Shibuya
Home to the largest concentration of record shops in Tokyo, at least for dance music - maybe Shinjuku has more but it's mainly rock there which I don't know much about.
Orientation: Tokyo has an unusual address system, roads don't usually have names and number 14 might be next to number 57 in a three-block radius (they are numbered from when they were built). I'll point out landmarks and try and give directions with pictures. Get a train to Shibuya, busy place isn't it. But don't despair, you should be able to find the famous crossing. See that street there, to the left of Starbucks, that's called Centergai. If you wander down here you'll HMV on your right and not so long ago, a hundred yards or so, you'd have seen Recofan. It's a chain store with new and used vinyl and CDs. In January 2006 they had some great old funk and disco. Either they had a new buyer or they got lucky because usually it's not all that much cop for the kind of thing I'm looking for. That said, it's always worth a visit, stuff does turn up here and usually pretty cheap too. However, on last visit in July 2006 it was boarded up, I'm not sure if it's gone for good or they're having a refit. Without this as a landmark take any of the streets on your right after HMV and turn left and you'll be close to ...
Disk Union Club Music diskunion.net/clubt/index.php Telephone: 03 3476 2627 Open: 11:30 - 21:00 Directions:here, opposite a little triangle traffic island with a Police post. Description: Incredible record shop - Techno, House, 'Jazzy Vibes', 'Dance Classics', Hip Hop, Drum n Bass, Electronica, Abstract etc. New and old vinyl, a few CDs. Huge turnover, masses of stock, well priced. I recommend starting any record shopping trip in Shibuya here. Check the accolades on the wall behind the counter. Also stocks a large selection of DJ equipment.
Disk Union Jazz/Rare Groove diskunion.net/jazz Telephone: to come Open: 11:30 - 21:00 Directions:Basement under the Club Music Disk Union shop. I wandered down the stairs once about ten minutes before they officially open and encountered what looked like some sort of daily ritual, all the staff were lined up in a row chanting (actually I made up the chanting bit but I bet they were after I was ushered out). Description: As the shop name suggests, stocks Jazz (often at hefy prices), soul and funk, Latin, 'Rare Groove'. Couple of interior pictures here and here. Soul and Funk - Soul in particular - seems to be quite fashionable in Japan lately, I've noticed quite a rise in prices. There are still bargains to be had though. The last time I was here they had a lot of dead stock at very reasonable prices.
Outside Disk Union turn left and you'll see a corner, Sams is the basement and sells mainly soul and R&B, there's a few more up the lift. Small Paradise on the second floor has a great selection of italo-disco, last time I went it was closed but I'm pretty sure it's not shut for good. There's a few more on the other floors - get in the lift and wander around the floors, I did and on I think the fourth floor I found a very friendly guy that has what's more like a bar than a record shop. He didn't have anything I wanted though.
Dance Music Records www.dmr.co.jp Telephone: 03 3477 1556 Open: 12:00 - 22:00 Directions: Outside Disk Union head over past the Police hut and take the road to the left. Keep walking, it's up on the left. You'll a few other record shops on the way, (Homebass Records, Jazzy Sports Music Shop, Extra Records). Description:Great big shop, new vinyl. Say what you see, all sorts of dance music records funnily enough, mainly new.
4DJs Records www.4djs.net Telephone: 03 3770 4003 Open: 13:00 - 20:00 Directions: Above Dance Music Records Description: Mainly hip hop
Hi-Hat Records www.hi-hat-records.com Telephone: 03 5784 5617 Open: 13:00 - 21:00 Directions: Above Dance Music Records Description: Hip hop, R&B
Apple Crumble Records - can't if I've been in here or not.
Manhattan Records Telephone: 03 3477 7166 Open: 12:00 - 21:00 Directions: From Dance Music Records keep on going up the street, from Tokyu Hands at the bottom of the hill look opposite and you'll see a Lawson convenience store, opposite from there and along a bit you'll see Manhattan Records plus a few more.
