Japan! Vinyl digging and Akihabara.

[Be Quiet...Listen]

So, I have just gotten back from nearly two weeks in Japan. The time was mainly spent traveling and sightseeing but I did make a point of (the best I that I could) visiting as many vinyl & audio stores during our wanderings. 

Here are a few quick snaps of general vinyl hunting and some from my visit of Akihabara. You'll see a picture of a shop front in Akihabara with red signage. This is the infamous 'Hifido'. 

 

Anyway, enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And, here is a shot from the International Tokyo Audio Show. I will post regarding this soon.

 

Edited November 26, 2019 by Be Quiet...Listen

[Guest kab]

You would have discovered the ripoff prices here in oz for records after your visit i'm sure.

[Be Quiet...Listen]

13 minutes ago, kab said:

You would have discovered the ripoff prices here in oz for records after your visit i'm sure.

You're not kidding.

Although, it is worth noting that original US & UK pressings fetch much, much, MUCH more in Japan.

Try 88000 Yen for Nick Drakes 'Pink Moon' on original 'pink label' Island. Thats over $1200 AUD, crazy!

[Candyflip]

The days of 'crazy cheap' Japanese vinyl prices are pretty much gone.

The Chinese have moved in wholesale on vinyl albums in the last few years (I mean quite literally container loads of the stuff exiting Japan for other parts of Asia) and it's become harder and harder to find the gold the streets were once lined with.

Still fun to shop though!  

[Ian McP]

Ah, memories! Last year checked out Joe's Garage in Kyoto, bought a couple of Can compiations,

Joe's Garage | Vinylhub Record Store Database

WWW.VINYLHUB.COM

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Find out about Joe's Garage opening hours, location and more at Vinylhub

visited the awesome Disk Union in Shibuya (just the jazz and rare groove section in the basement, amazing!!) Tokyo

The world’s best record shops #006: Disk Union Shibuya, Tokyo - The Vinyl Factory

THEVINYLFACTORY.COM

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Our quest for the world’s best record shops takes us to Japan’s hyperactive metropolis. Every week, we pick out one must-visit...

and visited Akihabara

[Janjuggler]

Hi All,

 

I was there in April / May for 3 weeks, also did the rounds, prices were good, however the exchange rate was / is a killer, I was lucky enough to buy several thousand dollars worth of Yen when we booked in November and got low / mid 80s last year compared to low / mid 70s currently. I spent about $500 on LPs whilst there, both new and second hand.

 

JJ

[Be Quiet...Listen]

1 hour ago, Janjuc said:

Hi All,

 

I was there in April / May for 3 weeks, also did the rounds, prices were good, however the exchange rate was / is a killer, I was lucky enough to buy several thousand dollars worth of Yen when we booked in November and got low / mid 80s last year compared to low / mid 70s currently. I spent about $500 on LPs whilst there, both new and second hand.

 

JJ

The exchange rate isn’t great at present but if you know what you’re after you can find some silly good buys compared to what we have to shell out here in Australia! 
I ended up filling whatever spare space my partner and I had left in our suitcases with vinyl and sent a rather large and heavy box home via Jap Post. Some 150-160 odd albums in total. CD’s went into my carry on. 

[rodders3]

Simply my favourite place to shop in the world. So much fun in Japan.