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Comment by aikinai | Hacker News Reader

They’re certainly not tourist traps; they’re a staple for people living in central Tokyo.

Many years ago I lived in Shibuya and Donki was the only place I could get a lot of basic supplies, including even groceries, at a reasonable price. Now I live somewhere else in central Tokyo and don’t go nearly as often thanks to Amazon, but it’s still the only place to buy a lot of items.

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I went to the Akihabara location while in Tokyo, mostly to see the gamers. Went up 6 escalators and was not disappointed by the intensity of local gaming going on up there. There were dudes who’d brought their own electric fans and towels to keep them comfortable while they DDR’d the night away.

Perhaps not many years ago, but they are certainly full of tourists now. Check out the Shibuya or Roppongi Donki on any given day, and the number of tourists is far greater than that of locals -- same with Daiso, recently.

Also my comment doesn't preclude Donki having some daily necessities. As for calling it a "staple" for central Tokyo, that's a bit of a stretch. If you said outside of the 23 wards, then I would agree.

You're taking the two places that have the most tourists and lowest residential concentration in Tokyo. Obviously it's going to be mostly tourists in the shop.

Go see a Donki in a residential neighborhood and it'll be full of locals. I live in Shirokane, an upscale highly residential neighborhood off of Meguro station, and even if it's reputed as one of the richest place in Tokyo there is a Donki and it's packed with local families shopping.

Ditto Nakameguro, a tony neighborhood with both lots of tourists and a dense residential population. The local store is, by casual observation, mostly people from the neighborhood buying shampoo, coffee, liquor, and sundries.

So similar to many parts of Manhattan?

Fair enough. I also live in a upscale residential area of Minato (Azabu Juban). I'm actually considering a move to Shirokane, as Juban is getting a bit too crowded.

I admit I am biased in that my nearest Donki is the Roppongi location.

There are Donki in totally residential parts of Tokyo that get almost no tourist activity.

You’re overgeneralizing from limited experience. Not everything in Japan is like Shibuya or Roppongi.

When I said central Tokyo, I should have been more clear. I was referring to Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Minato ku.

I'm well aware of the diversity (or sometimes lackthereof) of Japanese cities/neighborhoods. I've been living here for 10 years.

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