Just got the best birthday pressie ever. Tickets to Tokyo😃
May not be a big deal for some but for me it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
So, I have read the older threads about the Akhibara district. How is it now for valve type stuff? Mainly transformers and hard to find good quality sockets etc.
I would love to find a pair of Tamura F2011 or something similar with a cathode feedback winding.
My cousin is an English teacher there so no problems with language. Although I would like to learn as much as I can before we go.
Cheers
Matt.
May not be a big deal for some but for me it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
So, I have read the older threads about the Akhibara district. How is it now for valve type stuff? Mainly transformers and hard to find good quality sockets etc.
I would love to find a pair of Tamura F2011 or something similar with a cathode feedback winding.
My cousin is an English teacher there so no problems with language. Although I would like to learn as much as I can before we go.
Cheers
Matt.
Wow, I'm envious. Japan is someplace I've always wanted to visit but probably never will. If I were you I would begin watching the many youtube videos about Japan, Tokyo and especially the Japanese culture.
As far as transformers and quality parts go I don't think you'll save very much over what you can buy on line. True you might find a gem, but I think all in all most prices are high as is the cost of living there. Have a great trip and let us know what happens.
Member
Joined 2006
Congrat!
Yen is cheap now, great timing!
For transformers, Noguchi Trans in the basement of Radio Department Store is a must.
Visit Kasuga Trans too, several years ago they helped me locate a pair of Tamura transformers.
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Have fun!
Yen is cheap now, great timing!
For transformers, Noguchi Trans in the basement of Radio Department Store is a must.
Visit Kasuga Trans too, several years ago they helped me locate a pair of Tamura transformers.
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Have fun!
I lived in tokyo for 4 years or so in the early 2000s. Last time I was there was about 3 years ago. Akihabara is interesting...its not exactly the electronics mecca you think it is for diy stuff though. Near the station there is a large industrial type building with little booths with vendors selling al sorts of stuff. They are not audiophiles but there is a lot of stuff to go through. There are no hidden gems though...its all pretty well picked through. Also there were some small dealers selling tube headphone amp kits and things...some hi end. I think that wad in the basement. But akihabara now is more consumer electronics and anime focused. Its for geeks and nerds. Geeks and nerds used to be into audio, now its anime and models and building computers.
The big stores like bic camera and yamada often have a good selection of hi end audio stuff. Not diy but interesting.
I imagine you will forget about finding transformers and tubes while you are there because your mind will be blown by all the other stuff going on. It really is an amazing place with a crazy lifestyle.
The big stores like bic camera and yamada often have a good selection of hi end audio stuff. Not diy but interesting.
I imagine you will forget about finding transformers and tubes while you are there because your mind will be blown by all the other stuff going on. It really is an amazing place with a crazy lifestyle.
Thanks for the replies guys. I have just been watching loads of youtube videos🙂 What an amazing place.
I am sure I will find plenty of interesting things. As you say Hikari1 I will probably end up forgeting transformers and just get blown away by it all.
Cheers
Matt
I am sure I will find plenty of interesting things. As you say Hikari1 I will probably end up forgeting transformers and just get blown away by it all.
Cheers
Matt
Here's the link: Parts in Asia
I am headed to Tokyo in the morning, actually 🙂
There have been a few changes that I haven't updated on the web page, but most of the good stuff is still there.
Tokyo Radio Department building is still good, some of the vendors have changed, but there is at least one new tube vendor there since I updated the website. Noguchi Transformer (in the basement) has tons of transformers. They have F-2011 (F-2011 [F-2011] - 133,620), but they are... 133,620 JPY each (!) - over $1300. Woof.
Definitely cruise through all the little stalls under the Yamanote line tracks, right next to the station. Some very affordable small transformers in a couple of shops.
Pete
I thought I heard that the awesome electronic warrens beneath Akihabara were going to soon be a thing of the past. Let us know if they're still there.
I've been through the warrens twice.
I've been through the warrens twice.
Pete:
That's some great info. Nice work.
Unfortunately when I lived in Japan I was not into audio that much. I was really into cameras and for me it was heaven. It's a camera junkie's paradise.
Now that I think about it, I don't even think my currently audio set-up would fit in my Japanese apartment...it was about 12ft by 12ft large!
