Yodobashi Camera

Yodobashi Camera (ヨドバシカメラ) is a Japanese chain store that sells electronics. Currently consisting of 20 stores in Japan, Yodobashi Camera is among the best known electronic stores in the country, including its iconic Akihabara store next to the JR Akihabara Station, a 9 story collection of computers, electronics, toys, and videos of all sorts. In addition, a complex of closely built related Yodobashi stores in Shinjuku near Shinjuku Station consists of multiple different sources and kinds of electronics.

History

Yodobashi Camera was founded in 1960 under the name Fujisawa Shashin Shokai, a name it later changed to its current incarnation in 1974 when the company started to expand. In 1975, Yodobashi opened its first standalone store in Shinjuku Nishiguchi, quickly followed by multiple additional outlets throughout Tokyo. In 1989, the Yodobashi Point Card was introduced, one of the industry’s first point reward systems. The Internet outlet for Yodobashi followed in 1998 and the megastore in Akihabara which has since become the face of the company, opened in 2005.

Products and Design

Yodobashi Camera is known for many things, including its massive supply of camera equipment and video production gear. Four of the Shinjuku store’s six floors are covered with photographic equipment and it is currently one of the largest such stores in the world, carrying more than 30,000 items in stock. Selling as many as 600 cameras per day in any of its major outlets in Tokyo, Yodobashi Camera is also a great place to buy electronics from any number of sources with video games, watches, clocks, A/V equipment, and multiple other style products available in most branches.

Stores outside of Shinjuku also sell everything from picture frames and vintage film to luggage and dishwashers. Cell phones are a hot commodity in most outlets, with many thousands of options usually available.

External Links

• Official Yodobashi Camera Website (Japanese)