... Welcome to deep Akihabara! hahaha~ I'm so glad RU-vid brought us creators together this fall to make this and looking forward to diving deeper into the tech scene here with you. Congratulations on 1M subscribers! -john
@@meouishlycat I’ve been all over the world, about 10 countries and Tokyo was genuinely the best place I’ve visited. I almost cried a few times taking in the sights and listening to chill music
I actually stumbled into these small alleyways not actively looking for them when I was in Akihabara a few months back. Definitely a treasure trove of strange parts!
I'm in my 3rd year studying EE and these videos motivate me to keep on studying hard when I start to lose interest in my classes. Keep up the great work!
Haha I saw that, too. A double, triple and quadruple take. I've met a few RU-vidrs I watch in the wild and they're always super laid back and happy to talk. Only ever met one who was off-putting.
When I was in the Navy stationed in Yokosuka, I used to spend a LOT of my free time (and money) in Akihabara. It still looks the same over 25 years later.
Hell yeah Scotty! I went to Japan in 2007 when I was 17. Spent two weeks touring the country (lots of shrines lol!) but absolutely fell in love. The people are so kind and generous and the country itself is gorgous! Akihabara rocks. EDIT: Grats on 1M Subs!
"That one cool thing" I found in Akihabara was an artbook of a 90s Anime show I loved. So yeah, passion's definitely a thing, but after watching this video I need to go deeper next time I travel there.
I don't know that John's livestream format is all that innovative. But I WOULD say that John is the only one who can really make it work. Nobody else is as positive and engaging as him
If you take apart that camera, beware that camera flash units can deliver a HUGE electric shock if you touch the wrong contacts. (Speaking from multiple experiences...)
@@StrangeParts Other high-voltage items you should never take apart include microwave ovens and tube (CRT) TVs or monitors. They generate enough voltage to kill a person, and at least in the case of CRT TVs/monitors, they can store an enormous amount of charge even when unplugged.
@@usethefooorce I would amend that to say "other things you should learn how to take apart safely". Everything should be taken apart! One of the best ways I've learned stuff.
Ooh, I know exactly what you're talking about. A few years back (10-15 years ago?) there was a minor nerd craze online of guys building coil guns and DIY tasers using the guts of disposable cameras. You could walk into any place that developed them and ask nicely, and they'd probably give you like 10-20 from their garbage bin after they'd extracted the film. It was the capacitors that people took from them. And yeah, they can sometimes hold a charge for a long time. I got quite a few of those camera guts free back in the day for various projects. Shocked myself at least twice.
@@StrangeParts I strongly agree with your point in general, and I have taken apart hundreds of devices in my time, but there are a couple of things that store enough charge that really, you only get one chance -- you're dead if you screw it up. Old TVs, electric vehicle batteries, unijterruptible power supplies, etc. Personally I just don't take the risk on those, it's too easy to make a mistake. Even after identifying the flash units and determining I wasn't going to touch the contacts, and with years of electronics experience, I still managed to shock myself when taking apart cameras on two separate occasions. If those had been CRTs, I may not still be here. I think drawing a line is perfectly fine, there are thousands of other things to take apart and learn from.
Love KenChan! Randomly found your video after visiting Akihabara; it’s an awesome place and love your coverage of the less-well-trodden parts. I bought a bunch of stuff from KenChan - support these guys before they disappear! ✌️
I live in Japan for 2 years and I love to go every weekend that I could to Akihabara! Is so full of culture and stuff that only Japan can provide. Awesome video! Really looking forward to seeing more content in Japan.
Wow, thanks for this vid! As something of a game/anime otaku myself, I thought that the electronics part of Akihabara was all but dead by now, but you have shown me a whole new light to the culture of akiba!
Great collab! I've been subbed to John's channel for awhile, he does really good videos about stuff in Japan. Congrats on future 1mil! It's almost there.