I know that Akihabara is changing...it used to be a place you would go to to buy a TV or AC unit...now it's more about Anime and J-pop and such. But if you are interested in musical instruments Ochanomizu close by has a lot of great guitar stores and such. Also there are a lot of great record stores scattered about Tokyo.
Matt,
Some of the most interesting and truly mind boggling places in Tokyo are not the places listed in the guidebooks. I'd recommend the following places to add to your must see list:
A) In Shinjuku there is cavern of "Yaki-Tori" bars next to the station. It's like tunnels of little restaurants selling chicken on sticks cooked over fire. All while sitting below skyscrapers and things. Very lo-tech meets hi-tech. Reminds me of Blade Runner.
B) Around Nakano station there is a famous section of alleyways full of restaurants and bars. It's very pre-war Japan.
C) South of Tokyo is an area called Kamakura. About an hour train ride. It has many temples and a giant buddha and some nice beaches.
Also, I can almost guarantee you will see a middle aged man in a business suit throwing up, a young person dressed up as a Pokemon character, you will probably sleep in a train station at least one night (the trains stop running at 1AM) and you will probably fear for your life while being packed in a train at least once. But basically it's a pretty friendly and safe place. If you can download a translation app on our phone or buy a little pocket dictionary translator thing. You will need it. Most people have pretty limited English skills. But it's more fun that way.
That's some great info. Nice work.
Unfortunately when I lived in Japan I was not into audio that much. I was really into cameras and for me it was heaven. It's a camera junkie's paradise.
Now that I think about it, I don't even think my currently audio set-up would fit in my Japanese apartment...it was about 12ft by 12ft large!
I know that Akihabara is changing...it used to be a place you would go to to buy a TV or AC unit...now it's more about Anime and J-pop and such. But if you are interested in musical instruments Ochanomizu close by has a lot of great guitar stores and such. Also there are a lot of great record stores scattered about Tokyo.
Matt,
Some of the most interesting and truly mind boggling places in Tokyo are not the places listed in the guidebooks. I'd recommend the following places to add to your must see list:
A) In Shinjuku there is cavern of "Yaki-Tori" bars next to the station. It's like tunnels of little restaurants selling chicken on sticks cooked over fire. All while sitting below skyscrapers and things. Very lo-tech meets hi-tech. Reminds me of Blade Runner.
B) Around Nakano station there is a famous section of alleyways full of restaurants and bars. It's very pre-war Japan.
C) South of Tokyo is an area called Kamakura. About an hour train ride. It has many temples and a giant buddha and some nice beaches.
Also, I can almost guarantee you will see a middle aged man in a business suit throwing up, a young person dressed up as a Pokemon character, you will probably sleep in a train station at least one night (the trains stop running at 1AM) and you will probably fear for your life while being packed in a train at least once. But basically it's a pretty friendly and safe place. If you can download a translation app on our phone or buy a little pocket dictionary translator thing. You will need it. Most people have pretty limited English skills. But it's more fun that way.
I was in Tokyo 20 years ago. Wisited Akihabara of course, but it was way too expensive for me. I still sorry that I did not buy a pair of Stax headphones. But the great thing is I visited the late Tominari-san, chief engineer of Dynavector at his premises and spent an afternoon with him. I have seen some interesting stuff, like his holographic stereo system, etc. It is difficult to navigate oneself in Tokyo, which is actually a lot of small cities built together.
It is actually more one giant grey mass of housing and structures extending to the horizon... but absolutely fascinating nevertheless.
I was there on a 6 week business trip 4 years ago and visited the aforementioned building near the Yamanote train station. Found one booth with lots of parts (tubes, sockets, small transformers etc. ) and scored a nice detented TKD pot that was still cheaper than getting it from partsconnexxxxion or else 😉
Btw. my avatar image is Tower Records in Tokyo...
Akihabara has changed a lot over the years, but remains a slightly (or not-so slightly) surreal place. Although the Akihabara of today is more about model figurines, anime, maid cafes, computers and smart phones, bits and pieces of the old audio and electronic community remain.
