Tokyo Radio Department Store Shops — Local services in Tokyo

If you’ve ever wondered what happens to electronics after they “retire,” spoiler: they move to Japan, get impeccably maintained, and live out their golden years here...a glorious, low-ceilinged labyrinth where nostalgia goes to bulk up.

Walking in feels like descending into the digestive tract of a '70s ham radio enthusiast. Pipes overhead, flickering lights, display cases filled with equipment that absolutely should not look this good after 40 years… and yet it does. This place is essentially a nursing home for gadgets, except everyone’s spry, buffed & still ready to transmit on shortwave.

Vacuum tubes? They don’t just have them...they have rows of them, like the Apple Store of '53. I bought one just to show my apprentices back home what we used before silicon chips existed. They’ll probably think I’m lying, like I’m telling them dinosaurs used to install panelboards.

Every corner brings something wild: film cameras, frequency counters, multimeters older than the electricians in my classes, and audio gear from an era when “portable” meant “requires its own luggage cart.” Honestly, if you need a component for a machine that hasn’t been manufactured since Trudeau Senior was in office, you’ll find it here...still in the box, still shining, still inexplicably priced fairly.

Pro tip: watch your head. The ceiling drops lower than the TSX on a bad inflation report. If you’re over 5'10", you’re basically reenacting a military crawl between shelves of treasure. And that’s part of the charm: this whole place feels like a secret engineering guildhall where time, dust, and depreciation have been politely shown the door.

It’s chaotic, cramped, wonderful and absolutely one of the best places in Akiba if you’re a tradesperson, a tinkerer, or someone who kept the manual for every appliance you’ve ever owned...

I recently had an extremely disappointing experience at Tokyo Radio Department Store, and I feel compelled to share my encounter. I have been living in Japan for 15 years, and I have never encountered such arrogance and rudeness from a shop owners.

I approached the shop seeking some electronic parts and was met with complete disregard for customer service. The shop owner not only refused to assist me but also went so far as to tell me to give up on electronics altogether. This level of dismissiveness and condescension is unacceptable, especially considering the amount of time I've spent in Japan without encountering such behavior.

It appears that the owners, or at least some of them, do not value their customers, and the atmosphere suggests a lack of interest in serving the community. The shop owner's discouraging words and rude demeanor left me shocked and disappointed. It feels as though they don't want customers, particularly foreigners, to patronize their establishment.

I cannot in good conscience support a business that treats customers with such disrespect. I sincerely hope that others reconsider supporting Tokyo Radio Department Store as well. A business that fails to appreciate its customers and provides such poor service does not deserve to thrive. My experience was so disheartening that I believe the sooner this establishment closes down, the better for everyone seeking a respectful and customer-friendly...

This place feels like a hidden gem of what the older Akihabara was and where it all began. Shops are all selling electronics and phone tech. Very old feeling lots of parts and the basement area has tons of computers and phones, even selling old iPhones and components for computers etc. I found a great iphone 15 pro max phone case for literally 100 yen which is a dollar Canadian, no taxes. Definitely recommend and help keep these older shops in business it’s where the heart of...