yeah i saw FiveG is super steep. well it seems to be for US made stuff like Roland. Having said that i might well pick up that JV 2080 if possible. says theyre about 150 quid......i found one in china but such hardware is SUPER expensive here, especially if you are a foreigner. Dickhead wouldnt bidge from 300 quid so i politely told him to fuck off. Maybe i ll take my sampler with me and pay those dudes to let me rip some beast samples off a fairlight or something : )

Yeah I've seen mostly auction prices. It's cheaper for me to buy at home.
As a serious recommendation, buying a can of Chu-hi from every convenience store you visit is a great way to spend your ¥¥¥.

FiveG is the jam. But bring the bank roll 'cause you're pretty much not gonna find anything for under 1000 USD. SuperPotato is fun. Really you should be spending all your moneys at manga fap spots and arcades tho - maybe the occasional Lawson.

Unfortunately it is, ten years ago there were 20 or 30 retro gaming shops in Akihabara and thrift stores with cool stuff all over the place. Now there are 2 worthwhile stores in Akihabara plus Mandarake and Friends which are just about worth a look. All the above stores sell everything at auction prices though. There are a couple of good places for arcade boards left but probably 90 percent of the retro places are gone.

Unfortunately it is, ten years ago there were 20 or 30 retro gaming shops in Akihabara and thrift stores with cool stuff all over the place. Now there are 2 worthwhile stores in Akihabara plus Mandarake and Friends which are just about worth a look. All the above stores sell everything at auction prices though. There are a couple of good places for arcade boards left but probably 90 percent of the retro places are gone.

Kabukicho

Thirding Akihabara. Words simply cannot describe how awesome this neighborhood is. I found used Dreamcast games I just couldn't find ANYWHERE else.

D:
Please let it not be so....

Seconding Akihabara. My sis went there a week or so ago, and she said the gaming stores there were good and plentiful

thanks guys. yeah i guess i ll head to those two shops then.......im thinking of getting an ensoniq sampler...mmm....that would be nice. and maybe a roland JV 2080 or something of a similar nature.........i cant quite afford  my prophet just yet haha. Im staying in Shibuya so thats handy. peace.........and VR - im looking at that now - NICE !

echigoya music is across the street from Tower recors in Shibuya on I think the 9th floor of the building opposite the post office. Basically that and 5G are the best / only real places for synths unless you get lucky in Ishibashi music or the 5th floor of the mac store building in Akihabara.

For games hit up trader or super potato in Akihabara. All of the smaller places / thrift stores got picked over by collectors Im afraid.

if you want more old retro game stuff then this blog post i saw a while ago has some nifty looking places

I didnt know where to post this.........
basically wanted to hit up any Japan peops here for some advice and shit because i will come to Tokyo for a week in November to play a show and go to a ridiculous electronic music festival thing.
Mostly im wondering if locals can recommend any spots to hit up to empty my wallet.
obviously looking for the usual goodies, be it old hardware, synths , samplers etc and also decent game shops to maybe pick up a saturn or dreamcast or something.
Ive got 4 days free to do as i please so i ll have alot of time to go shopping.
im aware of that five g place of course....that looks like heaven and torture rolled into one !
and a friend told me about a smaller place that might have better deals called 'echigoya music'.
Are there thrift shops/charity shops (this kind of thing) in tokyo to look out for ?
and while im making a thread be sure to hit me up if you'd like to come to the show i am playing, or if there is anything awesome going on chipmusic wise between 22nd and 29th of november.
cheers