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Where to buy mac japanese keyboard in the US?

I

ieko

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 27, 2006
78
0
I'm looking for a mac japanese keyboard for my grandparents and I'd like to find a way to buy it here in the US. If anyone knows a place in the LA area or online (sites in english) I'd really appreciate it.

The model I'm looking for is MB110J/A
 
Thanks for the link, how did you get amazon.jp to switch to english?
 
White Rabbit Press

ieko said:
I'm looking for a mac japanese keyboard for my grandparents and I'd like to find a way to buy it here in the US. If anyone knows a place in the LA area or online (sites in english) I'd really appreciate it.

The model I'm looking for is MB110J/A
Click to expand...

Contact White Rabbit Press (goggle it). They sell Japanese language training products and will special order for you. I checked the price and they could get the Apple keyboard for about $20 bucks more than the U.S. cost (plus shipping).
They are nice folks to deal with.

Joe
 
Thanks, that will probably be a lot easier than trying to make an account at amazon.jp :p
 
ieko said:
Thanks, that will probably be a lot easier than trying to make an account at amazon.jp :p
Click to expand...

Can't you just special order one at your local Apple Store?

The Apple Stores here in Japan actually stock both US and Japanese keyboards (of course) but can order any language you like.

That would be the easiest and the cheapest, no?
 
I never tried that, I only ever looked in the online Apple Store. I suppose I could inquire about it next time I'm at one.
 
I saw this on the Apple Japan web site :

http://www.apple.com/jp/store/english/

We're ready to take your calls - in English

Require more information on our complete range of products and services? Ready to make a purchase? Please call the dedicated sales line 0120-99-4477 toll free to contact a specialist English speaking advisor now.

Lines are open Weekdays 9:00 to 21:00, Saturday,Sunday and Holidays 9:00 to 18:00. We look forward to taking your calls.

Note: The Apple Japan web site is only available in Japanese.
 
rtheb said:
I saw this on the Apple Japan web site :

http://www.apple.com/jp/store/english/

We're ready to take your calls - in English

Require more information on our complete range of products and services? Ready to make a purchase? Please call the dedicated sales line 0120-99-4477 toll free to contact a specialist English speaking advisor now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there is English order and tech support from the Japan Apple Store but I'm almost positive they don't accept international orders. That is for "gaijin" living in Japan. ;)

Not to mention, 0120 is the Japanese equivalent of a 1-800 number in the states. I don't think it is accessible from outside the country. :(
 
Duff-Man says...I went through a similar thing when I wanted to get a russian/cyrillic Mac keyboard. I called Apple, checked with several resellers, checked eBay etc etc and had no luck at all. I ended up just buying one in a shop while in Moscow a few months later. With people moving and living to/from all sorts of countries they really should make alternate language keyboard available for purchase....oh yeah!
 
SaSaSushi is right they will not export any keyboards (willingly) I still have yet to find some way around it. Trust me I have tried, including the 90min drive to the closest Apple store. I keep looking around and have for the past 2 years but I still haven't given up hope.

I really wish Apple would sell all of their products world wide.
 
I was looking into the situation at Amazon Japan a little further and I see that just like Amazon USA they will apparently not ship electronics internationally:

Health & Beauty, Sports & Outdoor, Toys & Hobbies, software, games, game consoles, Electronics, Home & Kitchen items and adult products can be shipped only to locations within Japan. Books, CDs, DVDs, and videos can be shipped to international addresses.

I'm showing the current price as 6400 yen ($71.23 at current exchange) at the Japan Apple store online. That's partly a weak dollar but still a rip considering the US version is $49 at the US online store. Then you have to add the shipping costs on top.

You should definitely take the offer of the very kind serviceman stationed here in Japan. I guarantee the USPS shipping costs from the Naval Base will be considerably cheaper than the Japan Postal Service. :eek:

What a kind offer. This place has the nicest people...
 
Duff-Man said:
Duff-Man says...I went through a similar thing when I wanted to get a russian/cyrillic Mac keyboard. I called Apple, checked with several resellers, checked eBay etc etc and had no luck at all. I ended up just buying one in a shop while in Moscow a few months later. With people moving and living to/from all sorts of countries they really should make alternate language keyboard available for purchase....oh yeah!
Click to expand...

Why not just buy keyboard stickers? This is what I did and they work great, for less than 10 bucks all in all including shipping.
 
Wait just a second!!!!

Why would you buy a Japanese keyboard at all? 99% of Japanese use the Romaji input system nowadays. There is no difference from the Japanese keyboard at all except that there are no dedicated かな　and 英数　keys for changing to Japanese and English. The Japanese written on the keyboard is for the old input system which nobody uses. I do not know one person who uses it at all.

Some of the symbols keys are in different locations, but that is it. For instance, the quotation marks are over the number 2 key on a Japanese keyboard. All you have to do is go into the language settings and set up command + space to toggle from hiragana to english. That is only the case for Leopard, which uses command + space by default for something else. I have a Japanese computer, and my wife has a Korean one. They are both set up for Japanese input and work great. On the Korean one, it can toggle between english, Japanese, and korean.

Unless you really want one, I think it would be best just to get a regular keyboard over there. It will be about half price. That said, I do love my Japanese keyboard :)
 
mroseneo said:
Wait just a second!!!!

Why would you buy a Japanese keyboard at all? 99% of Japanese use the Romaji input system nowadays. There is no difference from the Japanese keyboard at all except that there are no dedicated かな　and 英数　keys for changing to Japanese and English. The Japanese written on the keyboard is for the old input system which nobody uses. I do not know one person who uses it at all.
Click to expand...

Well, I personally ordered my iMac (and all Macs I've owned over here) with a US English keyboard even though I spend a lot of time working in Japanese. In fact, the kana input method you mention above is, as you mentioned, becoming less popular among the Japanese themselves recently. Most folks I know use romaji input with their Japanese keyboards.

Unless you really want one, I think it would be best just to get a regular keyboard over there. It will be about half price. That said, I do love my Japanese keyboard :)
Click to expand...

I hate when I have to deal with Japanese keyboards. It often becomes a major hassle to enter simple punctuation and I find myself wasting time searching for the proper keystrokes.

I assumed that since the OP was buying the keyboard for his grandparents that they might be of the generation that used Japanese wa-puro with kana entry and it might be what they're accustomed to.
 
I know this is an old thread - these days, you can actually order laptops and iMacs from the US Apple store with Japanese keyboards.

Just in case some people are wondering, even though it's true that one can type romaji in Japanese on any keyboard (this is the fastest form of entry for touch typists), there are convenient かな and 英数 keys on the bottom for automatically switching to and from Japanese and English modes: very nice!

Even better, if you are a programmer like me, there is a control key where the (useless) caps-lock key is, on the left-hand side for your pinky. If you are an avid user of emacs or vim, having the control key in that position can actually save you from getting carpal-tunnel!

For these reasons and for touch typing efficiency (some punctuation marks are in different places compared to the US keyboard), all my Apple laptops and desktops use Japanese-version keyboards. I intend to keep it the same for future purchases.
 
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