I get to view it.

[vincent_z]

I am going to Japan again. Thanks to Ken Kish pushing back Cinema Wasteland one week (Sunday attendance has been rising. Ken didn't want to leave his own exposition in order to have the traditional Easter Sunday dinner with relatives.), I have a rare opportunity to attend, view, and photograph the Kanamara Matsuri in Kawasaki on 4th April. :inlove2:
I arrive at Narita on Monday, 29 March. I'll stay at the Khaosan Annex Hostel in Sumida-Ku, just across the Sumida River from Asakusa. I've stayed there before.
I'll also visit good beer taverns in the area. The ones I know I'll visit are Beer Club Popeye in Ryogoku, The Cat & Cask in Kanamecho, & Thrash Zone in Yokohama. :full:
And of course, I shall shop for cheap JAVs. :goodboy: I'll likely visit at least two new Don Quijote stores, in addition to the Ueno outlet. Another visit to Hakusan Dori in Kanda is definitely on the agenda.
I know - you're sitting there with your mouth agape and muttering, "He isn't going to shop in Akiba?" :dizzy:
I just believe the best bargains are not there. But who knows for certain?
I should even be able to squeeze in attendance at one J-League soccer match. :shoot2:
If you're in Tokyo, Kawasaki, or Yokohama, and you want to try to meet me, you can probably send a DM here. I'll see about setting up a temporary E-Mail address as well.

For those of you in North America still seeking to visit Japan, let me alert you to the international airfare agency Vayama. It has negotiated deals with many airlines. By booking on-line via its W-WW site, I saved over $100 off the roundtrip price that airline was seeking at its own W-WW site.

Wish me success.

 

[lowleg26]

Geez, sounds like you've got everything pretty well planned. Be sure to take a lot of pictures to post here!

Hope you have fun on your trip! :relax-bath:

 

[aquamarine]

I'll stay at the Khaosan Annex Hostel in Sumida-Ku, just across the Sumida River from Asakusa.

That's about a fifteen minute walk to my place in Ueno/Iriya.

And of course, I shall shop for cheap JAVs.

You should go to Akiba for those in all the basement shops. From 200 yen and up.

I'll likely visit at least two new Don Quijote stores, in addition to the Ueno outlet. Another visit to Hakusan Dori in Kanda is definitely on the agenda.

Don't bother with visiting two. Except for the teeny one in Miyazakidai, all of the DonKey's are the same. Spend your time doing something else that's more interesting. It's like going to WalMart in Montana and then going to WalMart in Kentucky. Same stuff, same prices, different location.

I know - you're sitting there with your mouth agape and muttering, "He isn't going to shop in Akiba?" :dizzy:
I just believe the best bargains are not there. But who knows for certain?

I do
And yea, the best prices for PC software and hardware isn't in Akiba unless you want an old machine that is only good for word processing and video games from the mid 90's. You can get better prices at Yodobashi Camera, Yamada-Denki, Ishimaru and Bic Camera by far.

If you're in Tokyo, Kawasaki, or Yokohama, and you want to try to meet me, you can probably send a DM here. I'll see about setting up a temporary E-Mail address as well.

Why a temporary email addy?

Wish me success.

Good luck and don't catch VD or make the rest of us workers look bad

 

[vincent_z]

Responses

That's about a fifteen minute walk to my place in Ueno/Iriya.

You should go to Akiba for those in all the basement shops. From 200 yen and up.

Don't bother with visiting two. Except for the teeny one in Miyazakidai, all of the DonKey's are the same. Spend your time doing something else that's more interesting. It's like going to WalMart in Montana and then going to WalMart in Kentucky. Same stuff, same prices, different location.

I do
And yea, the best prices for PC software and hardware isn't in Akiba unless you want an old machine that is only good for word processing and video games from the mid 90's. You can get better prices at Yodobashi Camera, Yamada-Denki, Ishimaru and Bic Camera by far.

Why a temporary email addy?

Good luck and don't catch VD or make the rest of us workers look bad

Thanks for the reply, Aqua.
I want to get to more neighborhoods on the lower side of Tokyo. The place where I exchange the majority of my funds is in Ueno 4-2. That is four blocks away from the Donki in Ueno (which, thanks to some US-inspired ward bordering, is in Bunkyo-Ku). :dunno:
As for not shopping at more or a different Donki, take note of this thread here on Akiba-online in which I found lower pricing (5 | ¥1,480 v. 3 | ¥999) at the Donki in Ueno compared with Donkis in Shibuya, Roppongi, or Akiba. One of the new Donkis which I'm contemplating is the one in Aoto in Katsushika-Ku. The additional reason for Donki is that it accepts a credit card. erfectplan:
Wal-Mart doesn't sell porn. For that matter, neither do Best Buy, or Target. There would be weekend picketers outside their stores if any of them did. But Donkis do, and I don't have to avert the eyes of ‘haters’ staring at me for trying to go in and out of them. :...:

I won't attempt to use a credit card on Hakusan-Dori in Kanda {and I found shops there with AVs for ¥100, 3 for ¥800, or 10 for ¥1,050}.

Realize that I still haven't shopped in Ikebukuro. I've read tales of JAV shoppers doing well there.

I found good links to English-language Japanese websites on this guy's bookmark page.
Why a temp E-Mail address? I know better to put an E-Mail address onto a forum and expect it to not get spammed. So I set one up I can easily kill later. Here is one: tokyo10a.vincez2702 @ xoxy.net

Another supposedly good beer bar in Ueno is the Warrior Celt. There are a couple of notable ones near Shimbashi station as well.

 

[aquamarine]

Fair enough. Enjoy my city.

 

[MikieNes]

Aqua:

I beg to differ. I build PCs and have a few spots in Akiba that are cheaper than Bic Kamera or Yodobashi.

 

[aquamarine]

"few" is the key term here though. The VAST VAST CAST majority of parts that are sold in Akiba are used and if 'new', still old and not modern. In other words, good luck trying to find something along the side-streets (where most people think they can buy parts out of plastic bins) that would run something even as old as Left4Dead.

 

[MikieNes]

Bro:

I usually refer to this:
All brand new, and these are some of the cheaper and more reliable shops.

http://www.gdm.or.jp/price.html

respect,
MN

 

[guy]

Kakaku!