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Jim posts:
I am at the Tokyo Apple Store right now. Here some photos. The first is the exit, A13, you take from the Ginza subway line.
This next one is the store at the Ginza A13 exit, right across the street from the exit. A little hard to see, but the store is just above the man in the photo.
Here is the entrance to the store; it's a very rainy day. The opening day was very rainy also, but over 5,000 people visited, I heard.
Here's me taking a picture of the 20" iMac; that's me in the photo on the iMac screen that is hooked up to an iSight camera.
This is the 1st floor area. Mr. Tanihara, an Apple employee, was extremely helpful to me, answering many questions. He doesn't speak English. A real gentleman and great salesman. I learned that I can get an English keyboard by using build to order on Apple's Japanese site, and that my educational discount is also available to me here in Japan. He also demoed Expose for me; I was impressed.
On the 4th floor, there's an Internet cafe area; the only seating here is the little round black ball cushions you see on the floor. Japan cannot supply too much seating I guess because of the crowds. Another salesman (Japanese only) was very helpful in answering my questions about a remote control/earphone system for my daughter's iPod. I was able to also teach him an English phrase to help customers who don't speak Japanese.
I think this store will do a great business. They say this is the largest Apple store in the world now, and it seems to me that Japan is really poised to take off with Macs more than ever. Japanese people will abandon something quickly if they perceive another product to be better; I am thinking that many more Windows users here will be switching.
I am sitting now in a theater area on the third floor, and they are showing movies about Panther, etc. Short, free workshops. It was the only place I could sit to get this email to you.
This is about 30 minutes by subway from my office, so I will be back. The Marunouchi, Yurakucho, Hibiya, and Ginza subway lines all stop at Ginza, the Apple store location. The nearest exit is on the Ginza line. I used the Marunouchi today from Ikebukuro, but the Yurakucho line goes all the way to my station. Okay, battery is almost out on ole blue here.
Jim
And a big thank you to Jim for this great report and shots.
A few more notes on the Tokyo Apple Store:
The five-floor Apple Store Ginza is Apple’s first retail store outside the U.S.
“Over the last two years, Apple has redefined computer retailing for Mac and PC users in the U.S and now we are bringing the best personal computer buying experience to one of the greatest shopping destinations in the world—the Ginza in Tokyo,� said Ron Johnson, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail.
Some features of the Apple Store Ginza include:
• five floors where customers can shop for and learn about the latest Apple products and solutions, including dedicated “solution centers� for music, movies and photography;
• a twenty-seven foot long Genius Bar, one of the most popular sections of the Apple retail stores, where visitors can ask a Mac “Genius� questions or receive product service;
• an 84-seat state-of- the-art-theater, where customers can attend workshops, watch demonstrations of Apple’s latest products or attend “Made on a Mac� events;
• more than 400 customer events every month including a Studio Series of hands-on training classes:*
• an Internet cafe where anyone can check email or use Apple’s iChat AV and iSight digital video conference cameras to video conference with friends and family;
• Mac specialists who speak 10 different languages including Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Korean, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and English;
• a software selection with hundreds of titles for the Mac; and
• a Kids section devoted to educational software and games for the store’s youngest visitors
A complete schedule of Ginza store classes and events is available at http://www.apple.com/retail/jp/ginza
***
Charles W. Moore
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