Transporting vs buying a guitar in Japan

[newobsorder]

Hello everyone,

I will be working for a full year in Japan starting October the 1st and would like to have a guitar over there, do you know if the prices are correct compared to Europe or USA?

The second choice is to bring one by plane... but the guitar I wanna bring is quite expensive and there's no way I put it in the plane's hold! I heard of some companies where the stewardesses are kind enough if you have a soft-case which don't take too much space to keep it in their room. Mind to tell me which company it is?

Thank you for your advices!

[markystar]

everything is a bit more expensive over here. and unlike in the US, there's no haggling.

i buy my gear here:

http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/

[Psy]

Really? A westerner I knew in Japan (excellent Japanese speaker) told me he had haggled successfully on the price a DVD player he bought in Akihabara. It might not be easy but I can't imagine it's impossible so long as you have a certain command of the language.

Still, by-and-by things are more expensive (especially clothing-- yikes), so don't expect to find any deals.

[markystar]

ohhhh, akihabara is different. i'm by no means an expert on the topic, but i think you can only do that at the very small computer parts/home electronics shops. if you go to a chain, the prices should be fixed.

are there music shops in akiba?

[markystar]

i just answered my own question. lol.

ikebe has a shop in akihabara
http://www.ikebe-gakki.com/realshop/rev ... /index.php

but this is a pretty famous chain too.

i just asked my friend masanori who produces for avex, he told me he's never heard of haggling at a music shop. he said if you buy directly from an individual it might be possible but he never tried.

i guess it wouldn't hurt to try, the worst that can happen is they'll say no.

[JonB]

you can haggle just about anywhere - but helps if you are a local I suspect, I know my wife haggles on just about everything. If nothing else I am sure she would get a free case thrown in...

I've never bought a musical instrument but if you go to ochanomizu there are loads of guitar shops and I would be very surprised if you can not pick up a bargain there. I would imagine that you could also find second hand traded in instruments in some of the places

[markystar]

you can haggle just about anywhere

really? i'd like to know more about this. because of psy's post, i asked more people about it and the resounding answer was no. this is a bit of a shocker for me. (but as i said before, i'm not experienced in this area.) what kind of places does your wife haggle?

[Jason]

If you choose to bring it with you, you might consider investing in a high quality metal flight case like these:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigati ... t+case&st=

It might be expensive, but you might also could ship it to yourself.

This is actually an issue I might be facing myself in the near future. I really don't want to have to sell and rebuy my guitars or something.

[JonB]

you can haggle just about anywhere

really? i'd like to know more about this. because of psy's post, i asked more people about it and the resounding answer was no. this is a bit of a shocker for me. (but as i said before, i'm not experienced in this area.) what kind of places does your wife haggle?

We're building a house at the moment - haggles on everything. When buying elctrical items she always haggles - sometimes the price comes down, sometimes extra points and sometimes a freebie like a camera case.

Also haggled in furniture shops, car show rooms, bicycle shop, travel agents - the list goes on. She does not always get anywhere but never takes things at face value.

She does not haggle per se I suppose but always asks "is that your best price". And I know J housewives that go much further than her...

If you don't ask, you don't get

[markystar]

wow. it's the first time i've heard about it. great!!

[Shaydwyrm]

I've never bought a musical instrument but if you go to ochanomizu there are loads of guitar shops and I would be very surprised if you can not pick up a bargain there. I would imagine that you could also find second hand traded in instruments in some of the places

There are a number of shops in ochanomizu devoted entirely to used instruments - if you walk into a store and it's all new, just ask a clerk about used (中古　ちゅうこ） stuff and they'll likely point you to their other store that sells used across the street.

From my shopping experience, the prices did tend to be substantially higher than what I remember from the US. I bought used, and I got a small discount and some free accessories (strap, picks, etc; soft case was already included) using my JLPT level 2.6 skills.

[markystar]

本当に勉強になりました
and now i feel like i've paid to much for everthing.

3 japanese friends told me you can haggle in big electronics shops too, like Bic Camera.

can't wait to try it out!

[cliang78]

So they won't allow you to bring your guitar as a carry-on? I'd like to bring my guitar over as well when I go over and I was under the impression that this was allowable (in the gig bag as opposed to the hard case)

[elau1986]

I would just get one over there !

I'm a guitar player too, and Japanese makes some of the best instruments out there, that you can't get outside the country.

so instead of carrying it all the way, why not just get one when you go there

[aehlke]

My Japanese host brother a few years ago got a cheap guitar made in Korea or China. If you don't need something really nice, you should look into cheap imports in Japan.