Vinyl Shops in Tokyo, Japan and Japan in General

Disk Union buys in the USA at stores and record shows.......add $ on top of their purchase price. At least the exchange rate is cool.

 

The funniest thing is that they sometimes buy items from me via Discogs that I bought in their stores in Tokyo!

 

Ugh, that stinks. But then again, that's the thing with used shops - some days you struggle to find anything you'd even consider buying, other says you're leaving with a full-on stack of records after having left even more behind because of budgetary reasons.

 

Thanks for reminding me, that is so true. With the expense of getting to Japan it’s easy for me to get into a “down” mood after a few bum stores in a row.

My 1st day in Osaka has lifted my spirits immensely.

It started inauspiciously, when I arrived at the hotel at 2:20 and was told check-in wouldn’t be until 3 PM. I asked if there just weren’t any rooms clean and basically it boiled down to the fact that maybe yes maybe no, but their check in time is 3 PM and that’s that. I had a bit of an attitude, but as soon as they started chickens I got my room. I’m at the Cross Hotel, hate to be on the cross floor which is the 13th floor and has premium rooms and access to a lounge exclusive to those on that floor.

Once I got to the room I was pretty disappointed, it was much smaller and crappier than expected and didn’t feature any of the amenities that had been promised in the online description. Returning to the lobby there was now a line of about 10 or more people waiting to check in so I patiently got in line and when I finally got to the reception desk again I tried to look sad as I apologized and said I just didn’t like the room and it didn’t seem to actually fit the description online. I could tell the clerk wasn’t happy but next thing I knew I was upstairs with one of the Jr assistants and she showed me a different room which was like night and day better! The only downside is that they are single pane windows and even 13th floor, I can actually hear and almost understand conversations down on the street. But, overall it’s incredible other than that.

Newly invigorated I headed to the first store on my list. It’s huge, think half the size of the old Shibuya Recco fan, but extremely organized. Lots of punk, post punk, and new wave stuff as well as all the usual suspects. I spent four hours there and although they were very few extreme bargains, The quantity of NM/NM items with obi at high but not exorbitant prices was good if I dug deep enough, and I found enough great stuff that in negotiating with the owner we came up with a discount that we both could live with that I was very happy with in the end, especially in conjunction with the currency exchange.

this was the first Japanese store I can think of that actually had a decent Alice Cooper section! No, they didn’t have a Japanese Billion Dollar Babies (one of my holy grail‘s) they DID have a Japanese second pressing of Love It To Death which is close to the top of my list. No obi and no insert but still… ultimately it cost around $9 in true VG+/VG+ condition and to be able to add it to my collection even in that condition, at a very reasonable price, was a highlight of the trip.

Also found a Marillion clutching at straws promo in NM/NM condition, no obi but with insert and the Marillion misplaced childhood with obi and insert also NM/NM but not a promo, again at reasonable prices. Picked up a few other cool items and felt like it had been worth the trip to Osaka already.

Looking forward to the next couple of days, then to Kyoto and Kobe as well.

 

What is the name of that store ?

 

Weird name, something like Banh Ram Nu?

Hit hanky-panky and king Kong today, both were busts

 

Overall, Osaka was fun, simply because it was new and exciting having never been here before. The retail vinyl scene is small compared to Tokyo of course, and great deals aren’t any easier to find then they are in Tokyo. I’ll probably come back at some point in the future if I have a few extra days, but two full days is really all it takes to see the shops here.

 

That's what I'm afraid of. I'm only going to have time for maybe a day of record shopping and I worry that it'll be a bust. We'll see. This is a family trip for us so we can see my wife's parents and our friends - that's the reason for of the trip, so can't complain, really - but I am looking forward to a day of roaming the stacks.

Japanese hotels are never that good, in my experience. Ryokans are nice and AirBnB was usually pretty decent, but the average hotel was small, expensive and not very comfortable IME. If you go to Kyoto, PalaceSide hotel is pretty good - nothing fancy, but pleasant and usually cheaper than the alternatives (at least it was 10 year ago). *** HOTEL PALACE SIDE, KYOTO *** Though I suspect you've already got your accommodations booked if you're going there.

 

Sounds like Maru Ka Batsu. I really liked that store on my last Japanese trip 2019. And husband and wife team running it were lovely.

 

Yes!