Still Diggin' www.stilldiggin.com Telephone: 03 3464 9288 Open: 12:00 - 21:00 Directions: Take the alleyway on the right beyond Manhattan Records and go up two flights of external staircase on the right. Description: What is mainly a hip hop clothing shop also has a selection of rare hip hop vinyl and other paraphanalia like spraypaints and gas masks. Fairly pricey but if you've been looking for something forever there's a good chance you'll find it in here. I bought a copy of Spoonin Rap for ¥3,600 :)
Guinness Records www.guinness-records.com Telephone: 03 3464 7752 Open: 13:00 - 20:30 Directions: Up another flight of stairs from Tribe Records. Description: Mainly new Hip Hop and R&B but also some Jazz and soul.
There's another record shop up those stairs, the first door on the right half way up the first flight. There was a young guy in there who didn't have much of an idea of the value of things, I picked up about 20 records for ¥200 each, three copies of Don't Make Me Wait for instance. Sadly the next time I went back there was a different guy behind the counter and all the prices were more what you might expect. Still worth a look though, they do have some rare records.
Head back to Manhattan Records and take the alleyway in front of it. You'll find the following:
Yellow Pop is a great shop with many a bargain to be had, classic house and techno, disco, hip hop, reggae. They always seem to have many Nugroove for some reason.
The Cisco campus, new records - something for everyone: Cisco House 2. There's a great equipment store next door too. Cisco Reggae Cisco Techno - check out those vinyl junkies loitering outside Cisco House 1 Cisco Hip Hop
Vinyl Planet www.vinyl-planet.com Telephone: 03 3496 6064 Open: 12:00 - 21:00 Directions: Round the corner from the Cisco shops. Description: Quality second-hand vinyl vinyl, sometimes not cheap but always worth a visit. Like their sign says Disco, Funk, Jazz, Hip Hop, R&B, Soul, Bossa Nova.
Next Records www.nextrecordsjapan.com Telephone: 03 3770 5147 Open: 13:00 - 21:00 Directions: A couple of doors along from Vinyl Planet here. Description: Mainly 80s dance, some brilliant stuff but I have never been tempted to pay their stupid prices.
There's another couple of record shops in the little alley opposite the one Vinyl Planet and Next records are in. I've not been in them but you'll see Spice Records and Safari Records
Banana Records Directions: Opposite GAP, close to the Parco department store here. Description: This is a great little shop, you can always find a bargain here although it may not seem so at first. Seems to be more hip hop these days but also house, techno, reggae, jazz, soul, funk, disco.
Record Finder/Wax Trax Directions: I'll be back to edit with directions, near to a Dotour coffee shop but that's not much help because there's loads of them. Description: A friendly guy runs this shop, the sign says Record Finder and Wax Trax but they're actually the same shop. Lots of hip hop, jazz, soul, disco, funk and a smattering of other dance music.
Hi-Fi Records Directions: If you found Wax Trax come out and turn right, head under the railway bridge and on the opposite side of the road is Hi-Fi Records, it's on the main road between Shibuya and Harajuku. Description: Mainly jazz, easy listening, some soul, a little 60s electronic section, rock, lots of 50s/60s 7"s.
Steppers.
The other side of Shibuya, on the way to Dogenzaka up these steps is Steppers, see if you can guess what kind of music they have. Bit tricky to find, I'll see if I can come back and edit properly with more directions. There are a couple more record shops around here too.
And there's loads more!
Shimokitazawa
Shimokitazawa is an interesting little area, lots of little second-hand shops of all kinds of things and a healthy collection of record shops; a day out in itself. One stop from Shibuya on the Keio Inokashira line.
There's a Disk Union, Yellow Pop is here too but one people are probably familiar with online is Jet Set, always worth a visit whatever dance music you're into. Others are Best Sound Records, Rakstone, Saboten Records, Wind, Green Planet (If I rightly this is the one that has lots of Bristol-sound records), Flash Disc Lunch, Spoon, Vinyl Story, Ramblin' Boys, Yoshida Records, Mona Records, Zero, High Line Records, Cab, F'lmore Records, Omrice (Omelette Rice), Moodsville, NL-R Records. Plus a branch of Recofan - you will definitely find a bargain ot two in here but you do have to sift through quite a lot of shite.
Kichijoji
A relaxed town a few stops further on the same line as Shimokitazawa. There's a Disk Union and a Banana Records here and many others too. I'll leave it for others to review. Inokashira Koen is a great park nearby and The Ghibli Studio Museum is up the road too if you're a Miyazaki fan. And there's a zoo if you've got kids in tow.
