[larabell]

Yeah... but... one of the plus-points of living in Japan was the fact that you could still find those Ma and Pa shops here and there. Akihabara is yet another example -- used to be a great place to find tech stuff but now that Yodobashi opened a mega-store there all you see on the streets are games, french maids, and rundown used stuff. The tiny parts booths are still there, but... for how much longer?

On a different but vaguely similar vein, I lament the shrinking of the selection of tech books in Kinokuniya. But, at the same time, I recognize that I'm part of the problem, having turned to Amazon for almost all my purchases over the last several years.