In addition to Noguchi Transformer, Koizumi Musen does speakers, Wakamatsu (next to Suehiro-cho subway station) supports the amplifier DIY crowd with BJTs, MOSFETs, JFETs, resistors, capacitors, opamps, tubes, Akizuki Denshi is more for general electronic DIY and measurements (supposedly it was they who commissioned the DE-5000 LCR meter). The parts stalls near Akihabara JR station have been reduced in number, but are still present. A few stores (in the Ochanomizu direction) specialize in second-hand measurement equipment.
If you like vintage audio equipment, Hi-Fi-Do is worth a visit or two.
Once you arrive in Japan, before you leave the airport, buy a "Suica" tap-and-pay electronic card. This is valid for most means of public transportation (JR, private rails, subway lines, buses), although you may need to pay in cash for medium-long distance express trains (Narita Express, Keisei Liner, Shinkansen etc.), perhaps also the Narita airport-to-Tokyo buses. All train stations have vending machines where you can charge up a Suica card, or buy a new one.
In most cases, getting around Tokyo is easy if you use the outstanding train system. Google Map and Apple Map both integrate the train network into their navigation instructions, and can tell you what stations to transfer at and what time the next train leaves at (train platform numbers are still unavailable, I think). During the daytime, moving by car or taxi is not recommended due to excessive traffic, but late at night, road travel is reasonably quick.
Away from the airports, public Wi-Fi is not as common as one would like, but LTE is. There are airport counters that sell prepaid chargeable data-only sim cards.
Japan's AC powerlines are 100V only, plugs and wall sockets are compatible with the US types.
The weather during winter is a little dry, but no colder than London (perhaps a little warmer).
Tokyo is fairly safe to wander around, both during the daytime and at night.
Have fun and bring a good camera, because you will want to take lots of photos!
jonathan
In addition to Noguchi Transformer, Koizumi Musen does speakers, Wakamatsu (next to Suehiro-cho subway station) supports the amplifier DIY crowd with BJTs, MOSFETs, JFETs, resistors, capacitors, opamps, tubes, Akizuki Denshi is more for general electronic DIY and measurements (supposedly it was they who commissioned the DE-5000 LCR meter). The parts stalls near Akihabara JR station have been reduced in number, but are still present. A few stores (in the Ochanomizu direction) specialize in second-hand measurement equipment.
If you like vintage audio equipment, Hi-Fi-Do is worth a visit or two.
Once you arrive in Japan, before you leave the airport, buy a "Suica" tap-and-pay electronic card. This is valid for most means of public transportation (JR, private rails, subway lines, buses), although you may need to pay in cash for medium-long distance express trains (Narita Express, Keisei Liner, Shinkansen etc.), perhaps also the Narita airport-to-Tokyo buses. All train stations have vending machines where you can charge up a Suica card, or buy a new one.
In most cases, getting around Tokyo is easy if you use the outstanding train system. Google Map and Apple Map both integrate the train network into their navigation instructions, and can tell you what stations to transfer at and what time the next train leaves at (train platform numbers are still unavailable, I think). During the daytime, moving by car or taxi is not recommended due to excessive traffic, but late at night, road travel is reasonably quick.
Away from the airports, public Wi-Fi is not as common as one would like, but LTE is. There are airport counters that sell prepaid chargeable data-only sim cards.
Japan's AC powerlines are 100V only, plugs and wall sockets are compatible with the US types.
The weather during winter is a little dry, but no colder than London (perhaps a little warmer).
Tokyo is fairly safe to wander around, both during the daytime and at night.
Have fun and bring a good camera, because you will want to take lots of photos!
jonathan
Sweet memories. Lived in Tokyo from 1983-86, when Akihabara was the place where electronic components overflowing from the large electronics industry were put to market. I bought my first oscilloscope, a 20 MHz Iiwatsu, over there.
I still come back to Japan on a regular basis, and many of the old rag tag shops have disappeared, but the place remains interesting enough.
I still come back to Japan on a regular basis, and many of the old rag tag shops have disappeared, but the place remains interesting enough.
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I found that if I stood still, looking at a map in Tokyo within seconds someone would come over to help.
The maid/Lolita subculture is quite surreal IMO 🙂. Good advice, have been going since 1988 and Akihabara has changed a lot. I still have a picture of a little old guy sitting in the Tango booth surrounded by unaffordable iron of all types.
