Going to Akihabara - Please Help

[Trevor spencer]

Hi

Im sure some of you here have been to Akihabara JP before so i was wondering if i could get some advice , Im flying to Narita Airport , Whats the easiest and cheapest way to travel from the airport to the Washington hotel ?

Also when im there whats the best way to get around ?

Any other tips would be great

Thanks

[sven666]

take the train to the city, then the subway to wherever washington hotel is.. it really isnt hard, snag a free subway map at the airport and you'll be set..

in akhibara you walk, if you dont do any shopping you'll walk around the whole area in 30mins..

[rancor]

I've been there a few times.

Take the Keisei Narita Express train from the airport to Nippori station. Get off at Nippori station and take the Yamanote line to Akihabara.
Leave Akihabara station from the Showa-dori exit and take a right. You will see the Washington hotel directly in front of you about 100m.
To get around Akihabara, walk. If you need help, I'm there most days after 4pm. PM me if you want my contact info. Oh, and watch out for the scammy-scammer with glasses who speaks English and will walk up to foreigners and ask them where they are going. Don't give him money.

[NTSC-J]

Oh, and watch out for the scammy-scammer with glasses who speaks English and will walk up to foreigners and ask them where they are going. Don't give him money.

Ha, I hate that douchebag. I was in Akiba last weekend and he went up to me again when I was trying to buy a ticket. Hadn't seen him in a while so I thought he had found a new job but I guess not.

[rancor]

I flipped his wig once when I asked him for money before he could get a word out.

him: Excuse me - where are you from?
me: OMG! I'm so glad I found you! Can you spare 230 yen? I need to get back to my hotel and I don't have any money!

If you look around you'll notice that there's a chubby S. American guy that hangs around and watches what he does. Maybe that's his boss.. I dunno. It's a weird thing they've got going.

[powersoul]

Actually I'm headed to Akihabara sometime soon too. Thanks for the heads-up on that scammy man.

[Trevor spencer]

Hey thanks guys thats some good info

@Rancor , is there any other things to do in japan that are worthwhile ? Me and the missus are gonna be there for 8 days so would like to see as much as we can , how long are the arcades open at night we might be able to meet up one day and have a few games ?

Also mr Scammy can get fucked ,he aint getting no cash from me

[GaijinPunch]

Oh, and watch out for the scammy-scammer with glasses who speaks English and will walk up to foreigners and ask them where they are going. Don't give him money.

Ha, I hate that douchebag. I was in Akiba last weekend and he went up to me again when I was trying to buy a ticket. Hadn't seen him in a while so I thought he had found a new job but I guess not.

Where'd this guy come from? What does he do, exactly? Japanese guy?

[NTSC-J]

I've run into him a number of times. Japanese guy, nerdy, maybe 30s or 40s. Short and kind of pudgy, I think. His deal seems to be try to act like he's doing you a favor by helping you get to where you're going when buying a ticket, but he immediately then asks for compensation. I guess enough tourists feed him so he keeps doing it.

[GaijinPunch]

Japanese version of JAPJAC?

Seriously, what person needs to get somewhere in Akihabara but doesn't know how to get there? They're either tourists, and want to see the whole area, or are dorks and know it like the back of their hands they've been whacking off with for decades.

[greg]

or are dorks and know it like the back of their hands they've been whacking off with for decades.

So how do you whack off with the back of your hand? I always use my palm.

[rancor]

@Rancor , is there any other things to do in japan that are worthwhile ?

Akihabara is for tourists, loli maids, and wanna-be weekend geeks. If you want a nerd-stank that wont wash off, you gotta get out to Broadway mall in Nakano. Shit will blow your mind. Prices are cheaper as well.

Other than that - no - nothing else to do in Japan.

[GaijinPunch]

or are dorks and know it like the back of their hands they've been whacking off with for decades.

So how do you whack off with the back of your hand? I always use my palm.

That's the beauty of English --- whack of with hands, should know Akihabara as well as they know the backs of those hands.

I'm more of a left-hand inverted guy these days.

[Trevor spencer]

Hi again , Just looking into changing my money into Yen and was wondering would it be best for me to load up a Pre Paid MasterCard or take cash ? Do they accept mastercard in japan?

Sorry but ive never been before

[PC Engine Fan X!]

During my two week stay in Japan back in 2000, I whipped out my CC and the Gamers (a Japanese speciality video game franchise chain) cashier made a big "X" with both of her arms in front of her chest to denote that she didn't accept American CC as proper form of payment (it was either pay with Japanese cash or use a Japanese CC/debit card instead). So I had to politely put all the merchandise back on the shelving. Returned back the next day with the proper yen bills in hand to pay for all the stuff that I had originally wanted to buy the previous day. Had to go to an international ATM kiosk with the MasterCard/Cirrus logo and was finally able to withdrawl some yen bills as needed. Upon getting back stateside, I did notice that the CC company did charge a slight fee for the conversion fee from U.S. currency into Japanese yen (which was expected and reasonable).

