Vinyl Shops in Tokyo, Japan and Japan in General

I moved my October trip to December. I still think the probability is very very low for tourists being let back in by December. I've already had two return flights cancelled/rebooked for the December itinerary. The next plan is move the trip to April.

 

There’s more favorable signs… I understand they moved the 14 day quarantine to 10 days, and are now already moving it to only 3 days for qualified business travelers. Seems like now that the election is done they are moving quickly to reopen the country. Here’s a great article, I get monthly updates from these guys and this one is the most positive yet. They believe there’s a slight chance that Japan could reopen in December or January, with better chance that they’ll be open before April.

When Will Japan Reopen? (November 2021 Update) - Travel Caffeine

 

How do you find anything in Japan in 2021 when everybody is a dealer now raiding stores and people for anything? 1993 or 2003 is long gone. You could bring tons of great titles back from Tokyo.

 

The trick is to be a collector, looking for stuff for yourself. That makes it fun, and I’ll occasionally stumble across something that’s still a bargain

 

You dont.

Akin to how the Japanese gutted US thrift stores for clothing back in the 90's, foreign flippers like Mighty Vinyl have now done the same for records in Tokyo.

It's over.

 

The flippers must live in Tokyo now....the sharps from Japan bought thousands of soul common albums like Cameo in the late 80's-early 90's when they had buyers in the U.S. at that time. Those albums were everywhere-cheap. Big resell in Japan. They had buyers buying Levis big time in the 90's....the guys lived in the thrifts all day long. I guess that fad kinda ended. I wonder what they will buy next when their economy comes back.

 

It seems that the lack of tourism is impacting Disk Union sales as they recently opened to shipping abroad:
https://diskunion.net/portal/ct/news/article/1/101464
I had a few titles I intented to buy thru proxy service and they are now obviously gone

 

Also that WorldShipping cart was not working for me.
It constantly crashed on my machine and I couldn't add more than one title

 

No used titles? Can't you buy new from the hundreds of Japanese dealers instead? If Disk Union did used of their inventory they'd win. How much is one new album shipping from Tokyo?

 

Japan just shut their borders again.

Worried about possible attack by Omicron. (Pictured below)

 

BOWIE 75 IN TOKYO TOO
“ 彼らは来て行きます スピリッツのように ” *
(Karera wa kite ikimasu supirittsu no yō ni)
Japanese Bowie fans can also join in the BOWIE 75 celebrations when a Bowie section at タワーレコード / Tower Records Japan in Tokyo welcomes visitors from the 7th through to the 30th of January 2022.
Place: Tower Records Cafe Shibuya (1-12-14-2F, Jinnan, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)
Opening date: Friday 7th January 2022
Closing date: Sunday 30th January 2022
Picture: David Bowie in New York (February 1973), by Japanese photographer Masayoshi Sukita.
* Today’s lyric quotation is a line from Bowie’s Japanese rendition of Girls. Hopefully, some cat from Japan will tell us how inaccurate that translation is.

 

I'm sitting here like patience on a monument

Could Japan reopen to tourists in time for cherry blossom season?

Japan considering easing nonresident foreigner entry ban in March

 

Good news, provided your reason for visiting is not tourism...

announced by the PM today

Feb. 17th 19:32
TOKYO - Japan will relax COVID-19 border controls in March by raising the daily cap on entrants and cutting the quarantine
period from seven days to three for both Japanese and foreign nationals, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.
Starting next month, Japan will set its limit on new entrants at 5,000 per day, up from the current 3,500.
Within the daily cap, foreign nationals will also be able to enter the country for purposes other than tourism.
Japan to raise COVID entry cap, cut quarantine period from March

 

I still think we are a long way away from quarantine-free leisure travel to Japan.

 

Is going to Japan to Buy Records Tourism??

 

I found a Hard-Off near me where the owner speaks perfect English and has the same tastes in music that I do. He has an entire corner of his little place devoted to reselling vinyl brought in by the locals. I've already manage to buy two that were originally sold at a Korvettes somewhere in the States. I can only imagine what his personal collection must look like.

 

It sounds like this is related to the Book-Off? What exactly is a Hard-Off? (I was considering adding an off-color comment about how I know what the inverse of a hard-off is but decided to forgo the cheap joke)

 

Also looking for advise regarding shopping in Osaka. I've got LOOOOOONG trips planned for October 2022 and then again March 2023 to Tokyo. Want to go from Tokyo to Osaka via Shinkansen and spend a few days pillaging in Osaka. Should I plan to stay in Shinsaibashi area? How long should I set aside for shopping? I'm thinking 4-5 shopping days, but can anyone give any advise or experience?

 

Nipponbashi/DenDen Town has a good concentration of stores. Access from Namba Station. Shinsaibashi area can also be accessed from Namba Station. You can cover all the stores in both areas in one day. Also several good stores around Osaka/Umeda station. Any of these 3 areas are good areas to stay. 4-5 days is more than you need to cover Osaka, but you'll want to spend a day shopping in Kyoto. I'm assuming Kobe has some good stores as well.

 

Now is the best time to get the biggest bang for your dollar . The exchange rate this weekend is sitting on 130yen/dollar. The previous high was sometime in 2008/9 at 124.5 yen/dollar

 

I know, it's killing me. I don't think they are close to letting us in.

 

Good News

Just in time for the summer travel season, Japan aims to reopen to international tourists in June. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the announcement yesterday while visiting London.

 

Check eBay completed for Japanese dealers.....cheap cheap records now!

 

I saw that and was excited until I read the details. They are going to test allowing tour groups to visit predetermined sites. North Korea style travel. Now if Disc Union stores are part of tour...

 

It's part of the same chain/franchise. Whatever comes before the "-off" relates to what the store is specializing in. They're all second-hand. A Book-Off is reselling books, magazines, CDs, etc. A Hard-Off is hardware, electronics, related materials, etc.

This article explains it well.

https://tokyocheapo.com/shopping-2/hard-off-affordable-electronics-instruments-and-recycled-junk/