Wow--two-way radios, ham radios, radio tubes, gachapons, even that cool boom box, SNES carts, Famicoms, and Sega Saturn!!! This is definitely electronic heaven...
@@StrangeParts What about cramming a printer in there to make it a digital polaroid printer? I know there are some compact photo printers out there, but maybe not small enough. Maybe worst case a receipt printer to do monochrome images.
12 years ago, I watched an NHK Documentary on Akihabara specifically as an electronic district. It was VERY much like looking at this video here; where you could buy wholesale parts for all sorts of electronics, microchips, processors, and computers. Seeing this really makes me happy as there are way too many youtube videos showcasing the "maid cafes," and "love hotels," that have popped up in akihabara. I couldn't care less about the "Moe Craze," but really hope that as of this writing, the old akihabara is still alive & that the maid cafes (and love hotels) don't fully take over. Thank you for posting this.
Whaaaaaaattt??? Only in Japan and Strange Parts in the same video?! Am I dreaming? Only in Japan is highly underrated for the quality of videos he makes.
Thanks for this video... I knew about Akihabara for its electronics, from reading about it and stuff back in the day, but by the time RU-vid became a thing everyone started uploading videos about anime, manga and videogames in akihabara. I'm so glad to have finally found a video about this stuff.. And see at least there is still an area devoted to it
Man.. I missed akiba.... I stopped everyday after school in year 2000 for 5 years walking around through all the big stores.. and all the alley stores checking all the stuffs.. Ahhh Natsukashiii !!
Oh man I just LOVE these youtube collabs... I follow Only In Japan for some time now and when I saw him here kinda strange but good feeling. i'm blown away... i'm trying to collect some SFAmicom games and that Gatchapon has random carts for 200yen! (nearly 2 dollars) the cheapest i found around here in Brazil was like 18 dollars and it was really a find. Usually these carts can go up to 30 to 70 dollars depending on condition and if has cases and manual. They didn't subbed that part when he talks with the dude, but he says he thinks that he watched Scott on youtube before. Must be a great feeling to be recognized in foreign countries.
In Japan you meet and see sellers who are passionate about what they are selling. They often know their stuff and you know the stuff you're getting is the real deal. I used to live in China and really 99% of the time, I have to do my own research on a lot of stuff because often the sellers will only have a basic knowledge of the goods they have and you may not even get a real part. It might be a knock off or worse a a defective part that was suppose to have been destroyed.
Man let me reply to myself. I postponed watching this video due to lack to of time. Now I'm glad I did. I'm planning a return trip to Japan soon. Hope I can bring the missus (Chinese). Looking forward to see what has changed. You're living the dream!
So how about you combine your goodies from japan and turn the old camera into a retro game sound box ? maybe the box could open somehow so you can switch tunes ?
Note that the weekend garage sale (affectionately known as "Sugimoto garage" from the building it's located in) shown at 11:08 has closed at the end of October 2018. The building is being town down as of November 2018. Another piece of Akihabara history being lost, possibly due to re-development of the area.
@@StrangeParts It's quite unfortunate, but it's been a trend in that part of Akihabara in the past decade -- quite a few small shops that used to sell "junk" (second-hand stuff being sold as-is) closed up, and many were replaced by restaurants. It seems like the low rent of the area attracted many restaurants who had better marginal profit than shops selling cheap second-hand goods. That in turn raised the rent of the area, causing many "junk" shops to be forced out. Higher land value made it lucrative for new development, causing old buildings to be replaced by new buildings (like a hotel that recently opened), and many of the newer development seems to be oriented toward the "newer" trends which have higher margins like restaurants and goods catered to anime fans. All this change in Akihabara is like a microcosm of Tokyo itself; it's a city that's in constant flux, where trends are constantly changing.
oh damn, i like visiting that place. i try to stop by every time i visit Cospa (which is directly above that extremely crowded gachapon shop called Gee Store)
This was what I first thought of when someone mentions Akihabara. I was a computer nerd at first and then got into games and then anime and manga. My dream is to go to Akihabara someday and just loose all my money in those old school electronic shops!! Thanks for sharing your experience. I love your channel. Very informative. I watching informative electronic engineering channels (that is an odd way of saying that. Sorry). Thanks for your videos!!
