Richard Haw's Classic Nikon Repair and Review

Hello, everybody! Today, I’m going to introduce to you another camera shop here that I’m a regular of and this is Shinjuku Chuko Camera Ichiba (新宿中古カメラ市場) and the name in English literally means “Shinjuku Used Camera Market”. I go here occasionally since I rarely go to this side of Shinjuku in recent years. If you’re in the area be sure to check the shop out as they have plenty of nice things there and some of the items there are priced reasonably. Some are sold for a higher price but most of the things there are reasonable.

The shop can be hard to find because it’s in a small side-street that’s not much bigger than an alley. The picture is the entrance leading to the shop located at the 2nd floor. You can easily miss this so I am going to include the map for you later just in case you can’t see it.

It is nearby the Shinjuku Central Post Office and you can find an ABC Mart (shoe store) at the corner of the street. They are open most of the year and they close during new year for a few days to give their employees a bit of a break. The shopkeepers there are nice, I seem to have made a good relationship with them. The owner is a bit of an old-fashioned gentleman so he is kind of reserved and he rarely smiles but that doesn’t mean that he is a cunt. That’s just how we are here in Asia. It is something that you should get used to when you visit Hong Kong, Singapore and other parts of the Far-East that have a strong Confucian cultural background. It’s a lot like how many people say that the Germans are cold and humorless but they’re just a bit reserved.

Check this map and you should be able to get there. The nearest stop is Shinjuku Station and the closest exit is the West Exit. In case you can’t find it, you can look for a patrolling officer and show them this address 東京都新宿区西新宿１－１３－２松原ビル2階 and they will be help you get there. Their phone number is ０３－３３４８－０１１８ and please don’t bother to call them if you don’t speak Japanese because they don’t speak any other languages as far as I can tell. I’m only including this number because some of my readers speak Japanese. Maybe for people who don’t speak Japanese, you can just call and speak in simple English just to ask if they are open and until what time. Their website looks like it hasn’t been updated in a while and this is their link http://www.nsi-jp.com/camera.htm.

To make sure that you guys don’t get lost, make sure that you find this sign board standing on the ground. It’s just standing on the ground so it can be easily missed.

It’s very important to mention that the price you see on the shelves are EXCLUSIVE of tax and you should add an additional 8% to the price. If I recall, they will waive the sales tax if you’re a tourist but just be polite and ask first to be safe. Again, never haggle here! Don’t do what some mainland Chinese (also saw an Indian and a European) tourist do because nobody haggles at the shops here.

The shop is pretty small and is just a couple of square meters across but it is packed with a lot of stuff from all manufacturers. There are rare things here sometimes and you will have to be extra alert to find them. The display case at the middle is where they store the expensive stuff. They also have junk boxes at the floor and some used magazines at that stool in the corner of the picture. I usually spend 15 minutes looking through the Nikon or Bronica stuff here and it may take you more time if your selection is wider.

Here is the other side of the shop. If you are a watch collector, they also sell watches and pens. They have nice Rolleiflex cameras here and I also go to the Nikon S and Contax part of the shop first every time I come here. They also sell used accessories like tripods, bags, filters and other small items. I have gotten plenty of nice deals here at the shop like this W-Nikkor 3.5cm f/3.5 lens. Just like what I said, in order to get great deals you will have to invest in some effort and a lot of patience. It also helps to build a good relationship with the shop keepers and that will take you even further. People skills are very important.

Here is a panorama of the shop. I won’t show you pictures of their merchandise this time because this shop has a very strict no-pictures policy because they have many rivals here in this part of Shinjuku. Some shops are OK with pictures but not this one. The owner is not around so I didn’t have the permission to take close-ups. If I saw him and if he agreed with my proposition then maybe we can have pictures of their stuff next time!

I managed to score this junk Nikkor-T 10.5cm f/4 on my last trip and I will show you how to overhaul one in the coming months so just come back to my page again to see it!

That’s it for Shinjuku Chuko Camera Ichiba! Remember to go there when you’re in town! I would highly recommend that you bring cash. They accept credit cards as well but they don’t accept debit cards. Remember, the prices you see at the shelf is exclusive of tax and you will have to add 8% for that. Finally, politely ask for the sales tax to be waived if you are a tourist and don’t forget to bring your passport with you! Good luck, Ric.

Help Support this Blog:

Maintaining this blog requires money to operate. If you think that this site has helped you or you want to show your support by helping with the upkeep of this site, you can simple make a small donation to my paypal.com account (richardHaw888@gmail.com). Money is not my prime motivation for this blog and I believe that I have enough to run this but you can help me make this site (and the companion facebook page) grow.

Helping support this site will ensure that this will be kept going as long as I have the time and energy for this. I would appreciate it if you just leave out your name or details like your country and other information so that the donations will totally be anonymous it is at all possible. This is a labor of love and I intend to keep it that way for as long as I can. Ric.