Japan, as many people may have noticed/heard, is going through the biggest recession for 60 years. And how are retailers coping with all this upheaval? Well, the jury's out as I have not seen one single sale, and have not seen one single thing with a discount price on it. I even went to Akihabara to the huge Softmap store - there were at least 6 assistants on each floor rushing around, and about 10 customers in the whole shop. Whilst looking at an expensive lens an assistant approached me. I told him that if he knocked off 25% of the price I'd take it - he laughed. And so I walked out. Lord knows how these shops stay open but it certainly isn't through sales.
And then this caught my eye - in Ikebukuro - another of Tokyo's huge shopping metropolises. Bugger all bargains it should've been called - there was nothing with more than a 5-10% discount. If they're not going to be reasonable then neither am I, I thought, as I tightened my grip on my wallet and trudged off home.
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