In Japan: Where to buy Canon gear?

[MJ]

Hello,

We're traveling throughout the sacred grounds of Canon and look for the best prices on Canon SLRs + lenses.
Wandering around Shinjuku (Tokyo) we saw prices similar to the US. At times CPW is even cheaper for some lenses (naming the popular 100-400 L II...)

Extra savings on no-tax purchases are always great!
We visiting main cities Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.


Any helpful tips and recommendations are appreciated! thanks!!

 

[Zv]

Head over to Akihabara and you'll see loads of places that are duty free. Yodobashi, BIC camera, Yamada Denki, K's Denki, Edion, Map Camera ... The list goes on. You should be able to find a camera store very easily there!

Price wise I find they are all about the same. They all offer loyalty points if you sign up for their cards. That's a good way to save money if you are staying long term but not so helpful if you're just visiting.

Coming from the U.S. you can get really good deals due to the exchange rate so even though the high street prices are a bit higher than the online stores you can still come away with a fairly good bargain if you shop around.

Actually, try getting a little bit out of Tokyo and checking out the stores as the prices will likely be inflated because Tokyo is so touristy.

Tell me what you're looking for and I'll give you a ballpark figure of how much it should cost or if it's a good deal or not.

 

[MJ]

Thanks for your reply!

I'm looking for the 100-400 II specifically, which happened to be 2000+ USD wherever I checked in Shinjuku (BIC Camera, several smaller stores around the area).

 

[tpatana]

Last trip (June) I was checking several places. Most had close enough identical price to US so no point buying from there. BIC Camera had couple deals going, and those were ~15-20% less than the US street price (B&H etc). Didn't have the one I was looking for though.

 

[Zv]

Thanks for your reply!

I'm looking for the 100-400 II specifically, which happened to be 2000+ USD wherever I checked in Shinjuku (BIC Camera, several smaller stores around the area).

I checked a price comparison site here and that lens is 264,000 Yen and that's from online stores with names I've never heard of. You'll be lucky to see it for anything cheaper in the high street.

There was a sales tax increase last year that bumped up all the prices, much to my dismay. I often envy U.S prices!

Things that are cheaper here I find is Sony gear. But not by much. There's also a market for older film cameras here if you look around.

Sorry, I guess Japan isn't the cheap electronics haven it's all cracked up to be, eh? I think China took that spot!

 

[Maiaibing]

Hello,

We're traveling throughout the sacred grounds of Canon and look for the best prices on Canon SLRs + lenses.
Wandering around Shinjuku (Tokyo) we saw prices similar to the US. At times CPW is even cheaper for some lenses (naming the popular 100-400 L II...)

Extra savings on no-tax purchases are always great!
We visiting main cities Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.


Any helpful tips and recommendations are appreciated! thanks!!

As everywhere else do not go to a shop if you want to save money.

Use kakaku.com to search prices and order online. Now ordring in Japanese can be difficult - so first check if you can order for a similar price on Amazon.co.jp (looks like the US site).

Good luck!

 

[Zv]

Hello,

We're traveling throughout the sacred grounds of Canon and look for the best prices on Canon SLRs + lenses.
Wandering around Shinjuku (Tokyo) we saw prices similar to the US. At times CPW is even cheaper for some lenses (naming the popular 100-400 L II...)

Extra savings on no-tax purchases are always great!
We visiting main cities Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.


Any helpful tips and recommendations are appreciated! thanks!!

As everywhere else do not go to a shop if you want to save money.

Use kakaku.com to search prices and order online. Now ordring in Japanese can be difficult - so first check if you can order for a similar price on Amazon.co.jp (looks like the US site).

Good luck!

I just use Chrome which auto translates everything as you go. Its not perfect because the granmar is always backwards but it can give you just enough context to help figure it out. The biggest issue is that some websites insist that you enter your name in Kanji or Katakana. It won't let you move ahead without it. It can be frustrating at times.

But yeah I mainly use Amazon.jp and Rakuten which both have English support.

 

[eating]

When in Tokyo, you can drop by Map Camera (and of course Yodobashii Camera - a 6-storey building built for cameraholics) in Shinjuku first then go to Nakano. Nakano is just one stop away from Shinjuku via Chuo line rapid.

Map Camera has 5 floors, each floor selling brand new and used lenses/cameras from major brands - Canon on the 4th floor i think. In Nakano, there are a number of shops each shop selling different items, e.g., tripod and mounts only, accesories only, lenses and cameras only.