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Duty-free digital cameras like this one can be found for under 20,000 yen.

Jason Carter / S&S

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Giving high-tech Christmas presents doesn’t have to break the bank — even in Tokyo.

Japan is arguably the Asian — if not the world — capital for state-of-the-art electronics.

The place-to-be for IT wizards and high-tech bargain shoppers is Tokyo’s Akihabara district, offering treasures ranging from Dolby surround sound systems for the finest DVD-RW players and cutting-edge 100 gigabyte tower PCs with a 100-inch liquid crystal TV displays.

One afternoon in a duty-free electronic shop showed what highly advanced electronic products can be bought for no more than 20,000 yen, or about $164.

Akihabara is usually very crowded on weekends and awash in the pack of aggressive bargain hunters.

But another electronic shop, Laox, has branches in Yokohama and near Yokota, in a far less chaotic and crowded setting.

We limited our shopping to portable electronic and electric items not too heavy or bulky to be packed and carried separately from your suitcases even if you are planning to fly home.

Compact cameras

The first set of products in this store — open exclusively to foreigners — was a group of compact cameras. Among two dozen or more metallic silver photo machines, a good number of them were priced within reach. So I decided to pick the most expensive five items that did not exceed the 20,000 price limit:

Olympus µ[MJU:]-II 110
38—110 mm
19,800 yen or $162 (reg. price: 40,000 yen or $328)

Konica Z-up 130e
38—140 mm
19,800 yen or $162 (reg. price: 39,800 yen or $326)

Canon Autoboy Luna XL
28—70 mm
18,800 yen or $154 (reg. price: open)

Kyocera ZOOMMATE 140
38—140 mm
17,800 yen or $146 (reg. price: 39,000 yen or $319)

Kyocera ZOOMMATE 105 SE
38—105 mm
16,800 yen or $138 (reg. price: 38,000 yen or $311)

The Navy Exchange at Yokosuka Naval Base offered these camera models at comparable prices:

Canon APL Elph 23: $179.99

Pentax 35mm IQZoom: $159.99

Yokota Air Base’s Army and Air Force Exchange offered these cameras:

Canon EOS Rebel 2000
35 mm camera
$319 (price reduction)

Pentax 1Q200M
150SL
$199

Digital cameras

On the other side of the camera counter were the digital counterparts. Unfortunately, there was only one product with more than 1.0 megapixel that I could find within the 20,000-max price range, which was a Sanyo model (VPCR-1G):

Sanyo VPCR-1G
19,800 yen or $162
1.3 mega pixel
Lens: F 2.8
Capacity: 80—505 pic
Movie: 278 sec. (32 MB)
Media: Compact Flash
Macro: 20—50 cm
Supplied accessories: USB cable, CD-ROM, strap, 4 alkaline batteries

The Powerzone at Yokota Air Base’s Army and Air Force Exchange offered these models:

Fuji film digital camera
2.0 mega pixels
2.5 x digital zoom
$149

Olympus D-380 digital
2.0 mega pixels
5 x digital zoom
$189

Yokosuka’s Navy Exchange offered these models around the same price range:

Olympus D-380: $169.99

Pentax E1-100: $169.99

Portable CD players

Turning to the audio section, I found three CD portable players and one rack-type CD/3VCD stereo player, and the rest were all priced above 20,000 yen.

Victor E-RSWP 1WT
19,800 or $162

Victor RV-B55 GY
19,800 or $162

Panasonic RXES27
15,800 or $129

Yokosuka’s Exchange offered the Sony S2 model at $89. Yokota’s Powerzone had these portable disc players:

Kenwood DPS-X517: $79

JVC XLP635: $56

Video games, systems

For video-game fans, Sony’s Play Station 1 (NTSC system for use in United States only) was sold at 16,800 yen ($137).