Sangenjaya
I used to live here, not the greatest selection but I used to be able to pick up the odd gem on the way home from somewhere.
Flapnotes
A fairly mainstream record shop on 246 (a big city highway), between Sangenjaya and Komazawa Daigaku train stations, both of which are on the Den-En-Toshi line from Shibuya. For vinyl it's largely rock and jazz fusion, a really tiny techno section and some soul/funk. I found a promotional copy of Headz 2B were both there for next to nothing.
Kiss Me!!
The guy who runs this shop sits there not saying much indexing, pricing or whatever it is he does behind piles and piles of records. It's a little unit up some stairs next to the north-east exit from Komazawa Daigaku train station on the Den-en-Toshi line, three stops from Shibuya.
There are racks round the edges and batches of records piled four-foot high on top of each other in the middle. The walkway (if you can call it that, it's more like a gap between the records) is littered with more and more, you're forever getting your body into difficult positions and knocking things over, I have left there more than once with an aching body after attempting to see what he's got.
You'll find Hip-Hop, some house, soul-funk reissues as well as a good selection of second-hand originals. Jazz, Rock, soundtracks, a little reggae section. I got all these Japanese issues in here, interesting in their own right: I Wonder If I Take You Home.
I found this website as reference when I went to Tokyo a couple years ago. It is probably not completely up to date for some of the smaller shops, but at least includes descriptions for a lot of the shops.
I only really shopped in Shibuya. I had great luck at Disk Union for digging up some rare 90's techno - technically used, but their used stock was great condition, almost new. They also have lots of new stuff, one floor for dance music, and another for rock/jazz/etc.
Cisco is nice for new techno/house. Similar to other dj shops around the globe, but some nice Japan only releases.
Also stopped at a couple of the Recofan (chain-store) locations. They have new pop, and used stuff across all genre's for very cheap, but not always good stock. I lucked out and got this album for about $2, and a couple other finds.
pbl3, that website is a bit out of date, I tried to find Mr Bongo when I first moved to Japan many times but to no avail. You're right about Disk Union, it is my usual first port of call - they have great selections always, turnover is big and they keep their prices down. For instance, you'll always find at least one original Transmat in there.
Ducon, that book is great for someone living in Japan and ideally speaking Japanese, did I recommend it to you - it's not easy to find unless you know it exists. Even if you could find a copy it's not very accessible to the casual traveller.
I have bought over 1,000 records in Tokyo, I hope I can add some good stories and hidden information, when I first moved there it was not easy to find all the places. I was toying with the idea of putting together a website but this forum will probably be just as good. I will edit the above as soon as I can.
That book is pretty common in record stores in Japan. I had no trouble finding a copy (used, even!) I somebody posting about it about 18 months ago, but I don't think it was you.
Of course some command of Japanese is needed to read the thing... I'm somewhere between 三級 and 二級, so no problem :)
Here's where you were introduced to it. It wasn't common when I lived there, it's great it's more readily available now. There's a link in that thread to Amazon if anyone wants to buy it before they arrive, I should put in the first post too.
great work uzumaki ! m(_ _)m domo arigato!
Do u know of Turtle record (somewhere near Shibuya) ? It was at the 6 or 7th floor hidden in a building (selling second hands rare jazz/funk/disco stuff), I went there 6 years ago...(i'll also dig my old shops buziness cards collected there ..in case they're still open & if u can confirm)
uzumaki, you should definitely put a website together specifically for tokyo diggers. the guide book mentioned can be useful but like you said, it's not easily available to everyone. having a website complete with maps and directions would be ideal for anyone looking to get their feet wet with the Tokyo shops.
you could set it up so that it's similar to superfuture.com, except it would be specifically for record stores in Japan (or around the world if you feel so inclined). each district would have its own map and would be complete with icons representing each record store location. you could also set it up so that record stores have profiles and ratings so people know which stores are the "hot spots". there's already a site called recordstorereview.com but it lacks a few of the things I mentioned.
