Totally TOKYO 5: Yoho Yodobashi
Welcome to Day 5 of Totally TOKYO here on DDOA! Today I bring you Yoho YODOBASHI!
Yoho- is a Native American word meaning a fusion of Awe, Magnificence, Beauty & Inspiration (definition from yohoadventures). And this word best captures the fusion of emotions that tech-lovers like my husband feel when they enter a Yodobashi store. And believe me even if you’re not into all this techie gadgets, you will still be curious to visit this mega electronics destination – YODOBASHI.
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Yodobashi Camera – Akiba
Akihabara, TOkyo
‘Like a Mega Candy Store
for Tech-Lovers like my Husband’
Photography by Michael Wortman
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Yodobashi Camera – Akiba.
What is Yodobashi Camera?
“In North America these words are meaningless, but in Japan Yodobashi Camera is a chain of massive self-contained department stores with a focus on technology.
What is Akiba? Akiba is short for Akihabara which is a series of city blocks in Tokyo dedicated to nothing but tech gadgets and geek paraphernalia.
Thanks to Japan’s high population and economic prosperity, stores such as Yodobashi Camera can exist where the amount of products and services dwarf anything available in a comparable store in North America, such as a Best Buy. Although there are many Yodobashi Cameras all throughout Tokyo and Japan, I chose to visit the store located in Akihabara.
The first thing that becomes apparent is scale. Yodobashi Camera – Akiba is nine stories of goods and services plus five floors of underground parking. A typical Best Buy has many similar products all crammed into one floor of one building, but at Yodobashi Camera – Akiba each major product category is given its own floor.
The first floor is computer hardware and cell phones, the second floor is more computer focused goods, and the third floor is camera goods. The fourth floor is stereo sound equipment, televisions and MP3 players, the fifth floor is washer/dryers, fridges, air conditioners and other similar hardware. The sixth floor is dedicated to game software and toys, the seventh floor is a record shop and bookstore. And finally, the eighth floor is nothing but restaurants and the ninth floor golf equipment – something never combined with a North American electronics store…”Read more on Daily Tech
To understand how a store like Yodobashi thrives,
To have a feel of the immensity and diversity of what this store has to offer Watch this video on Daily Motion
It plays about every 10 minutes in the store. My husband and 3 1/2 year old son were in that store several times during our short stay in Tokyo and my son memorized it and is always happy to watch it again and again on youtube. If you listen to it you might learn it too..it’s pretty CATCHY!
Watch this TOMODACHI animated song using the same tune..so fun to follow. The performers are so passionate about the song that one wonders if they’re singing their national anthem.(If the tune seems so familiar to you that’s because it is originally “Glory, glory, hallelujah!” (American spiritual song)
DAILY DOSE OF ART 
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