For the English version software that runs on PS 1, there was:

Final Fantasy VIII: 4,800 yen ($39)

Final Fantasy VII: 3,800 yen ($31)

Tekken 3: 3,800 yen ($31)

Digimon Rumble Arena: 3,800 yen ($31)

Spyro the Dragon: 3,800 yen ($31)

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation: 3,800 yen ($31)

Duke Nuken: Time to Kill 3,500 yen ($28)

The latest model PS2 (same NTSC system for United States only) was offered at 39,800 yen ($326). The Yokosuka Navy Exchange has the PS2 for a significantly less $199.99, and Yokota’s Powerzone had it for the same price.

For the software that runs on PS2, the following CD-ROMs were showcased:

Final Fantasy X: 8,500 yen ($69)

Devil May Cry: 7,500 yen ($61)

DOA 2 Hardcore: 6,980 yen ($57)

Armored Core: 6,980 yen ($57)

Swing Away GOLF: 6,980 yen ($57)

*MOTO GP 2: 8,200 yen ($67)

*Vampire Night: 7,500 yen ($61)

*Tekken TAG: 6,500 yen ($53)

*Note that the last three products in the above list are Japanese versions that can also be displayed in English.

The Yokosuka Exchange offered the popular NFL 2K3 for $49.99, while Yokota’s Powerzone offered the game Street Hoops for $49.95.

Nifty TVs

New flat-screen televisions say the same to entertainment as new suits do to your desk job: “I’m taking this all very seriously.”

The Laox Home Entertainment store in Akihabara is loaded with flat-screened and paper-thin TVs. The only drawback is the price tag. A recent excursion through the shop had many high-end models topping out well over the $3,000 price range.

But if you are determined to make Spiderman at home the best it can possibly be, there’s no better way to go.

At Laox, the Panasonic flat-screen wide-dimension model TH22LT1 sells for 198,000 yen (about $1,600)

The Sharp Aquos flat-screen full-dimension TV line starts at 73,000 yen (about $600) for the smallest screen (about 12 inches) and tops out at 209,000 yen (about $1,700).

Sony Trinitron flat-screen wide-dimension model KV280-x750 sells for 118,000 (about $980)

Also in Akihabara is the Yamagiwa Home Store offering these models:

Aiwa Encore

Flat-screen full-dimension TV

79,800 yen (about $660)

Panasonic -15LV1

Flat-screen wide-dimension TV with built-in DVD player

136,800 yen (about $1,400)

Yokosuka Naval Base’s Navy Exchange had these models:

JVC 27-inch full-screen TV: $489.99

Sony Wega model 32-inch full-screen TV: $879.99

Portable Gaming

Nintendo officially does not offer the export models for its latest game machines, Cube and Game Boy Advance. But the store somehow had a good supply of Game Boy Advance (8,800 yen or $72) and Game Boy Color (5,980 yen or $49) models that are compatible to English version software such as:

Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of GOKU: 5,980 yen ($49)

Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure: 5,980 yen ($49)

Disney Magical Quest — starring Mickey and Minnie: 5,800 yen ($47)

Super Mario Adventure 2: 5,800 yen ($47)

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones: 5,800 yen ($47)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: 4,980 yen ($40)

Donkey Kong: Country: 4,580 yen ($37)

Disney Magical Racing Tour: 2,980 yen ($24)

Elmo the Grouchland: 2,980 yen ($24)

LEGO Alpha Team: 2,980 yen ($24)

LEGO Island 2: 2,980 yen ($24)

Note that some of the high-priced software can only be played on Advance.

Yokosuka’s Exchange offered the Gameboy Advance for $69.99, with the popular Yoshi’s Island game at $29.99. Yokota’s Powerzone offered Gameboy Advance for $69.95.

To go to Akihabara from New Sanno Hotel in Hiroo, for example, the cheapest (290 yen or $2.40) and probably the fastest route (20 to 30 minutes including the transfer time) would be to take the Subway Hibiya Line from Hiroo to Hibiya, walk a block or two to JR (Japan Railways) Yurakucho Station, and hop on either the blue (Keihin-Tohoku Line) or light green (Yamanote Line) train heading toward Tokyo Station. Akibahara is the third stop from Yurakucho.

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