Gizmo Editor visits Tokyo's Akihabara District

In the fall of 1997 I joined a press tour to Japan sponsored by Sharp Electronics. The group included editors from PC Magazine, several trade magazines and freelance author Simson Garfinkle, who wrote Database Nation, a seminal work book on digital privacy. We toured Sharp's new flat screen factory and were briefed by the company's top executives. But the highlight for many of us was the afternoon spent roaming Tokyo's Akihabara District, the home of large and small shops that sold all matter of electronic gadgets and gizmos. This is my report.