International Record Store Index / Tokyo, Japan

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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 pass 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 pass 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.

Above Dance Music Records there are several record shops including ...

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 remember 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 One For The Treble (Fresh) for ¥2,400 which is not all that cheap but I hadn't seen one for a long time. When I went back two weeks later there was another copy sitting there. Also has some boxes of cheaper vinyl for something like ¥400 which usually turn up a few odds and ends. One of my favourite record shops, even if it's only to drool over records I can't really justify forking out for - now and again I treat myself to things like Spoonin Rap for ¥3,600 :)

Tribe Records
www.hydeout.net/tribe
Telephone: 03 3464 5650
Open: 13:00 - 20:30
Directions: Take the alleyway behind Manhattan Records and go up the stairs on the left.
Description: Spacious and comfortable, jazz, soul, lounge.

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 Get Another Love and two 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 remember 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 Come Into Knowledge in here for 1,000 Yen. Their second-hand CD section usually yields a few finds, Headz 2A and 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: Planet Rock, The Grand Mixer Cuts It Up, World Destruction, The Wildstyle (Remix), I Wonder If I Take You Home.

posted over 6 years ago. ( permalink | report )
uzumaki edited this message over 5 years ago.

pbl3 wrote:

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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.