budget shopping in tokyo possible?

[organico]

hi guys

was wondering where we can shopped and get the best deals in tokyo. i know alot of people have said that shopping in tokyo isnt cheap, but im quite sure there are places where we can do some cheap and resonable shopping.

anyone has got any experiences?

thanks

[trinket]

shop at MUJI or uniqlo

_trinket

[SARU]

HEATWAVE

It's all over the Urahara district.

Check out http://www.heatwave.co.jp

for the gear that they carry.

formerly daggersprawn

[DaBestSpoona]

depends on what you buy really.

like alot of stuff is cheaper in japan than in the US, like porter, paul smith, silas, futura labs.

But for gadgets, electronics, household stuff, bargins can be found everywhere. Shure M-447 cartridges are half the price of what they charge in the US, 39 bucks. Kyocera ceramic knives I bought at Loft were 20 bucks, compared to the 129 bucks they charge at stores in NYC. Decent quality folding bikes are like 70, compared to 150-200. Samsonite suitcases are way cheaper. Omega watches, etc. I bought a hello kitty vibrator for my friend for 3 bucks at Don Quijote.

I think you can get great bargins in tokyo as long as you avoid buying american brands and sneakers.

[organico]

ooo thanks for the tip

i was thinking of getting souviners for friends back in sg when i come back. so i was wondering where can i get something affordable yet memorable.

i was thinking in terms of clothings and unusual stuff. not so much electronics. how bout places where they sell stuff along the streets? things like that

thanks anyway guys!

[daikonyama]

Yeah, as mentioned... it's how you see "cheap". You don't have to go to dingy neighborhoods to get decent prices. For tees, I recommend Graniph (http://www.graniph.com). Some designer stuff like Paul Smith and Burberry, I found much cheaper in general there (I believe they have manufacturing plants in the country). Also depends on your style. In general, I think Daikanyama is a great place to shop. For shoes, you gotta go to Ueno. But seeing as you're only there for a short while, you might like the convenience of department stores... I recommend 0101 (Marui)... There's a ton of them all over... Hope that helps.

[organico]

graniph? i love their stuff! bought some of their tees back at home in singapore

where is their store btw? anyone has got any sort of map or something cause i dont quite understand the one at their site

[MilSpex]

Quote:

depends on what you buy really.

like alot of stuff is cheaper in japan than in the US, like porter, paul smith, silas, futura labs.

But for gadgets, electronics, household stuff, bargins can be found everywhere. Shure M-447 cartridges are half the price of what they charge in the US, 39 bucks. Kyocera ceramic knives I bought at Loft were 20 bucks, compared to the 129 bucks they charge at stores in NYC. Decent quality folding bikes are like 70, compared to 150-200. Samsonite suitcases are way cheaper. Omega watches, etc. I bought a hello kitty vibrator for my friend for 3 bucks at Don Quijote.

I think you can get great bargins in tokyo as long as you avoid buying american brands and sneakers.

--- Original message by DaBestSpoona on May 10, 2005 12:44 PM

Oh man, I love Don Quijote ("Don - ki")! only place you can buy instant coffee and atmos airmax in the one place. They'd prolly be on the same shelf too...!

2000AD Hectic Homeboys Lace Themselfs on a Daily Basis

Be Advised: Morgan Nixon AKA Moman631 AKA Moman6040 is a fraud.

[daikonyama]

There's Graniph all over the place. Ha, I was just going to recite how to get to the Daikanyama store from the station from memory... poorly.. but I found that there's a store list with some light directions to them... http://www.graniph.com/shop-list/index.html Hopefully that helps!

On a side note, I found Don Quijote just creepy. Man, I went to the one in Akihabara, and there were all these girls on the top floor working at a coffee shop dressed up as police women, nurses and such. It was creepy... but kind of hot! Haha... Yeah, I still don't get it...

[daikonyama]

Ha, my bad. I just re-read your post. "Don't quite understand the ones on their site". Well, I would say that the best one to go to would be in Daikanyama cause it's a killer shopping area anyways that you'll want to hit (even if you don't find the Graniph!). But looking at the Superfuture Daikanyama map, it looks to be by the t6m store... This is just a little bit NE of the big orange 17dixsept block on the map.

[lambretta76]

Reading this post reminded me of a question I'd been meaning to ask. Last time I was in Tokyo I remember reading that there were lots of places in Ebisu/Daikanyama to buy discount Paul Smith clothing. I walked around Ebisu and came up empty. Can anyone perhaps recommend any stores that carry discount Paul Smith?

Also, I'd be happy to find out any places that sell discount name-brand apparel - particularly by smaller Japanese clothiers.

Cheers -

L76

[daikonyama]

I don't know anywhere in the Ebisu/Daikanyama area that sells discounted Paul Smith... but from my experience, I found that Paul Smith goods are generally cheaper in Japan than in N. America. In the U.K., the prices for Paul Smith are even higher... I'm not sure why Paul Smith is cheaper in Japan, as they don't have a manufacturing plant or anything like that... The Paul Smith product I bought there was from department stores like 0101. I'm looking at a PS ostrich leather wallet, but I'll prolly wait til I go to Japan again to pick it up haha...

I think Daikanyama is the best place in Tokyo to look for small independent Japanese labels, but unfortunately, no specific stores that I can think of...

[lambretta76]

daikonyama -

Yeah - last time I was in town I bought a Paul Smith wallet at the flagship store outside of Harajuku - near Shibuya. It was like around $100 - the same wallet would have run me $180 here in the states... Damn - I wish I could find out about those stores...

[DaBestSpoona]

yeah I bought alot of my stuff at 0I0I too, it was def a lot cheaper than the paul smith store in NYC