The story of using pre-paid CC nowdays, that does add a new wrinkle to buying swag when in Japan. Honestly, I'm not sure if going that particular route would work out for you. There's always access to the International Currency Exchange counter to conduct changing British pounds into Japanese yen at the airport...it's recommended that you do the currency exchange before leaving Narita Internation airport, otherwise, you're bound to run into some problems if no yen on hand (this was true back in 2000, of course).

I'd alway pay with Japanese cash if I went to the local Japanese 7-11s, Sunkist, or Circle K stores. It was cool to see the newest PS2 games sold in the Japanese 7-11 stores. Just pick up a paper voucher, pay the cashier and the game's yours.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[PlanetHarriers]

Hi Trev,

I went in Sept with the Mrs, I loaded the Mastercard up with cash and found I could use the card in the Seven Elevens (a fairly common convenince store). Theres also international cash machines at Narita airport and City Bank's scattered around. Just inform your card company your going beforehand so they don't cancel it due to suspicious transactions (this happened to me on a previous visit).

A lot of places only take cash tho, so it's a good idea to take plenty. Some shops take cash but theres an extra charge (the PCB shops for one! Mak Japan charged an extra 4% I think it was. G-Front didn't take cards).

I think next time I will go with plenty of cash, but will have the card loaded up as a back up.

Enjoy your trip, have an awesome time!

[Skykid]

Advice for visiting Akihabara: don't buy anything. It's borderline rip-off expensive these days and most stuff can be found cheaper on the forums or YHJ, a lesson learned after my last trip.

Enjoy the window shopping though.

[greg]

Advice for visiting Akihabara: don't buy anything. It's borderline rip-off expensive these days and most stuff can be found cheaper on the forums or YHJ, a lesson learned after my last trip.

Enjoy the window shopping though.

You're partially right. Yeah, for expensive stuff, it may pay to use YAJ. If you're going to be buying a stack of PC Engine games for a thousand yen or less each, YAJ would not be the best bet. Especially with the crappy exchange rate (US$, that is), having a proxy service like SMJ tacking on their fees and a 1,000 yen game, which you could by in Akihabara, turns out to be three times the amount once you've paid all your fees and such.

[Trevor spencer]

I wouldnt mind a Sigma AV7000 and MushihimeTama PCB , Also how much is a Ibara BL worth these days

[Skykid]

I wouldnt mind a Sigma AV7000 and MushihimeTama PCB , Also how much is a Ibara BL worth these days

You'll get them all cheaper on the forums than Aki shops most probably - it's just a case of being patient with your WTB requests. If you like collecting bargain basement tat, then you'll find plenty of that for next to nothing and you can cram your suitcase with it. Also, the odd console tends to be cheaper, such as SFC's, PC Engines and the like - but that's probably because foreigners don't buy them because of limited baggage space. You could always buy a bunch and ship them home.

On the whole, you really need to investigate stores outside of Tokyo for bargains, I found an enormous store in Fuji with some nice deals in it (but even then, nothing too impressive compared to ten years ago.)

[Trevor spencer]

I wouldnt mind a Sigma AV7000 and MushihimeTama PCB , Also how much is a Ibara BL worth these days

You'll get them all cheaper on the forums than Aki shops most probably - it's just a case of being patient with your WTB requests. If you like collecting bargain basement tat, then you'll find plenty of that for next to nothing and you can cram your suitcase with it. Also, the odd console tends to be cheaper, such as SFC's, PC Engines and the like - but that's probably because foreigners don't buy them because of limited baggage space. You could always buy a bunch and ship them home.

On the whole, you really need to investigate stores outside of Tokyo for bargains, I found an enormous store in Fuji with some nice deals in it (but even then, nothing too impressive compared to ten years ago.)

Ok thanks for the heads up

[NZA]

Hehe, whacking off with the back of your hand makes it feel like a stranger.

[Trevor spencer]

anyone know where the best place to get superplay DVD's is , Im after street fighter and shump ones , I dont care if there 2nd hand

thanks

[rancor]

Mandarake in Akihabara. Ridiculously expensive, but they've got a fairly good selection.

[Trevor spencer]

Mandarake in Akihabara. Ridiculously expensive, but they've got a fairly good selection.

Cool cheers how much do they retail for usually ?

[rancor]

Nothing less than 5,000 and on up into 12 or 14.. I stopped going after I got a YAJ account.

[GaijinPunch]

How long are you in town for? Sometimes there are "minor game" conventions. THey're small (take place in a room) but I've seen plenty of doujin super plays there for 500 yen each. Mandarake probably wouldn't carry these as they're not properly licensed/published. They're just CDRs w/ inserts.

[rancor]

Here's one of the groups that does what GP speaks of:

http://www.geocities.jp/zed_gamelegend/

They hold events near my city, but the stars have never aligned correctly and I haven't gone. The guy who does the SGAD DVDs is usually there as are a few other doujin DVD producers / players.

[GaijinPunch]

That's exactly what I was talking about. Some pretty cool stuff there. That crazy Kiki Kaikai book premiered there. Full of awesome.

[Trevor spencer]

im leaving here on the `17th and coming back 26th

i really want some bargains