Traveling to Japan - G-Shock Shopping Guide

tl;dr:  If you’re looking for brand-new G-Shocks, Bic Camera stores are likely your best bet.  If you’re looking for used, rare, or discontinued G-Shocks, visit Hard-Off/Book-Off Plus/Mode-Off/Bingo secondhand stores (a.k.a. Thrift stores or Recycle stores).

I live in the U.S. and recently got back from a trip to Japan (Tokyo and Osaka, w/ short visits to Kyoto and Kobe) in early November.  Along with analog, mechanical pieces, I’m also a pretty avid G-Shock fan.  For a long time now, I have been interested in the MRG Square, MRG-B5000D (the silver one).  I heard about the current potential savings of buying a watch in Japan since the yen is comparatively weaker at this time to the U.S. dollar, and so I had decided that I wanted to get my MRG, while in Japan.  I ended up buying 3 watches while there (all prices are what I paid “out the door” in USD):

• Silver MRG Square MRG-B5000D (New with official Casio International Warranty) - about $2411

• 40th Anniversary DW6640RE-1 (New with official Casio International Warranty) - about $106

• Digital Glitch Casioak GA2100NN (Used) - about $67

I was really happy with the discounts, and I wanted to pass on some shopping advice, particularly for those who have an upcoming trip to Japan and are looking to buy a G-Shock.  And even though I’ll be focusing on G-Shocks, this guide may still benefit you if you’re looking for other watches too.

BRAND-NEW G-SHOCKS

If you’re looking for the latest G-Shock models, I would recommend checking out the following stores:

• Bic Camera

• Yodabashi Camera

• Don Quijote 

All of these stores are big chains in Japan, with several locations throughout the country.  Bic and Yodabashi are similar stores, and don’t let the word “Camera” in their name fool you.  They are general electronics stores in Japan, similar to Best Buy in the U.S., and sell much much more than just cameras.  However, unlike most electronics stores I’ve been to, Bic and Yodabashi both have dedicated watch departments, including mechanical timepieces, both new and used, and digital watches, like G-Shocks.  Don Quijote is more of a general store where you can buy a variety of things such as candy, snacks, souvenirs, toys, luggage, housewares, and yes, watches.

Out of the bunch, my pick is Bic Camera.  They seemed to have the largest range of G-Shocks, and seemed to offer the best prices/discounts.  At Bic, you can expect to get a 10% discount off the retail price as a VAT refund (make sure you have your passport when you purchase).  Also, they offer an additional 5% discount, if you pay via Visa, Mastercard, and several other payment methods.  This may not mean a whole lot for most G-Shocks, given their more affordable pricing, but if you’re looking into their higher-end range, like an MRG, 5% could be an additional $100-200 off.  You could buy another G-Shock with that money ;)

I believe Yodabashi Camera will also offer the standard 10% tax discount, but I’m not sure if they have an additional 5% discount, like Bic.  Don Quijote also offers a 10% tax discount + 5% discount, but you have to use a coupon, which you can get from their website (www.donki.com).  I never used this, and so I’m not entirely sure the additional 5% will work on watches, but I think it would.  However, the reason why I would go with Bic though is that Bic seemed to have a significantly larger selection of models, compared to Don Quijote.  Also, Bic seemed to be a little more competitive with their pricing for some models.  For example, they were selling the GA-2140RX at slightly below retail, while Yodabashi and Don Quijote were selling at retail.

I think I visited 4 different Bic Camera stores in Japan, and if you can only go to one, check out the one located in Yurakucho, Chiyoda City, Tokyo.  This seemed to have the largest watch department (digital, mechanical, used, and new) out of all the Bic stores I visited, which makes sense, because I believe Yurakucho is also their largest store.

USED/DISCONTINUED G-SHOCKS

Hard-Off/Book-Off Plus/Mode-Off/Bingo are a collection of secondhand stores where you can find a plethora of used items from video games, clothes, musical instruments, and watches.  And I believe they are all under the same company, but just have different brand store names.  It was really fun visiting a number of these stores across Japan and seeing what selection of watches and G-Shocks each individual store had.  It was like “treasure hunting” or seeing a museum of G-Shocks, as there would be a lot of older discontinued models for sale, ranging from very used, decent, and good conditions.  At the same time, you could also find used modern models as well, like a GMW-B5000 or DWE-5640RX-7

• Just like other stores I’ve mentioned, even though you’re buying secondhand products, you can still get a 10% VAT discount.

• If you're staying in a major city and relying on public transportation, Hard-Offs are going to be a little more difficult to access. They're doable, but expect to travel a bit outside of the city. Book-Offs tend to be more available in big cities, but be sure to find Book Off Pluses. Regular Book-Offs tend to focus on books, DVDs, and video games, whereas if you go to Book-Off Plus, they're most likely to have a jewelry and watch section too.

• Bingo (I believe under the same parent company of Hard-Off/Book-Off) focuses primarily on secondhand clothing.  I only got to visit one Bingo store, but it had the largest G-Shock collection (and general watch section) by far.  If I could have visited another one, I would have.  Unfortunately, Bingo stores are not as common as Hard-Off/Book-Off Plus.

• I would expect to get a “good” but not “amazing” discount at these stores, unless the watch is not in great condition.  The people who set their pricing seem to generally know the market value of what they’re selling.  So you still can get a good deal, especially if the watch you’re looking at is in good condition (but used), but just keep your expectations in check.

Although in this section, I’ve focused only on Hard-Off, Book-Off Plus, and Bingo, you’ll also find used G-Shocks in some other secondhand clothing stores too.  I  dropped into several of them in Shibuya/Harajuku.  Their selection is likely going to be very small, maybe 0-3 G-Shocks per store, but it might be worth a drop in, just to see what they have.

A NOTE ABOUT G-SHOCK BOUTIQUES & DEPARTMENT STORES

You would think that going to the motherland of G-Shocks, that going to their actual dedicated boutiques might be pretty epic as well.  If you’re a G-Shock fan, then I think it is still cool to visit their boutiques just for the sake of it.  And I admit, there is something cool about saying “I bought a G-Shock from a Japanese G-Shock Boutique.”  However, I don’t think their selection was as large as at Bic or Yodabashi.  They are likely only stocking their most recent models and some of their legacy ones.  Plus, I wouldn’t expect to get any other discount, other than the usual 10% VAT discount.  However, I didn’t buy from them, so your mileage may vary.

And then regarding general department stores in Japan… One time, I inquired about the MRG-B5000D at a department store.  They told me that I would get the 10% VAT discount but that I would also have to pay a small fee after that.  I don’t know exactly what that fee was for, but I would imagine you’re not going to get as large of savings at a department store, compared to all the others I’ve already mentioned.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

I hope this guide was helpful!  I don’t claim to be an expert Japanese G-Shock Buyer by any means, and keep in mind, this was my first trip to Japan.  So please comment on your G-Shock buying experience while traveling in Japan, and if have other insights, advice, or disagreements about anything that I’ve stated, please let me know too.