Only in Tokyo, Part 20: The World's Biggest High-Tech Superstore

When the Yodobashi store opened, it kind of took over the Akihabara neighbourhood of Tokyo, stamping out all the local competition. This mega-store is spread over no less than eight floors and is truly a sight to behold. Its size and success, however, got up right up the nose of one of its rivals, so last year, Labi opened an even bigger store!


With seven floors and 3,500 square metres (37,675 sq. ft) dedicated entirely to high-tech gadgetry, it's impressive, to say the least. There's a very different atmosphere to the shops over in Akihabara, which do somehow feel brighter. Whereas you can easily find yourself getting lost in the maze-like layout of Yodobashi (I'm not joking!), here, the aisles are all neatly separated with low partition walls. The lighting is a pretty harsh kind of artificial white too. The organised layout means you'll always know exactly where you are at any given moment ... and, to be honest, that makes it much less fun. I think I preferred the madness of the Yodobashi bazaar.


The lighting and layout may be different, but the deafening noise is just the same! All the sales staff are continually shouting out 'irrashaimase' (welcome) to customers passing by. All the electronic devices are switched on, with rolling demos and the volume at top blast. Even for products that don't typically make any noise, like software, they'll set up a screen and some speakers to sort that out straight away.


There's also the in-store radio blaring out in the background, and sales staff continually shouting out their promotions and deals of the day ... with megaphones!


In the camera department, our jaws dropped. Pentax has been eagerly promoting the wide range of colours its K-x camera is available in, and over at Labi, we spotted nearly 100 different colour combinations!


Check them out!




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