Japan shopping
From ArticleWorld
Shopping in Japan is truly an amazing experience as it offers everything from hi-tech electronics to traditional crafts. Fashion shops, department stores, speciality boutiques, shopping centres and hotel arcades abound.
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No bargaining
Don't suspect that people such as yourself can try to bargain for goods in all Asian countries. Japan is the exception to the rule. Don't attempt to negotiate store prices when shopping for goods in Japan, especially in upper-scale grocery stores. You can only try to ask for a less-than-significant bargain when you are going to the flea markets. It is allowed there.
Flea markets
If you have a desire to save a bit of money in your shopping excursions, try flea markets and one-hundred yen businesses (100 yen comes out to almost 93 US cents). You can come across almost anything there, from make-up products to various kitchen products. Take a thorough look! They provide the most cheap prices in Japan. You love very fast and amazing buys? Try the Japanese roadside vendor machines. They are extremely common in Japan. You can always buy various sorts of excellent food and drinks and even some electronics from them.
Different from the many other places in Asia where vendors attempt to over charge foreign customers, merchants in Japan are more commonly practice honesty and customer equality. Even though there might possibly be some examples of the contrary, they are simply exceptions to the rule. The assigned prices are most usually decent and indicative of right selling price of the product in question. As a result, you do not need to be suspicious and constantly evaluate the values of products. It always just takes your time and interest.
Usually the effect is that you just get the exact same cost or perhaps even worse, you won't easily find another of the same object elsewhere.
If you see some object that you truly would like to have, don't leave it be. Don't naively think that all souvenir shops have the same items and you are able to purchase it in another store. Many areas and individual stores provide original items that you are not able to see at another location.
Planning a shopping route
You should plan out your shopping excursions very carefully before arrival early on if you are in a well-populated city, such as Tokyo or Kyoto. Stumbling over the addresses is extremely formidable there and commuting from one part of town to another is amazingly tiring and pricey. Thus, read your map with care and plan the order of all your potential scheduled destinations early on. Keep track of the schedules of the destinations too. Depending on the particular place, open hours are oftentimes from about 10 am to 8 pm. Most popular business locations continue their business throughout the weekend but mainly don't do business on widespread holidays.
Gifts
In Japan, most people more often use national currency as the preferred method of paying merchants. Some bigger department stores may readily take credit as a means of payment but in the majority of shops the merchants won't have any idea regarding what you want them to do if you hand them a credit card. When having cash with you, always remember to be watchful of pickpockets in popular regions.
Gifts
Popular buys include electronic products, cameras, watches, hifi equipment, silk, lacquer ware and crafts when taking trips to Japan. There are numerous quantities of adorable products available for purchase, such as kimonos, paper lanterns or Japanese dolls. If you are in search of some easy gifts, common things are very appropriate. Your comrades will be quite joyful if you bring them Japanese chopsticks, goodies, cookware, etc. Those thoughtful gifts are not only cheap but also from the heart and, more imperatively, very much Japanese.