Arduino in Japan and Akihabara?
Yubi
Arduino, arguably the most popular micro controller platform, is popular in Japan too. Japan has a wide range of made-in-Japan and made-for-Japan micrcocontroller platforms. They come with accompanying Japanese websites, making it easier for students to learn them fast. So, Arduino was not a popular choice at the start.
Then came a couple of books; アルドゥイーノ入門 (Arduino for Beginners) and アルドゥイーノを始めよう (Let's Start with Arduino). Within a couple of months, the platform became hugely popular in Japan. Even now, one of the shops has these books on display, as a sample copy, together with the Arduinos.
Arduino is more popular among Japanese students, in both universities and vocational schools. Those in the industry are less flexible in their choices and prefer the home made devices. students, on the other hand, are much more free to experiment. Some popular kits that I have seen are alarm devices, remote controlled vehicles, and of course, robots. I personally made a small gadget to turn the TV off when my kid watches it from too close :o).
Price-wise, Arduinos used to be a bit more expensive than their local counterparts. However, the gap is closing rapidly with increased use. Locally made shields and prototype boards are coming in, too, so you can easily cut down on costs. One more thing that I noted was that the parts of an Arduino board are much cheaper than the boards themselves. So, once you have finished prototyping and make a pre-programmed product, it gets much cheaper. I have seen, and made some products at 500 yen, compared to 3000 yen for the prototyping board and other parts.
Arduinos hit a small snag once here, when Arduino Yun was released. The board had built in Wi-Fi, and one of the import restrictions got in its way. But this was not a big deal since Wi-fi shield are easy to buy here and the board was not much popular anyway.
Arduino in Akiba
This map shows the areas where you can by Arduinos in Akihabara. The shops are closely located.
The most popular shop for Arduinos is Akitsuki. It caters mainly for students, but has a really good variety of devices. The next famous is Ishimaru, with three buildings neighbouring each other. This one is more for the professional, and you can shop for everything including packaging boxes, tools, etc. The robot Shop is another good place, particularly for sensor and motor shields. As the name suggests, their main business is robot kits, But the Arduino section is really good.
One good news for Arduino fans is that there is another new shop for them to buy at. They have both Aruinos and Raspberry Pis, and of course all sorts of parts. I am going to check this one in more detail this week. If you are visiting Akiba for buying Arduino stuff, there is one thing that you have to remember. These shops close by around 7:00 pm, much earlier than others do. They also dont open until around 11:00 a.m. So, do time your visits well!