 

Mighty Vinyl, once again thanks for sharing your new finds and updates. It's hard to be current with the record store scene in Tokyo what with the many stores and inability to understand Japanese as a foreigner. So you are really performing a public service!

It seems like discogs pricing has finally infected the Japanese market. I've heard from people who have been to Japan post-lockdown that prices are significantly higher and nice records are much harder to find; certainly there are far fewer bargains to be had. Is this what you are experiencing?

I had a look at the Judgement! website you linked. Some of the original jazz records are crazily priced, many multiples of what I paid just a few years ago at DU. I am not sure if it's reflective of the overall market or just that the store is expensive.

 

Thank you! I’ll take your last question first: I think it’s a combination of the store being very expensive and also having a very highly curated inventory. But then to the other question: yes, prices are much higher for the most part, but bargains may still be be had for the patient shopper. It’s really hit or miss but for the most part things are far more expensive than they used to be.

 

A few more thoughts about Osaka: as with Tokyo, it’s hit or miss, with some deals to be found if you really search.

My favorite thing was simply that it’s not Tokyo, and the mix of inventory felt different. For example, I found more Japanese classic Alice Cooper (the band, not the solo artist) than I ever have seen in Tokyo

Oddly, I had to keep reminding myself I was in Japan, it felt much more like I was in China (though I’ve never actually visited China). It just didn’t feel like Japan, which I have only experienced through my multiple visits to Tokyo. So perhaps the reality is that Tokyo doesn’t feel like Japan, but Osaka does? It just felt grittier, dirtier, rugged, and far less refined and polite.

 

Yes, correct, Osaka is known to be rough, less refined and polite BUT also more down-to-earth and less concerned with acting 'correct'. Kyoto, on the other hand,...

 

Indeed , all Kansai main cities people ( Kyoto , Kobe , Nara ) are very precious and snobbish and are ashamed to be associated with Osaka ( part of Kansai too ) people , ah ah
Osaka you either love it or hate it ( i actually been there once only but loved it , reminded me of Mediterranean people ) but people there are certainly easier to approach and very open compared with Tokyo

 

Now I'm hearing smart Japanese are buying records from Japan dealers on ebay hard......in person stack-ups of eBay wins. Very smart.....then do a big bulk ship to the USA. So many bargains on eBay from Japanese dealers.

 

Yup. My wife is kansai-jin and she makes sure everyone knows it. Tokyo is definitely more publicly straight-laced.

My very-rough analogy is Tokyo is more like NYC - huge, you'll never get to know the whole place. It is, and very much considers itself to be, the cultural center of the country. Osaka is more like LA - people are more approachable but also more colorful/flamboyant/ gaudy in their fashions, depending on your taste. (Seperate to the analogy, kansai-jin also pride themselves on wheeling and dealing - my wife will haggle with anyone, which sometimes makes my midwestern face blush).

Kyoto always reminded me of Chicago - beautiful architecture, the people there pride themselves on being artistic but they're actually extremely small-c conservative.

 

Nope. Japanese folks are buying stuff on Yahoo Auction Japan cheap-ish then flipping it on eBay for the dollars (it's still like 145 yen to the USD, historically really out of whack). If you can navigate Yahoo Auction Japan or use a service, you can find all kinds of audio stuff there for cheap given the exchange rate. Folks will have the exact same items listed on eBay for like twice the price even with the stronger dollar. I bid on a Technics SL-1200mkIII from a Japanese seller on eBay. Then I looked at YAJ and found the exact same table - literally the same exact turntable, same photos - for much less money. The Japanese eBay guy was planning on buying the YAJ sale then flipping it on eBay for more money.

Trust me. As someone who lived in Japan for six years, they don't do deals. Many Japanese sellers' idea of a "big sale" is 5% off.

Kind of a tangent - has anyone ever run across a Japanese record store that does trade-ins? On the rare occasion that I've sold records there, they would only do straight-up cash, no extra something if you took your funds via credit. I remember trying to explain the idea to a clerk at Disc Union one time and he was not having it. I don't know if the idea of "We'll give you $X in cash or $X+10% in credit" is only a U.S. thing or what, but they definitely didn't do it at any shop there where I sold records.

