Yamada Denki in Uruma

Japan's premier electronics, appliance and media stores

Michael Flemming Sep 01, 2013 - 2 min read

<p>Yamada Denki's Uruma City store at the intersection of Routes 33 and 85 is and looks like a big box store</p>

<p>Yamada's cavernous stores can be intimidating at first, even at locations where it doesn't have multiple stories of retail space</p>

<p>Japanese prefer domestic grown rice cooked in premium domestic made rice cookers, like these models that top out at 100,000 yen ($1,010 U.S).</p>

<p>Many of the Japanese bread makers offered at Yamada, like these Zojirushi models, not only cook bread but can also transform day old rice into tasty baked treats as well</p>

<p>Yamada sells add on bidet seat covers for toilets, and also entices customers with these top of the line high efficiency toilets with bidet seat and remote control for about 168,000 yen ($1,700 U.S.)</p>

<p>Be advised that this is not a tiny urinal but rather a tiny sink. Travelers to Japan will see a lot of these here and there during their travels</p>

<p>Like every other section of Yamada, even the massage chair area has a salesperson to answer customer questions</p>

<p>There are several racks for memory cards; this one only features SD "High Capacity" cards in standard, mini, and micro sizes - SDXC memory cards and other standards are equally well covered on Yamada's shelves</p>

<p>Question: Does Yamada carry a full line of Apple computers, tables, media players and phones? Answer: Yes!</p>

<p>Each line of product is offered in many variations of features, quality and price; using vaccuum cleaners as an example, there are more than forty models of canister vaccuums on sale at Yamada, as well as a dozen uprights</p>

<p>Aisles and aisles of music, movies and video games; be aware that XBOX 360 consoles, games and accessories were cut from Yamada's line up when it revamped its stores to include drug store items and home renovation products</p>

<p>The check out registers are hassle free but the clerk will ask if you want a five year warranty that for most items costs only 5% more than the cost of the item - a rock bottom price that says more about the quality of items sold at Yamada than the price</p>

Okinawa Yamada Denki is a franchise operation of four stores selling electronics, home appliances, home improvement, lifestyle and media products on Okinawa's main island. Like its affiliated parent Yamada Group's stores in mainland Japan, the Okinawa stores are large big box stores offering a deep variety of products for the home in every conceivable color, variety and price.

Okinawa Yamada Denki carries every possible electronic or home device short of car audio. Its aisles include televisions, audio, video, computers, tablets, cameras, massage chairs, kitchen appliances, grooming devices, telephones and cell phones, video games, movies, music, drug store sundries, home remodeling products, satellite receivers, air conditioners, and washers and dryers.

The breadth of products offered is astounding but so is the variety of each line. Whether its a computer, a television, a camera or a vacuum cleaner there are dozens of different models to select from, sometimes more than 50 to choose from. Yamada does have lower priced low end items, but the stores carry versions of products that sometimes are eight to ten times the cost of the introductory models. Unlike Japanese consumer products sold in the United States, Yamada carries the highly differentiated and technically specific features that Japanese have come to demand.

Vacuum cleaners for instance vary in price from 6,900 yen (about $69 U.S.) to more than 100,000 yen (about $1,010 U.S.). While its fun to see interesting products that might not be practical at home let alone fit into a suitcase, like the dozens of rice cookers that mostly cost more than 30,000 yen ($300 U.S.), Yamada certainly is the perfect spot to pick up any gadget, device, or accessory that is needed while vacationing in or visiting Okinawa.

The Okinawa Yamada Denki store in Uruma City is located at the intersection of Routes 33 and 85 next to the Sukiya Restaurant. Yamada is open daily from 10:00 ~ 22:00. Japanese yen and all major credit cards are accepted.

Michael Flemming @michael.flemming

I'm a wanderer in Okinawa turning over every stone I can find. I write, photograph and blog about my favorite finds here in Japan's southernmost prefecture.