from Japan which i consider absolutely useful
1) Digicams (Cheap Cheap Cheap when compared to India)
2) USB Sticks (buffalo, cheaper for the local ones)
3) HDD (portable/USB based)
4) If you are a gaming freak, the gaming cards/motherboards (you will find steal-deals)
5) GPS (maybe costly and don’t know how many kinds are available)
6) mp3 players (must must buy)
7) Gaming consoles (PS portable is not available!! :( )
8) USB based hubs/memory card readers/wireless cards..endless list!!!
Im personally not in favour of

1) Handhelds (going out of favour all around world)
2) laptops (frightfully expensive but wow! models)
3) Camcorders

(Of course the above is based on my limited experience of Japan, 3 visits and probably a total of around 2 months of actual stay) I did go around to a lot of shops in Akihabara, some in the shady bylanes as well. I also went around the 'big' Yodobashi camera and bic camera stores, the rates were more or less around the same. Yodobashi and Bic have the points system which is pretty good. So for every product you buy you get about 5-15% points which translate in that many Yens. So for your next buy, you could redeem those points. So on a first visit if you are buying a couple of things, signup for the point’s card, and pay for the first, get the points and redeem them to save on the 2nd buy. I used Gopa's (see picture) card last year(Arrigato Gozaimasu), this time around i got a points card from bic camera.

(Gopa and his twins! )

It’s always safe to travel with your passport anywhere in Japan. It also helps coz tourists get a discount on electronic stuff in Yodobashi/Bic. Should be writing on some "omoshiroi" (interesting) topics like the hands-free-WC, etiquette in general while dealing with Japanese.