Koenji and neighbouring Nakano, which has a store which is part of a small chain called Rare records ( stocking lots of Jazz, rock, funk, soul, hiphop etc)
and a nice store, but recently closed down store, named DUBROVNIK which had a good range of shizit from Funk, Electro and Dub to Hiphop and even Chicago/Detriot/New York house....a sad but true fact.
We also have Yokohama/Kunitachi/Tachikawa/Inadatsuzumi (all courtesy of Disk Union) primarily.
I could also recommend a few others which can be found in Shibuyas main record shopping region, Udagawa-cho.
These include:
Face Records - lots of rare Jazz/funk/soul/brazilian etc - a little pricey but with a website currently being made in English:
www.facerecords.com
Manhattan/CISCO/DMR (dance music records) stocking all the latest with a huge selection of Japanese boots not to mention every reissue you could hope to find.....for those who stray from the purist trail.
Yellow Pop and Banana are well worth checking as mentioned.
There are an assortment of record stores to be found in the building above DMR including:
I highly recommend checking out a shop called SHAME RECORDS found in North SHINJUKU ( SHinjuku HIgashi Guchi) well worth it for the true digger looking for some rare breaks to loop up.......they have a wikid selection of oldskool funk/soul and jazz cuts
Any questions then feel free to hit me up.................
Bonjour Records in Daikanyama & Shinjuku, found the link on a french website about Japan, the guy was telling they have a nice selection of nu stuff (Electro Jazz & beyond)
If anyone wants to know more than hit me up, I can surely say that I have bought more records here than any other foreigner living here.........about 7,000 now.
If you wanna know something, whichever genre, I would be happy to help out
peace
D
mech1 - I've been a bit busy but there's still hope for that record shop website, I might get round to it one day, I have a very simple concept idea of how it might work.
@ uzumaki , thanxx for all those very useful tips. Do you know of english speakers japanese Discogs & vinyl addicts that could come here & give some help ?
QP.chan, I don't really know anyone else, I found all the above by myself the hard way and is the main reason why I want to help other people because I know first hand it isn't easy as a resident, even more so if you are a tourist.
turtle records closed/
banana records shibuya closed just last month/
ULTRA 3 & 4 (closed or relocated at best)
HI-FI Records still going ----> http://www.hi-fi.gr.jp/
demode records - dead
212 records - must be pre 2001 as I have never found it nor ever heard of it in all my time and frequent digging
Real Music Records - closed
- oldskool house and techno would be best found these days at:
DISKUNION - all locations - big selection of chicago/detroit etc
SPICE RECORDS - shibuya
RARE RECORDS - nakano,asagaya - from time to time
COCONUTS DISK - again from time to time
RECOFAN - often but alot of sifting thru mixed records is required, genres are not segregated
BANANA RECORDS in SHIBUYA was good BUT now closed.
many stores are having 50% + off sales SO I presume a few more will close in the next 6 months
Off to Tokyo (and Kyoto) in April so this is massively helpful. Thanks to everyone who has contributed. You will have directly contributed to the growth of my record collection and for that I thank you!
don't know if any of you are familiar with blurb.com but it's a site that allows you to publish your own hardcover or softcover books. it'd be great if someone could put together a comprehensive guide to record stores in Tokyo. it could be a pocket-sized paperback complete with maps and pictures of the stores. it should also be in English since most Tokyo record store guide books i've seen are in Japanese only, and usually hard to come by if you don't live in Japan.
I should also mention there is STILL DIGGIN almost adjacent to the Manhattan Hiphop store in Shibuya. Walk out the exit to your left and then make another left immediately into an open alleyway....very short.
Also housed in the same building are 3 other record stores, one on each level above....the most notable being GUINNESS records, stocking lots of new underground hiphop/nujazz/house/disco re-edits and other soulful ish.
STILL DIGGIN - used to be housed in a building just across from its current location, is a b-boys shop stocking only used stuff......lots of tasty electro and 80's hiphop, lots of early and mid 90's classics too....all original pressings, some rather pricey but many rare
hands_solo
dont be shy (^_-)......are you politely suggesting that someone do this instead of you?
yes. I don't live in Japan anymore and don't have the resources to do it, otherwise i'd do it myself. if you check the blurb site you'll see that people have the option of buying the book once it's published, it just has to be done right.
all you would need are high quality photos, a detailed map (like the ones on superfuture.com) and directions. you could provide a brief summary of each record store if you wanted. if you produced a small paperback (7x7 being the smallest available from blurb.com) it'd be pretty inexpensive. one of my frustrations with tokyo record store guides is that they're either hard to get or they're completely in Japanese. since there are quite a few music fiends from around the world it'd make more sense to publish a book in English.