Wow, thanks for all the tips and advice guys. It's going to be a very special trip.
Pete, I saw that price for the Tamura F-2011 on the Noguchi Transformer site. Is that really the price for one? I have seen similar prices for a pair I think it was on a Taiwanese site. £750 for one is rather steep but if its a pair I think I can stretch to that.
Does anyone know of a similar 100W Japanese transformer with cathode feedback windings? The Hashimoto is nearly there but has no CFB windings.
The other thing is that at 8 kilos each I may have to throw all my clothes away to bring them back😀
Cheers
Matt.
Pete, I saw that price for the Tamura F-2011 on the Noguchi Transformer site. Is that really the price for one? I have seen similar prices for a pair I think it was on a Taiwanese site. £750 for one is rather steep but if its a pair I think I can stretch to that.
Does anyone know of a similar 100W Japanese transformer with cathode feedback windings? The Hashimoto is nearly there but has no CFB windings.
The other thing is that at 8 kilos each I may have to throw all my clothes away to bring them back😀
Cheers
Matt.
Doh, I just translated the page on the Noguchi Transformer site and the price is per pair.
Hmmmm, time to start saving....
Also, thanks jcarr. I was going to buy a DE-5000 but I think I will wait and get one when I'm in Tokyo.
Hmmmm, time to start saving....
Also, thanks jcarr. I was going to buy a DE-5000 but I think I will wait and get one when I'm in Tokyo.
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Akizuki sells the DE-5000 for 4700 jpy.
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The same page lists the pricing for the various options (USB connection kit, test leads, smd chip probe, wall-wart).
Some of the stalls and small stores next to the JR station sell Hakko soldering gear, wire cutters, strippers, precision forceps, and other tools that are useful for electronic assembly work. There is a similar store in the front of Radio Department Store (the same building that Noguchi Transformer resides in).
Seibundo-Shinkosha (M&J Musen to Jikken) and IAR (Rajio Gijutsu) have both published a variety of tube circuit collections in addition to their monthly fare, and you may be able to find a book stall in Akihabara that has these.
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The same page lists the pricing for the various options (USB connection kit, test leads, smd chip probe, wall-wart).
Some of the stalls and small stores next to the JR station sell Hakko soldering gear, wire cutters, strippers, precision forceps, and other tools that are useful for electronic assembly work. There is a similar store in the front of Radio Department Store (the same building that Noguchi Transformer resides in).
Seibundo-Shinkosha (M&J Musen to Jikken) and IAR (Rajio Gijutsu) have both published a variety of tube circuit collections in addition to their monthly fare, and you may be able to find a book stall in Akihabara that has these.
Excellent, that's nearly half the price we can get them here via eBay and that is with the additional fixtures. I might buy a few to sell😀
Are there any Japanese tube books that are a must have? Obviously I can't read Japanese but my cousin can and I will certainly give it a good go.
Cheers
Matt.
Are there any Japanese tube books that are a must have? Obviously I can't read Japanese but my cousin can and I will certainly give it a good go.
Cheers
Matt.
Matt-san;
I welcome your visit to Japan.
>Are there any Japanese tube books that are a must have?
I recommend 401-kairo-syuu (401 circuit diagram collection) and 501-kairo-syuu (501 circuit diagram collection) published by Seibundo-Shinkosha. Those books collect circuit diagrams of tube-based electronics, i.e. audio amplifiers and FM tuners, transceivers for radio amateurs, television sets, design tips etc. Originally published in tube’s heyday of 1950’s and 1960’s, reprinted in 2000’s.
This is my first posting to the forum.
Maro
I welcome your visit to Japan.
>Are there any Japanese tube books that are a must have?
I recommend 401-kairo-syuu (401 circuit diagram collection) and 501-kairo-syuu (501 circuit diagram collection) published by Seibundo-Shinkosha. Those books collect circuit diagrams of tube-based electronics, i.e. audio amplifiers and FM tuners, transceivers for radio amateurs, television sets, design tips etc. Originally published in tube’s heyday of 1950’s and 1960’s, reprinted in 2000’s.
This is my first posting to the forum.
Maro
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