palebluedot

I am in Shinjuku for a couple of weeks. I took the train to Akihabara yesterday but I was doing electronics shooping and didn't really look for DVDs. Any suggestions for stores?

palebluedot

I went to an HMV and VMS so far and holy crap there are a lot of DVDs here. Especially supprised by how many DVDs you can get here that you can't in the US...but man are they expensive out here. Average DVD prices are $30 to $40 for new releases...so let me rephrase my question. Anyone no of any "cheap" places to buy DVDs in Tokyo?

ellone

You can look for some small shops that sell used DVDs. But you'll still probably pay $25-$30.

hardtack

Check out a store called Shinseido (or is it Shiseido)... there is one in Kawasaki and another in Yokohama (near Landmark Tower) - there is no such thing as a cheap discount store, but they seem to run fairly frequent "campaigns". Recofan in Shibuya is also definitley worth a look.

It is also worth checking places like Yodabashi Camera... I was in Japan in April/May and managed to find a copy of the Laputa Limited Edition Box at Yodobashi when it was impossible to find it anywhere online or at B&M.

rexinnih

I do most of my shopping at Yodobashi Camera (10% off and then 10% back in points on your next purchase or I order from Amazon.co.jp (flat 15% off). Near Shinjuku station West exit, they've put up a Bic Camera in front of the station and then a little removed is an older Yodobashi. The greatest concentration seams to be in Akihabara.
The above discounts (10-15%) are pretty much the standard. You can find some used shops hiding around Akihabara but as with all used shops it seems to be pretty hit and miss.

Happy hunting.

palebluedot

Thanks!

Yodobashi is one awesome store...I'm like a kid in a candy store when I go in there.

I have found some excellent Anime sets there that you can't find anywhere else so I am definitely picking those up.

I will check out the other stores mentioned...thanks.

Kumar J

I would recomend Kinokuniya DVD island store.They got almost every title that you want.
Akihabara also has some stores which sell them at good prices.

cultshock

For used DVDs, you also might want to try Mandarake, the used toy/manga/video store chain. I've picked up some good LDs there in the past, and they can carry DVDs too. Of course, since they are used, and thus the stock constantly changes, YMMV. And if you are interested in toys and manga too, you HAVE to check out these stores. There's one in Shibuya that I like to go to.

Stealth

Laputa: Castle In The Sky ?

If so then u did'nt try this site:
http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/

hardtack

I see the regular Laputa DVD there yes, but unless it is exceptionally well hidden, I don't see the Limited Colllector's Edition (10,000 only) box set that includes the DVD, book, model of the robot, and two soundtrack CDs.

When I was in Japan, I went to one second-hand DVD shop in Akihabara (can't recall the store name) and they had a very long list of people who had put their names down in case a copy happened to turn up... a day or two later I wandered into Yodabashi Camera in Kawasaki and low and behold, there was the box set, new and sealed, on a shelf behind the counter so I snapped it up.... complete with 10% discount!! If only they had had two available at Yodabashi, I probably could have done quite well taking offers at that other shop

palebluedot

Thanks for the info...

I just got back from getting lost in Yodabashi ...picked up two Galaxy Express 999 sets. Nice score!

Crazy Aoshi

I am going to Japan next month and I was going to ask this eventually. Let's keep this thread alive at least until then Anyway, I asked, and it sounds like a chain called "Liverty" is the way to go in Akihabara. I am looking for deals on Jpop too.

Kumar J

Feel free to email me or keep this thread alive if you want advice.Buying DVD's from electronic stores means the choices are very few.They only stock popular titles and very less stock of them.But anime collectors set boxes are available cause they are very popular in Tokyo.
The big music stores have discounts running from time to time for music CD.

palebluedot

HMV in Shinjuku has a gigantic J-Pop section it's on the 12th floor of the "Tokyu Hands" shoping centre. They also have a big DVD section but one thing I have noticed about every store is there is no organization to the way they shelve the movies, so basically you have to take time and look through everything.

hardtack

I could be wrong but I think that you will find their shelves are in fact organised, but according to the Japanese alphabet as opposed to the old ABC.

Instead it will be something along the lines of: A, I, U, E, O, Ka (Ga), Ki (Gi), Ku (Gu), Ke (Ge), Ko (Go), Sa (Za), Shi (Zi), etc etc

One of the best HMV stores to visit is in Shibuya... their range of CDs and DVDs is spread over about 4 floors (iirc).

cultshock

Thats often (but not always) the case.

Yeah, that makes it fun looking for CDs too. I always have to mentally figure out how the musical artist's name would be spelled in katakana first. Hmmm, Black Sabbath = Buraku.... OK off to the "Bu" section!

palebluedot

I thought that as well but that didn't seem to be the case at a few of the stores I was at....it seemd they just put stuff where there was space on the shelf

Kumar J

Its not like that, sometimes it's according to the Big Artist names,like the whole Linkin Park in one side.
Anyway if you know the names of the artist they can find it for you.Especially Tower Records, Virgin and HMV at Shinjuku.
Sometimes they just don't have the stock available, but they are willing to order it for you if you want it.

Kumar J

HMV does have a point system, but it's very hard to get the points.The points are very low and you have to collect them a lot.But they might have the buy 2 for a certain price.You have to buy more to get the bargains, but I still consider it expensive to buy a CD in Japan

Crazy Aoshi

Ok, I will try and check out HMV. Do they have a discount or a point system? Cause if I find one good store that has everything and discounts or has a point system, I could buy all at once.

palebluedot

As rexinnih said, Yodobashi Camera has a gold points card that is pretty good. Ranges in 10 - 15% and then another 10% with points card. I just got back from Yodobashi during lunch and they had a laptop there that I must own 240,000 yen though.

Kumar J

HMV Shinjuku and Shibuya is having buy 2 cd's and get JPY 600 yen off.Thats all they had for the time being as I checked yesterday

Crazy Aoshi

Ok, I'm looking to buy lots of Jpop DVDs. Will I be able to find those at "Yodobashi Camera"? And if so, where are they?

palebluedot

No...HMV or Virgin Mega Store is your best bet for J-Pop. The VMS in Shibuya has a whole floor devoted to J-pop.

Where will you be staying when you are here? Also when will you be here? If I am still here I can take you around.

Crazy Aoshi

We will be in Japan from july 19-31st. I dont know which of those we'll be in tokyo yet...But yeah, that would be cool if you wanna show us around.