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Originally Posted by Ojamajoz
EDIT: Oh, yah. Thanks for the help, Troo! And we're not buying our own food, which is AWESOME!
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Ah, that saves you some cash! Neat!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ojamajoz
So Mandarake is a chain of bookstores, I presume? Thanks, I'll have to write that down.
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Mandarake is a chain of stores which mostly sell manga, but some stores also specialise in toys, accesories, second hand books, and so on.
The list of their stores (in English) is here:
Store Information - MANDARAKE
Of that list, the stores in Tokyo are Nakano, Shibuya, Akihabara and Ikebukuro. I've never been to the Akihabara one (Akihabara is often shortened to "Akiba"), but I'm reliably informed by the look on the police officer's face when I asked for directions that it's mostly full of porn.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ojamajoz
3,000 yen is about $30, right? And Yodobashi Akiba is another chain?
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Yep, depending on exchange rate 3,000 yen is usually about $30.
Yodobashi Camera is an electronics chain, and the store in Akiba is filled with fabulousness, including games, puzzles, toys, gashapon (capsule toys), collectibles, cuddly toys, dolls, and of course electronics.
Much noise is made about how expensive Japan is, but in reality it's about as pricey as any world-class city. You can find expensive things, but you can also find dirt cheap goodies. I tend to make do with about £500 per week in Tokyo, (which is currently about $750), but out of that I have to buy all three meals as well as pay for transport and entry fees to museums, shrines, etc. (and, frankly, we had so much cash left over the first time we ended up buying a PS3). $300 should do you fine if all you're paying for is goodies from shops