 

Yahoo Japan has always been big, however; check out eBay completed auctions from Japanese addresses, many $10 or less records. No, Japanese flippers get the no bids because of postage on the more common albums which are gold in stores/conventions in the USA. The Yen to Dollar is stink city. The Japanese dealers who used to come to USA (I have known many since late 80's) to buy records are rarely seen anymore....just the usual suspects with deep pockets. Very true about dealing records in Japan.....credit is like an elephant in a china shop......just "Awwwwww credit, more? Awwwww". In the USA records for credit is always a smiler.

 

Tokyo is a big city. Tokyo has more record stores but I've found the shopping experience better in Osaka. Small dealers (typically owner-operated) would often chat with me but less so in Tokyo. They are instead very aloof and the staff at DU can be downright surly (perhaps understandable being a biggish chain).

 

Heading to Shibuya and probably Shimokitazawa today. If I get to Shimokitazawa, I'll go to Flash Records on the advice of a friend. He said the couple who run it are friendly and he's found good deals there.

For the life of me I'm trying to remember where in Japan it was where I once walked into a shop that sold nothing but 78rpms. I've finally got a turntable that can handle those and wouldn't mind grabbing something as a test record. Having said that, it'd probably break in transport....

 

Slight change of plans - ended up in Shibuya and Harajuku today (daughter wanted to go to the MameShiba Cafe). If you're out in Harajuku, I can suggest Beam Records. It's not large, but the folks are nice and it's a cool place to flip through the half dozen or so crates of mostly jazz/soul/funk.

While the kids and wife went back to zonk out on jet lag, I hit up Disc Unions jazz and rock and Face Records in Shibuya. DU seems to have transformed since I was last here - it used to be they pretty much filled out the one building Udagawacho - I think they had the basement and 3-4 floors in that one building by the police station. Now they just had two floors in that building, and then moved all their rock to a second building literally 100 meters away. I ended up dropping ~9,000 yen on half a dozen records at the jazz shop. I didn't find anything on my list but saw a few things I hadn't thought to put on my list (A King Blue Note Fats Navarro Vol 2., a US OJC of Jackie McLean & Co. w/ Mal Waldron). The member card came in handy - it entitled me to a 10% discount on certain color tags. I knew I was keeping that thing around for a reason.

I like Face Records but their prices always seem a little too high. They had a Japan-only Grant Green/Sonny Clark title I wanted (Oleo) but at 8,000+ yen it was just a bridge way too far.

Tomorrow is Shimokitazawa for sure. Flash Records is literally a 10-minute walk from where we're staying and it's right by the Disc Union there.

 

Flash Discount Records - good old-fashioned place. It's on the second floor of a building near Shimokitazawa's main strip. Prices were fair. The husband who works the counter speaks fluent English. A bit of "jack of all trades, master of none" as for selection - some jazz, some punk, some rap, some country, all used.

I hit up the Face Records rock store in the neighborhood but came away with nothing - still too expensive. And then Disc Union's "general" store down the street - found quite a bit of jazz records ranging from 800 yen to 2000+ yen. Again, didn't find any holy grails but was able to do some general hole filling in the collection. I tried to check out Shinjuku General Store records - I had never heard of it before - but it was closed on Tuesdays. I forgot about that little idiosyncrasy of Japanese retail stores.

In the evening my wife and I parked the kids with some friends and went to dinner on our own. We took the Bonus Track home. If you haven't enountered it, it's basically a rail-to-urban-trail with new retail shops scattered throughout. We saw a little record ship called Pianola along the way and the wife suggested we check it out. The inside was relatively small - maybe half a dozen crates in all - with a piano stuffed in one corner and an old Technics connected to headphones via an amplifier that had a bad ground buzz. Almost all of the vinyl was experimental / avant garde. I flipped through the stacks anyway, not expecting to find anything - a lot of it was stuff I would have dug when I was in college, but didn't recognize now. But this will be my last record shop before we head to spend time with family in a small village in Shiga prefecture, so what the heck.

Then buried in with the rest of the stuff I found an honest to goodness holy grail on my want list:




So that was definitely a nice way to end this phase of the trip.

 

Oh, and the guy threw this cool little map into the bag. Lays out most of the record stores in the Shibuya/ Shimokitazawa area. I spoke Japanese to him and he answered back in fluent English.

 

One thing of note - I was surprised by the sheer number of US-pressed OJCs in Disc Union.