I'm on holidayfor a week in Tokyo right now, and the other day John Daub bolted past me with his streaming rigg, muttering about how crowded the street was. I just looked up from my corn dog, raised an eye brow and continued eating. I would have loved to greet him, but he was clearly in a hurry. Also there was now way that I would have cought up with him xD
Here is a cool idea! Let's swap lightning port of an iPhone 8 with a USB C port! Is it doable? Can't be harder than adding a nonexisted headphone jack port. 🤗
That FM synth chip gatchapon machine... * total nerdgasm! * Now do that for basic electrical and electronic components! Resistors, capacitors, LEDs, connectors, solder...
Well, that was very interesting, I think you should write a guidebook for electronics and all this kind of stuff, that would be so cool Oh and make out of the Polaroid Camera, an extra camera for an iPhone. So you can plug it in the iPhone you can make photos with the camera and having it on your phone.
Should make that camera digital so you could link it to a Bluetooth printer so when you snap a pic ypu could send it to the printer. Keeping the aspect of having it print the picture but through a Bluetooth printer. Would be a really cool project. Would love to see it happen. Just a thought. Another idea is to modify it to have a newer iPhone modded into the camera so you have the touch screen on the back and use the flash and camera thats on the phone and many of the other components from the phone. Basically turning the camera into a digital touch screen camera with a good quality camera with the newer iPhones. Loving the videos and I would love to come check out japan and china! Congrats on the 1mil!
Lars Mathiesen - It already exist and you can buy them at Amazon. Polaroid branded digital cameras with built in photo printer. Emphasis on branded as Polaroid since the original Polaroid company no longer exists. The brand name Polaroid is being licensed a different company who paid a license to use the brand name. Sort of like new Nokia phones today made by HMD Global since Nokia no longer exists.
@@iMadrid11 well then I will wish for a very small resin printer in the thing so we get a 3D Polaroid camera ;) This is Scotty in Shenzen so if anybody can do that its our hero ;)
on 16:43, you can clearly see that the 'please don't touch' sign also written in Indonesian/Malay, Tolong Jangan Sentuh, Tolong=Please/Help, Sentuh=Touch, Jangan=Dont. I feel it super random that such language is used in that signage
akihabara mmg ramai student malaysia yang suka jalan2 kt sana... sbb mmg orang malaysia nie degil... mmber aku pun terlanggar.. last2 kene bayar.. hahaha
I have been to Akihabara in 2009 and 2018. The time has changed and I feel Akihabara, while it's still great, it somehow lost the charm they had 10 years ago. And as a tech enthusiast, I also feel there is nothing "wow" in their innovation anymore. The slow down in their economy is real. While the Korean and Chinese have already caught up in terms of innovation.
I've been in Tokyo 25+ years and way on back went through a phase of building my own PCs and such so I spent a lot of time wandering around the Akihabara that was, before tourism, anime and those creepy maid cafes took over. I even played basketball and tennis in the courts beside the station! I wasn't expecting anything from this video, I thought it would be much shallower, but they pretty much nailed it. There were literally hundreds of amazing little shops like these where you could find anything electronics related. They're disappearing fast though so if you're interested in seeing the last of them you'd better get here quick before the developers push them out.
10:38 A wild Super Potato appears! I didn't know there were more electronics stores when I was there in 2008, I was too focused on retro games at the time... but now I have all the more reason to go exploring there again!
i've been to akiba several times but nowadays i don't know where to find those old-fashion parlors .... 20 years ago they would still be visible from the streets, now with all those maid-cafes and anime shops overwhelming the main streets more and more .... you make me wanna dig deeper and find those very places ! this video is painful to watch because i'm so far away :O
