Friday, June 20, 2008

Some of the best buys I have ever made

1. My region-free DVD player that I bought on the internet for 5000 yen. It is made by some no-name manufacturer that I have never heard of and it is mainly flimsy plastic, but it has seen me through over four years of almost constant use. Buying this really expanded my options DVD-wise and has allowed me to see a lot of shows not available on DVD in Japan. Thank you, cheapo DVD player!!

2. Diner Dash 2, a computer game I bought at WalMart in the US for $10. This has provided hours of mindless (and I mean really mindless) but great fun. I love this game!!

3. My clothes dryer. I bought this used for 10,000 yen four and a half years ago, and it has been well worth it. It is getting old and could give up the ghost at any time, but it has made my life so much easier, especially in the rainy season! Of course electric clothes dryers aren't exactly environmentally friendly...but my sanity was worth it, especially when I lived in Urayasu in a little tiny shoebox with no room to hang clothes. Thank you, clothes dryer! I look forward to more years together.

4. Our dishwasher. It takes up a lot of counter space and it wasn't cheap, but it has more than paid for itself in reducing the number of arguments R and I have about the dishes!! Unfortunately it is not as high-powered as I would like and sometimes we have to wash a few cups twice, but it has made things much more peaceful between us when it comes to chores. Worth its weight in gold!

2 comments:

Gina said...

I think you have totally scored some seriously good deals!!! : )

I think dryers are worth their weight in gold!!! Especially for those of us in Japan! : ) I have a dryer as well, don't think I could ever be without it. : )

As for the region free DVD player. I agree 100%! : ) Our DVD player for our house, is a cheap no name brand one too. My husband bought it online after we moved to Japan. I think he paid about the same as you. It's a good buy because we can watch the DVD's from America that I bring back with me. Or we can rent DVD's from Tsutaya or buy Japanese DVD's, so like you said, it's so useful. Like a 100 times over, it's useful. I don't care/mind a bit, if it's a name brand one or a brand X. As long as it's region free, I'm okay with it. : ) Also, yk, those mini DVD players, people use in airplanes and stuff? My mom bought me a brand name one for Branden. So, I guess she bought it for him then. LOL. But for the trips on the airplanes and stuff, she bought it for B when he was about a year old. Of course he was too little to use it but I used it until he got older. But the name brand one broke after about 2 years of use. It was not region free, only a US model. By that time, the mini DVD player was a must for our family. So we went to Akihabara, and Noboru found us a mini DVD player that was a region free and as usual he bargained with the woman forever. And he got it to 9,000 yen/$90 US. Best deal ever and we've had it for about 4 years, I think! And funny, (why I am even mentioning this to ya) for being a no name brand one...this one has "out played" and lasted twice as long as our old name brand one! And it's still going strong! So, yeah, I guess what I mean to say, is I don't mind "no name" stuff at all with regards to electronic stuff. : ) So, a total...hear, hear, from me!!!! : )

And I hear you on the dishwasher thing too! : )

Loved this post so much! You really do find some mighty fine deals Deenster! : )

deenster said...

Gina, I have really been considering buying a portable DVD player for plane trips, but wasn't sure if I could find a region-free one, so I'm glad to hear that they're available! I still haven't quite figured out (or even taken the time to investigate) why region-free DVD players aren't available at Bic Camera and Yodobashi...do you know why? R says it is because it is illegal to sell them in Japan, but I don't believe that because they *are sold* but just not in the really major stores...gotta remind myself to check on this to satisfy my curiosity. :-)

 
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