Finally I got around to buying my first microcontroller. It's a piece of hardware that is part of the Arduino open-source electronics prototyping platform. So basically what that means is that ordinary folks can create their own electronics projects cheaply. I've always wanted to build evil robots but just never got around to it, but now my mad scientists dreams will become a reality. 

I'll be working on making some cool projects like these, but the main goal is to build my own mini synthesizer. 

I was able to buy mine at one of the electronics stores in Akihabara for only ¥3,200 ($32). I got some other accessories pretty cheaply at this great store Akizukidenshi, very cheap and worth checking out.

I'll be posting my progress, so check back soon.

*Thanks to the good folks at Tokyo Hackerspace for introducing me to the Arduino stuff.