Recommendations for Tokyo camera macro gear/Cam stores

[Vish_007]

Next week will be in Tokyo few days - any suggestions from members is appreciated

THX

[enricosavazzi]

Next week will be in Tokyo few days - any suggestions from members is appreciated

THX

I have not been in Tokyo since I moved from Japan back to Sweden in 2006, so I don't know how much has changed.

For new camera equipment, any of the largest Yodobashi Camera stores is good to visit. My favorite one was in Ueno near the park. There is a big one also in Shinjuku. You get points when you buy something (ask for a membership card, which should be free), and on a subsequent day you can use the points as discount on a new purchase. So plan your purchases, and buy the expensive stuff first.

For second-hand equipment, try the Map Camera store in Shinjuku (https://www.mapcamera.com/html/worldgui ... _page.html).

There are (or at least were) a few other camera stores in the same Shinjuku neighborhood, it may be worth taking a walk in the few surrounding streets.

It may be worth also visiting Akihabara, although it is mostly electronics stores (both electronic products and components) rather than cameras. The neighborhood was already changing very fast while I was there, so it might be unrecognizable now.

For second-hand cameras and lenses, I was more familiar with the numerous small and big stores in the Osaka area near JR station, which in my opinion had far more to offer and at better prices, but that is far from Tokyo.

[RobertOToole]

Hi Vish

Enrico covered you pretty well with some good advice.

Without knowing what you are looking for its hard to give better advice. I am there every year on business.

Right now the USD/JPY rate is pretty poor, not sure what currency you are going to use, but sometimes items are a steal, -30% off is not uncommon. You get the exchange difference (8 to 20%), -8% vat, and sometimes-5% for using visa card.

There are used camera stores near the larger stations like Shinjuku for example, everything looks new with great prices.

There are used camera swap meets a few times a year in Tokyo.

Sometimes you can visit Japan and a $1600-1800 lens is only $900 with all the discounts I mentioned.

Make sure to visit the free Nikon Camera museum near Kinagawa train station (its closed on Sundays). I was just there and they packed in tons of new exhibits like a history of Nikon Stepper semiconductor wafer machines, and the new LED TV machines that prints 6 giant TV circuits at once at 13,000 lpmm.

BTW japan tourist bureau offers free japanese guides for tourists, mostly ex-university professors etc with great english.

Enjoy your trip.

Robert

[enricosavazzi]

One more thing I can mention is that, occasionally, second-hand microscope optics find their way to second-hand Japanese camera stores. You can sometimes spot them in the "assorted junk" bins because the store employees don't quite know what to make of them. You can also find old metal lens shades and the like in these bins, including brand ones like Nikon and Canon.

Also, if you need lens parts for DIY projects, like the bayonet mount, second-hand stores usually have a "junk lenses" bin where you can buy lenses that would command too low a price to be worth putting on the shelves. I collected several Nikon bayonet mounts from these lenses. Most of the lenses actually work - I kept a few Tamron and the like almost by accident, and after moving back to Europe I auctioned them on eBay and got far more for them than what I originally paid.

I once saw a UV Nikkor 105 mm and UV flash in one of these stores, but passed it up because I thought it was a bit expensive. Had I bought it, I could now sell it on eBay for 10-20 times the original price.

[Vish_007]

Thank you Enrico and Robert,

Just landed late yesterday - i will explore today/tomorrow. I am looking for some macro lenses and Mity lenses if available.

[enricosavazzi]

Thank you Enrico and Robert,

Just landed late yesterday - i will explore today/tomorrow. I am looking for some macro lenses and Mity lenses if available.

Ordinary macro lenses will be no problem, but for Mitutoyo objectives I would not know where to look/ask.

If you are there long enough, big universities (like the Todai Hongo Campus) often discard lab equipment, and I found a few interesting things in the piles of junk waiting to be collected on the sidewalks. A colleague of mine found a usable stereomicroscope the same way.