Vinyl Shops in Tokyo, Japan and Japan in General

Hard Off Hachioji...but that place is quite a distance to walk as i got the direction from this dude from Youtube to direct there as you will pass by a something like a dry stream or something like that but i will say it's quite difficult to look for the place as i have asked the locals is there any bus there and they told me dun have but they are kind to tell me to turn here there you see. It took me like almost 45 mins to search the place.

I wun say large 7 inch inventory but i manage to buy something from there also i am too lazy to go through flipping the stuff as i went there to grab those cheap PS3 Games.

 

I think that should read EAST exit. I had to make a large circle around the station to find it after exiting on west. Definitely worth finding though!

 

Got 21 albums, mostly with OBI's, and 17 singles for just under $200 US. That included a Japanese white label promo copy of Genesis "seconds out", one of my all-time favorite albums. Lots of PIL, CSNY, Queen, Kiss, etc.

I'd love to post photos if somebody would tell me how

 

Heading to DU Ochinomizu now

 

Heading to DU Ochinomizu now

 

Heading to DU Ochanomizu right mow

 

Apparently going in triplicate.

Sorry!

 

That should read Hijiribashi exit.

 

Wow, quite a day. Just got back from the Ochanamizu DU with another backpack full of records. $185 US, or ¥22,000, got me 12 albums with obis and (41) 7" singles.

What amazes me most is the inconsistency and pricing, which I take full advantage of. They had tons of classic rock Japanese 7 inch picture sleeves priced between ¥1500-¥7500. Almost all of those I ignored, although I did pick up two or three fairly rare items that were priced at around ¥2000. But most of the stuff I picked up was between ¥250-¥500 and included things like Led Zeppelin Black dog picture sleeve on Atlantic for ¥500 and a couple of great early deep purple picture sleeves for about ¥300.

 

Also found some great Japanese promo 7" and LP's of 80's new wave and alternate stuff for pennies. Paid $1 for one valued around $50

 

After a morning spent at the Ghibli Museum, it's on to the Kichijoji DU next....

 

My three trip to tokyo this year during june, august and recent one which i just came back last week...few times there that i tried to book tickets even few years ago to the Ghibli museum but to no avail and tickets were all snatch up trying to book through the Lawson minimart. Just no luck and wife said could be all those mainland china people snap up all timing and tickets to Ghibli museum hence tickets were all sold out this time and heard that this is something like their 30th anniversary.

I hope you have a great time there at Ghibli museum.

Wheras at the Ohzanomizu DU there i couldn't find anything that i am looking for...my wife only bought a japanese singer Lp in dbl Lp at 100 yen with obi. Even at the metal section there i didn't even buy anything from there cause normally i would end up with many cd's and Lp's while my wife would scout her and mine Lp's over at the rock side section of DU. I use to get throw out metal cd's at 3 for 500 yen with cd obi in japanese pressing and slightly better good titles at 3 for 1000 yen but this recent trip i end up buying less then 25 cd's back. during those good times when DU start to throw out cd's i could end up with like 100 to 120 cd's. Some are titles that i have forgotten which i already have it and bought again. But for this trip it seems like nothing much at all...not wanting to buy back the same title again.

 

I bought a huge stack of 7 inch singles again, eight or nine albums with OBI's, and about 25 used concert programs. All of the programs were between ¥100-¥300 and were mostly great bands, including things like Roger Waters, Queensryche, Rolling Stones, Whitesnake, deep purple, and Public image Limited. Many were made exclusively for the Japanese tours.

At the counter, the girl asked me if I wanted "??????", I couldn't understand what it was, but she waved a form at me so I said yes. She handed it to me with a pen, and I saw that it had a space for me to put in my address. I thought maybe it was something for return of the sales tax, so I filled out my home address and handed it back. She looked flustered, then said "oh no, no overseas". I eventually figured out what this was was a delivery form. so rather than trying to log all this crap back to the hotel, I'll just wait and have them deliver it later.

Is there a way to get the sales tax refund it on all of the stuff that I've purchased? I've spent close to $3000 US so far.

