Pictures of the Apple Store, Ginza
Comments: 19
Not great weather for the opening of the Apple Store in Ginza — the sky was a sort of brushed metal colour ;-) — but the drizzle abated in the afternoon. Things could have been worse, though, with a typhoon on the way.
Here are some pictures of the store — OK, the outside of the store. I spoke to people at the head of the line just before they were admitted and the average wait was about three and a half hours to get in. Despite my fondness for the brand, I wait that long for no retail experience. Interior shots must belong to those with far more determination and time.
Click on any of the pictures below for a larger version in a new window.
With their now legendary attention to detail, Apple have made sure the experience begins even before you hit street level. Arriving at Ginza Station I found it full of posters for the new iPod campaign.
From a practical point of view, putting the store in Ginza doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense: it’s not the most convenient location by any means. Shinjuku, Shibuya, or even Harajuku would all have been more ‘user friendly’ (though Akihabara would have been a mistake: how do you stand out in the super-saturated electronics capital of the world?).
However, in keeping with a certain undercurrent in recent Apple design that’s not about utility but about making a statement, putting the store in Ginza speaks volumes. Ginza is the most famous shopping district in the country, and one of the most famous in the world. Apple has spent a lot of money to get itself a seat not quite at the head of the table, but pretty damned close.
The store is directly opposite the A13 exit, so it’s one of the first things you see as you come up the stairs. It’s located on a corner and has a minimalist facade dominated by a backlit logo on either side.
The seething crowd parts momentarily, allowing a glimpse inside. I tried to get some pictures of the inside, but really, what’s to see on the ground floor? It’s an Apple store: bright, clean, well-lit, &c., &c. Of more interest are the upper floors, but I was not going to see those today.
And why not? Because of this:
See that huge line of people extending from the front of the store in the lower left of the picture all the way to the right-hand side and out of the frame? That’s not regular Ginza Sunday traffic. That’s the queue … which stretched for three and a half blocks. I spoke to people at the head of the line as they were about to enter the store and their sense of anticipation was very palpable. As I said earlier, the average wait when I arrived just before midday was 3 and a half hours. An hour later it was down to a brisk 3 hours.
If I had a dollar for every pair of white headphones in this queue, by the way, I’d get that little place in the Bahamas I’ve had my eye on.
Around the side of the building there just a fairly small display window. An iMac was set up with an iSight camera. Video displays where people can see themselves are sure-fire traffic stoppers, and this window was no exception. A neat use of limited space. In the shot above a fellow takes a photo with his cell phone.
Apple’s neighbour across the road gets a new tiara. Across the street from the store is a department store featuring a huge ad for deBeers diamonds. This is the sort of company you get to keep when you set yourself up in Ginza. ;-)
This was just so cute. I walked down to the end of the line to see how far it stretched, and found the end clearly marked!
I’ll be visiting the store again some time in the next week when, with any luck, I’ll be able to actually enter it. Should I succeed, I’ll post more pictures but for now, these will have to do from me.
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Posted to Computers • 2003.11.30 (Sun) • 20:07
Comments
Posted by Michael Glaesemann 2003.11.30, 20:34
Sorry to read you didn’t make it in. I arrived just as a neighborhood clock toned 10 this morning (couldn’t bring myself to set the alarm to guarantee an earlier spot in the queue) and waited (only?) about 40 minutes.
There were a lot of North American staff on hand and I had the pleasure to speak with a few of them. They were all very helpful, and elicited feedback (e.g., store setup, stock on hand). I was a little surprised to find that a lot of the machines had Photoshop and Illustrator loaded (as well as Final Cut Pro and I’m sure other software that I’m not in the habit of looking for), but not InDesign. I was hoping to try out InD on one of the new 20in iMacs.
I picked up only a computer bag (and the t-shirt). The 15in Powerbook will have to wait, as I found out they don’t have the North American keyboard available for CTO yet. Will fill the bag when I visit my parents for the holidays.
Posted by Jasmeet 2003.11.30, 20:35
Apple has posted some pics
But yours are pretty damn good too =)
Posted by Jesper 2003.11.30, 21:57
“the sky was a sort of brushed metal colour ;-)”
Your humor is still unpreceded.
Posted by Luke 2003.11.30, 22:23
To me Ginza is the most logical choice for Apple - a nice, fashionable upscale area where they kinda see their products fitting right in.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens 2003.11.30, 23:10
Your photo of the guy using his cellphone to take a photo of himself being caught on the iSight camera is an ad for life in the 21st century. Perfect.
Posted by jon 2003.12.01, 01:26
3 hours in a queue? Were they giving away free stuff? Did they feed and water them?
Posted by Giaguara 2003.12.01, 03:11
hey do the t shirts have the ginza written on them on western or japanese fonts? i want a ginza apple shop t - shirt … i wish i were in tokyo this weekend ^_^
Posted by Mary Beth 2003.12.01, 04:09
Wow — thanks for the shots! We’re used to lines at openings but nothing quite like that. I am waiting to hear from our manager who was there for opening to see what it was like. I bet she was more than busy.
Posted by Richard Wanderman 2003.12.01, 04:58
J.
“thigns”
Nice article and shots, just a typo you might want to fix.
Posted by Chris 2003.12.01, 11:51
I submitted the URL here to MacBytes. Seems appropriate. ;-)
Nice pictures.
Posted by Eddie 2003.12.01, 14:47
I went at 2:45pm. Queued for only 20mins.
Posted by jObZ 2003.12.01, 22:04
A 9Mbyte MPEG4 movie clip showing the Apple Ginza Store’s inside:
http://net.atn.ne.jp/member/ATN029/
Posted by Airwolf72 2003.12.01, 22:11
Hello
I am correctly envious on your AppleStore. In Germany we still must wait.
cu
Posted by Giaguara 2003.12.02, 01:47
.. and I sent the link to macosx.com ginza fans ;-) .. i want one one of those t shirts :)
Posted by jh 2003.12.02, 01:59
At about 1:00pm I heard one of the staff say to another that the t-shirts had run out —- all 3,000 of them gone. I certainly didn’t get one … not even a glimpse.
Posted by frank 2003.12.03, 09:22
wow man this is just so cool i had write a post about it too but in spanish :D a comment sent me here i love the one with the cell phone to the isight very nice weblog, congrats
Posted by Tom M 2003.12.06, 02:24
Thanks for the attitude adjustment. I live in Jackson, Michigan (USA) and the nearest Apple Store is in Livonia (1 hour away). I keep grumbling, “Why don’t they have one in Ann Arbor?” — which is 30 minutes away by freeway.
Posted by Antonio Campa 2004.01.02, 02:41
We don’t have an Apple Store here at Milan, Italy :(
Posted by JD 2004.02.20, 13:15
I don’t know. I live in Tokyo but hardly every go to Ginza. It is kind of like Gucci-ville. It is nice and all but…..
I think Shinjuku would have been the best choice. Shinjuku rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guess I will be heading to Ginza for the first time in a while to score an ipod….
Wonder if I can get a educational discount…….
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