The Best Shop Guide Ever – Yamaha

You know how it is when you visit a deparment store or a huge shop with a wide selection of goods: you go to the information desk where you get a pamphlet or you go check out their wall guides, which contains about a bazilion items. Men shoes, are they seperate, under the heading of shoes or mens wear? Am I currently in building B or in the New building or in Old Building Annex 2? Where do they keep traditional lacquer ware? Under household items on floor 5? Gifts on floor 10 or are the cold Ceremonial Boxes?

Especially in Japan, with it’s mix of Hiragana, Katakan, Kanji and Romaji, it becomes very hard to quickly scan the guides for just the information you are looking for.

Not so with this fabulous Yamaha music department store in Tokyo’s Ginza district. They use a visual guide with actual paper craft dioramas of each department store floor! Complete with sales clerks, utilities and customers! You can see exactly what kind of items goes where and what each floor looks like. If you have an image of where you want to go but can’t remember which floor it was, a quick glance at this 3D guide will help you. If you are just browsing and curious to the various services and spaces they offer, nothing beats this visual guide.

I have studied information technology and communication theory since high school, and let me tell you, I am amazed I have never seen this way of presenting a store guide before. Just excellent! Make sure to check it out if you happen to be passing through Ginza. Actually, the whole Yamaha store is just amazing. Beautiful, well designed, great staff and interesting stuff on sale. The whole first floor is a design/event space where you can try out the latest musical gizmos. Yamaha continues to be the most forward thinking music business in the world.