Uzumaki, you're a legend. My girlfriend and I are off to Tokyo for 10 days or so in Nov, while we're not going specifically to buy wax, your guide is invaluable for the 1 or 2 shops we will visit.
I think Disk Union is a must visit for us atm.
Cheers again
yeah, i noticed a flood of records with cisco price tags in the tokyo used record market. going down very, very cheap. disc union and recofan having bargain fairs EVERY week now.
Nice selection of disco, funk, electro, soul, reggae, hiphop, r & b, rock, gospel, OST's, spoken word, small amount of electronic.....have picked some absolute classics here
they have a big selection of 800yen records, which if you buy 3 will be 2000 yen......not bad when they have new stuff added, which is quite frequent!
condition of some records can be visually questionable, but then again you can get others that are basically like new.....take the good with the bad
this blog was the only site I could manage to find pics of the mini warehouse style shop........quite a nice size and could set you back an hour or 2 at least for a good dig!
I'm going to Tokyo & Kyoto in July '09. I'm mainly interested in (vinyl only!) rare italo disco, Chicago house, 80s hiphop/electro, Dutch electro (think Bunker, Clone & Creme Organisation) and UK electro (like DMX krew, Bass Junkie, Exzakt,...) If anyone can give me advice I'd really appreciate it. I would also like to know if the "Small Paradise" store is still open (Dance Music Record building at Udagawa-cho). Thanks in advance everybody!
Ok guess I had to answer my own question :) The Small Paradise italo disco record store is still there, tucked away somewhere in a small appartment building. The Shibuya area is still a good startingpoint, a lot of great shops can also be found around Shinjuku. But the best record deals can be done in Shimokitazawa, eg. City Country City is a great shop with a really nice atmosphere, you can even have a healthy snack and the offer is amazing. Overall I must say that Japanese recordshops are the best I've seen in the world, records are always clean, neatly packaged, all details put on a small label in the right corner, truly a joy to sift through. I returned from Japan with 32 records and I'm quite picky so that's says something about the offer. The Japanese have always had an eye for incorporating the best aspects of a foreign culture and the Western music culture is no exception, I found Italian produced records that are rarest of the rare in Europe but are just sitting on a shelf in Tokyo :) Truly a vinyl collector's paradise!
Am going the week after next, i going to DMR and disk union but thats about it, really looking forward to going for a fairly solid dig while i am away.
If anyone has any ideas about Shinjuku/shibuya must visits besides those two i'd love to hear it :)
Thanks for composing this list Uzumaki! very much appreciated! Technique in Shibuya and Jet Set Records in shimokitazawa has been the best find for me! They are both well organized and have very friendly staff who know their music ( electronic, jazz, soul, funk, breaks, dub, techno minimal and electro )... Just to update on this list, Guiness Records and Tribe Records have both been shut down... not too sure where they've moved to. Highline records has also been shut..
Jet Set has also moved from their old location in the el santo building to their new address just down the road from yellow pop.... http://www.jetsetrecords.net/en/
I definately recommend Jet Set records for hiphop/ Jazz /funk/soul/ electronic + techno collectors. They have a bunch of 2nd hand stuff to sift through too...
in Tokyo right now, exploring all the little streets of Tokyo & surroundings, step by step, will take me a while I guess. Got a bicycle, seems the best way to find the hidden shops. Already found a few, will report later.
Don't forget a valuable vinyl resource found all over Tokyo...Hard Off. Lots of picking has garnered me some absolute gems. You can find anything from recent club mixes to vintage vinyl. It's a great place to stock up on the popular (and sometimes rare) platters for as low as ¥105.
that blog seems really nice! since the Japan record map is all in Japanese, it takes a lot of work to work out all the store locations and what they sell. otherwise it's a really nice book...
actually it's pretty easy to use, even for peeps who don't know any japanese -- the addresses are listed in latin script as well. great paperback guide, highly recommended.
