 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
THE 100 YEN STORE The 100 Yen store is the ultimate source for household goods when you are setting up in Japan. They sell everything for 100yen and you will find and buy many things you thought you could do without but at 100yen who cares. Useful for kitchenware, stationery, household goods, some foodstuffs and even clothes. The larger 100yen Plaza stores stock a far greater variety of goods than their smaller counterparts and are well worth seeking out. SUPERMARKET SAVER It takes a little while to adjust to the supermarkets in Japan. Unless you have one of the newer Western style supermarkets in your town, your first trip will leave you wondering what you are going to cook for the next year. Japan has only recently enjoyed the benefits of large supermarkets as they were restricted in size by law until the late 1990s. With the bigger supermarkets you are likely to find a few bargains and even a bakery that makes real bread. It is always worth checking with the locals which supermarket offers the best value. Try to shop later on in the day. Around an hour before closing time many items such as meat and bread become discounted, sometimes by 50%. This also occurs the day before the weekly store holiday. Look for the following kanji which means waribiki or discount which will usually appear on a red sticker added to the item. There are very large warehouse supermarkets such as Costco in Japan offering items from back home in bulk and at value that your average supermarket could never match. Whilst it is unlikely that one will be in your area you can order online through a company called The Flying Pig. Visit their website at www.theflyingpig.com and take a look.
ELECTRONICS Japan is a Mecca for electronic goods. You will see many products here over a year in advance of their release in the west. The latest models and products can be expensive but the huge competition between brands ensures low prices for stock items such as stereos. It is well worth making the trip to the electronics district of a large city. Akihabara in Tokyo and Den Den Town in Osaka have many shops where it is acceptable to bargain. Usually prices are quite similar in these areas but if you look hard you will be able to save 10% on the normal prices in the area. If you are looking for computers, stereos, cameras, videos and electronics these are the places to go. Many stores also offer free delivery of your goods. Some shops, such as Yodobashi in Tokyo, offer you 10% of what you have spent back on a store card. You will need to return the next day though as the credit will not be valid until the next day. You will be able to return the next day or whenever you like and spend up to 10% of the value of your previous purchase on anything you like. The larger electronics districts of Japan will have stores which stock world models. These are models equivalent to the Japanese models but they are multi-voltage and multi-format. For example, multi-voltage and multi-region DVD players area avaliable, they will allow you to play DVDs from any region, use any voltage and will work on Japanese, British and American TVs. Prices may be a little higher than the Japanese models but you will reap the benefits upon your return to your homeland. SECOND HAND GOODS STORES Second hand stores have sprung up all around Japan recently and they are full of absolute bargains. Although second hand items were frowned upon in Japan's consumer society they are now becoming increasingly acceptable. But the majority of people will not use these stores preferring to pay a lot more to buy the items new. So prices are still low and you will find nearly new items at about 40% or less of their normal retail price. You will be able to find just about anything in these stores from televisions, cameras, stereos and videos to golf clubs, clothes, computers and really hideous household ornaments. Tokyo and Osaka have very good second hand electronics stores. In Tokyo take the electric town exit at Akihabara (Yamanote line) as you come out you will see a store complex in front with a shop called Sato Musen on the left hand side. Enter this complex (the entrance to the other floors is a neutral looking set of stairs on the corner of the block and go to the third floor. There are a variety of electronics goods and stereos at hugely discounted rates and some particularly fine equipment for the enthusiast. In Osaka go to Nipponbashi station and exit onto the street. Walk away from the big crossroad towards Den Den Town. After a couple of blocks walk one alleyway into the right and continue parallel to the main street. You will see second hand stereo equipment down alleyways on you right after a few minutes. This area is great to pick up a variety of stereo equipment at a fraction of their normal price. Again, some of it is extremely high quality equipment. THE RE-USE ANSHIN NET' SERVICE The convenience store AM/PM offers a service called the "Reuse Anshin Net". They will send someone out to your house and pick up old appliances (refrigerators, washers, TVs, video decks, faxes, vacuums, air purifiers, audio components, etc.) for 100 yen each which is considerably cheaper than other stores. They will take air conditioners, but as there is a lot of dismantling to do, the fee is 11,000 yen. Items should have been made in the last 5 years (check the sticker on the appliance or the instruction book), be "made in Japan", be usable, and should be restricted to the items listed above. The contact number for this service is 0120-609-117 and you will need to speak Japanese. The site also runs an on-line store re-selling all the appliances that are collected. You might want to tell your replacement about them as well. Prices for items depend on how close you live to the advertised product.
BIG RUBBISH DAY One night of every month (varying from area to area) or 3 times a year in some areas people dump their large, non-burnable trash (sodai gomi). Many people throw out perfectly usable electric appliances such as stereos and TV sets, chairs, bikes, shelf units, etc. The reason for people disposing of these perfectly good items is that they have little space to hold on to them and when they buy new items they just throw them away. Check with your landlord as to when the sodai gomi day is and then scour the area, you will have competition though from other like minded Japanese people. WESTERN GOODS & GROCERIES You can pick up Western groceries, magazines and other items in Japan. So you need not do without your favourite cereal or mens magazine. However you will have to pay the price for getting your hands on your favourite items from home. The trick is to know where to go. For the full lowdown visit Western Goods and Groceries.
|
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||