 

How many Lp's did you bought which entitles you to a free delivery??? Sounds funny and since when do they have service for free delivery...

...Tax refund...i doubt so broo, you are buying second hand products Lp's Cd's but still maybe there is but i seriously doubt so maybe somebody can enlighten this question abit.

 

Anyone ever tried to successefully trade cd's/records/whatever @ Disk Union?
Would it work it work for gaijins with zero knowledge of the local lingo?

 

I sold them about 175 USA DJ promo 7" singles. Most were **** I couldn't get a dollar for at home; DU Shinjuku gave me ¥13,000

Total I spent today was ¥47,196, or $398. Now I'm worried about my delivery, am wondering if I misunderstood? They waved at me after I gave them my hotel info and it was clear they expected me to leave the stuff with them, so what else could that form have meant?

 

Ok, thanks a lot.
I was used to unload all the remainders of the Discogs and eBay sales at the Music Exchange shops in London but I haven't visited in a while so I was thinking of bringing a few things with me next time I'm over there (X-Mas).
Anyone know if they are picky about what they buy or do they just get it all? Do they need any paperwork beside an ID/passport? Would it be feasible for someone with zero knowledge of japanese?

 

I have this copy of Fleetwood Mac something like their 5th or 6th album in Lp. The condition for this record i would rate it at 9.8 out of 10. The edges are non crisp or bend, even throughout the many years the white colors still remain as very white and there are no symptoms of any yellowish or smoke smell and stain or tainted look. I would say this Lp is immaculate or almost like a new copy and at first i thought it could be an Re-issue or something but after examining and looking at the Lp closely i realised this copy is the very first issue. And i got it at less then 500 yen if i remember correctly like 350 yen which i bought it at Ochanomizu DU.

Funny thing is my last trip there to Ochanomizu i saw the same copy exactly the same as mine but this time is selling at 12000 yen if i seen correctly. Anybody been there flipping thru the Fleetwood Mac Lp would know.

 

Yes, you can sell without any knowledge of Japanese language. Yes they will buy almost anything, but they won't give you much for it.

Yes the pricing discrepancies from one store to the next and from one copy of the album to an almost identical copy of the same outlet a different store is amazing. It seems like Japanese albums without obis typically sell for somewhere between ¥300- ¥1000

Does anybody know if it's possible for me to get my sales tax back, I've kept all my receipts?

 

FYI:

SAL Postage for 57 albums, which weighed approximately 18.5 kg grams, was ¥18,850 or approximately $158. That's about $2.75 each for those of you playing along at home.

I just got a message from the front desk here at the hotel, there was a delivery for me from disc union. Hooray!

Heading to Yokohama today to try to find the Recofan. Wish me luck.

 

Thanks again for the intel, man. Much appreciated. Not looking to get much, maybe just a little dent in my first purchase.

In order to qualify for tax exemption I think that the single transaction must be over 10k yen (or was it 11k?) and the store must offer tax free. They usually have signs at the door and I don't think I've ever seen one at DxUx.

 

It's not far from the big JR station, maybe a 10 minute walk, within a big shopping block on 4th floor.
There's a Disk Union in the vicinity but I wasn't really impressed with it when I visited in August '14.
Probably the worst DxUx store along the one in Jimbocho.

 

It seems like you have bought tons of Lp. Could you share what you have. I am kinda curious what and how many Lp you bought there entitles u to free delivery to ur hotel.

 

Wumpah, if you'll tell me how to post images I'll share more details.

 

Yokohama treated me well.

Recofan: 44 CD's, 15 LP's, and a whopping (242) 7" singles. $710 total
Disk Union: 9 LP's, (11) 7" singles. $62

No offers of free delivery; I had to haul it all home in my backpack and the roller suitcase that I had fortuitously brought with me.

That brings my first week to a close.
Total spent on records and postage: $3934
Units bought:
7" picture sleeves = (747)
LP's = (206)
CD's. = (46)
Programs = (79)

Total 1,078 items at average unit cost after postage of $3.65 ea