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I will be in Tokyo in two weeks and want to find the area where nixie and other vintage stuff can be found. Is it in the same area where all of the modern electronics shops are concentrated? I am also interested in finding a museum that would have a good collection of 60s and 70s Japanese consumer electronics on display. Of course, any other *must see* recommendations are welcome.

On Sun, 11 Jul 2010 15:08:15 -0000, you wrote:

I will be in Tokyo in two weeks and want to find the area where nixie and other vintage stuff can be found. Is it in the same area where all of the modern electronics shops are concentrated? I am also interested in finding a museum that would have a good collection of 60s and 70s Japanese consumer electronics on display. Of course, any other *must see* recommendations are welcome.

I went a couple of years ago - didn't find anything vintage apart from a tiny audio place on the
edge of Akihabara.

Allow at least 2 days to explore all the backstreets around Akihabara - ISTR there being a few
'unoffical' stalls on a sunday in car parks etc. I came back with tons of little tools etc. Not
cheap but stuff you never see anywhere else. Keep an eye out for odd little basements etc.

NHK broadcast museum (2-2-1-1 Atago, Minato-ku) is certainly worth a visit - lots of early
broadcast equipment etc. and I think also some consumer stuff.

I don't recall much in the way of other museum stuff - there is a post & telecoms museum which I
think is free but only worth it if you're in the area. Looking at my guidebook I think it was the
NTT Inter Communication Centre at Tokyo Opera City Tower

TEPCO electric Energy museum in Shibuya was mostly a waste of time, unless you happen to be
literally passing the door, in which case maybe worth 15 mins....

National Museum of Emerging Science (2-41 Aomi (Odaiba) was OK as a modern science museum - if you
like science museims in general it's probably worth a trip.

And absolutely don't miss the Tokyu Hands department store in Shibuya.

I will be in Tokyo in two weeks and want to find the area where
nixie and other vintage stuff can be found. Is it in the same area
where all of the modern electronics shops are concentrated?

I just got back from a month in Japan and while there I stopped by
Akihabara. There were quite a few small shops dealing in older
technology(tubes, old cameras, etc). In most cases I found the prices
to be much higher than what is available online. Regardless, browsing
around was a fun experience. The shops were scattered all over the
area but are pretty easy to find if you take your time and explore the
nooks and crannies.

Aaron

--- In NEONIXIE-L@..., Aaron Taylor <ataylor@...> wrote:

I will be in Tokyo in two weeks and want to find the area where
nixie and other vintage stuff can be found. Is it in the same area
where all of the modern electronics shops are concentrated?

I just got back from a month in Japan and while there I stopped by
Akihabara. There were quite a few small shops dealing in older
technology(tubes, old cameras, etc). In most cases I found the prices
to be much higher than what is available online. Regardless, browsing
around was a fun experience. The shops were scattered all over the
area but are pretty easy to find if you take your time and explore the
nooks and crannies.

Hi Aaron,

It's been years, but I spent quite a bit of time in Tokyo. You'll want to go the Akihabara District in Tokoyo for all the electronics you'll ever want (go here for more: ).

The shop keepers are more skilled in the latest electronics so you'll have to do some digging to find the vintage stuff. I recommend having someone fluent in Japanese write out for you various names/descriptions of NIXIE tubes in Japanese to make things easier. You'll spend a lot of time gesturing and talking like a 2 yr old if you don't. Better yet, if you can get an English speaking native to go with you will certainly speed things up.

Finally, don't expect a bargain unless the shop owner just doesn't know the value of the NIXIE, which would be very rare. If the store knows anything about these tubes, then you'll have to do some haggling to get the price down.

But it's a joy to be in Akihabara. You'll have a great time.

Jeff