As we all know, Japan was hit with a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake last week, followed by a tsunami. Well over a 100 aftershocks continued to be felt in the days that followed. The world is pitching in to assist in the relief efforts, and the power companies in Japan have decided to take measures to conserve power. That’s why the servers that govern Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XI and PlayOnline have been temporarily suspended.

The Nintendo 3DS launched in Japan a couple days ago. Nintendo’s glasses-free 3D handheld will prove in the long run whether its 3D feature is a revolution, or a gimmick. One thing that’s a sure fact is that people can’t wait to see the 3DS in person. The rare sighting of glasses-free 3D alone is enough to encourage a large number of people to buy the 3DS on day one.

When gamers think of electronics and video game shopping in Japan, most people name Tokyo’s Akihabara as its epitome. However, not many may know that Osaka, Japan, has an Akihabara equivalent named Den-Den Town.

Much like Akihabara, Den-Den Town is chock full of otaku goodness. Just a few years ago, one could actually count the number of video game and figure specialty shops on one hand but now it seems to have experienced a growth explosion.

Den-Den Town (Nipponbashi) is short for Denki no Machi (which means Electric Town in Japanese) and as a place that was once famous for its variety of…

At a press conference earlier today (September 2, 2008) in Tokyo, Nintendo unveiled its new hand held console, the DSi. The newer version of the DS will no longer have the Game Boy Advance slot (how will I ever get to play Tetris again!?) and will feature a bevy of new upgrades.

The handheld will be a bit smaller, have a larger screen and the rumors you heard earlier, have been confirmed as the DSi will have a built in .3 (640×480) megapixel camera and…

If you’re a gamer heading to Japan, chances are you’ll stop by Akihabara. Akihabara is a part of Tokyo offically known as Chiyoda-ku that is famous for being a hot shopping area and mecca for electronics, gadgets, anime and video game fans.

Akihabara, also referred to as Akihabara Electric Town or Akiba, is a commercial district with electronics retailers, as well as manga and anime stores, book stores and video game shops. The best part is new and used items can be found there. The main street features stores selling the newest products. If you venture down the side-streets, you’ll find stores selling used items.

So in case any Important Importables readers are heading to Japan, or dreaming about heading to Japan, here are a few key locations you will definitely want to visit…