One of the best things to help you keep sane while living in Japan is staying in contact with family and friends back home. If you are like Kana and I then that means having a decent computer, a web cam, a digital camera and a highspeed internet connection.

If you are looking to buy a computer or build one yourself there are plenty of options in Osaka. You need look no further than Den Den Town (aka Nipponbashi) , however you can order anything you need online as well and have it delivered to your house the next day.

For parts I buy at Tsukumo (http://shop.tsukumo.co.jp/) which is located down in Nipponbashi a short 5 minute walk from Namba (Nankai/Subway) Station. Back in 2005 I was able to buy everything (case, motherboard, cpu, ram, hardrive etc) to build a fairly smokin AMD Athlon 64 3500MHZ for about $1700.00 CDN, but I could have easily built one for $1000.00, I just wanted a real fast PC. I generaly found that price savings when compared to buying in Canada were to be found in the high end items. Prices on mid-range items were quite similar. Used item prices are substantially less than comparable items in Canada.

For used computers I went to Sofmap (http://www.sofmap.com/), they were more expensive than Tsukumo for parts, but had way more used computers and laptops. In 2005 I picked up a Dell P4 2.2ghz Desktop for about $350.00 CDN which was a pretty sweet deal. They also had tons of laptops if that is your thing. Sofmap is located just down the street from Tsukumo.

There are tons of computer shops all over Nipponbashi, but those are two of the big names that I have personally shopped at. For more information you can visit the Den Den Town website (in Japanese Only) .

There's a Two Top (http://www.twotop.co.jp/) Computer Store close to Kana's folks place so if I need an extra hard drive, DVD-Burner or web cam it is very convenient to check there first. Two Top carries a little bit of everything so they may not have what you are looking for but it is a good place to start.

For more general technology items (DVD players, TVs, Cameras etc) and computer peripherals (printers, keyboards, mice) you will do well to check  Yamada Denki aka Techland (http://www.yamada-denki.jp/). It would be comparable to Futureshop in Canada and Best Buy in the United States. Prices are pretty good and the selection is not bad either.

日本滞在中、母国に住む家族や友人と常に連絡の取れる状態にあることは安心につながります。

海外にいる家族や友人とのコミュニケーションに今やコンピューター（インターネット）の存在は欠かせません。コンピューターもしくはパーツを購入する場合、大阪には色々なお店がありますが、中でも日本橋のでんでんタウンははずせないでしょう。

パーツを探す場合、南海/地下鉄御堂筋線なんば駅から徒歩5分の日本橋にあるツクモ(http://shop.tsukumo.co.jp/)がお勧めです。AMD Athlon 64 3500MHZのコンピュータータワーを作ったのですが、ケース、マザーボード、CPU、RAM、ハードドライブなど必要部品を1,700カナダドルで購入することができました。僕はとにかく“速い”コンピューターを作りたかったのでこれだけ費やしましたが、一般のコンピューターなだ1,000カナダドルほどあれば十分だと思います。

中古コンピューターを探す場合、ソフマップ(http://www.sofmap.com/),にも足を運びました。パーツに関して言うと、ツクモに比べ商品の値段は少し上がりますが、中古コンピューター、中古ノートパソコンの在庫が豊富です。非常にコンディションの良いDell P4 22ghz を350カナダドルで購入することができました。ソフマップはツクモから歩いてすぐの所にあります。

日本橋にはこの他にもコンピューターと周辺器具を扱うお店がたくさんありますが、この2件が僕が個人的によく足を運んだお店です。

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