Japan digging 2024

[kala]

dj sheep had Japan digging on lock back in the day :baller:
he was my entre' to facebook back when you needed an invite from someone and he had posted literally 10,000 pics of his most recent trip.

he was going out into the burbs and hitting smaller mom and pops and killing it!
this must've been close to 18 years ago if i recall correctly.

as a gearhead i am always looking for synths/pedals/drum machines etc and japan is always cheaper for korg/roland-BOSS/yamaha/esp/ibanez etc for obvious reasons.

the second hand shops are also off da hook cheap with dope gear but they are often hidden in buildings off the street level and you gotta do research.

 

[Jimster]

klezmer electro-thug beats said:Kyoto had only a few shops but I had a good time at Jet Set.

I once bought a car from Japan because it had a Jet Set Records Tokyo sticker in the window.

 

[klezmer electro-thug beats]

That rules... but I get it, they have a great logo

 

[Mondeyano]

I usually hit the Disk Unions the most, specifically the Shimokitazawa, Shibuya and Shinjuku branches. You can also get lucky in the ones that are a little less visited, like Kichijoji, Ikebukuro or Kita-Urawa but they sometimes are not worth the trek.
It so depends on what you are after though, and at what price point. Universounds is always great, as well as East Record in Jinbocho. Coconuts Disk in Ikebukuro and Ekoda can be good for a quick dig although I haven't been lucky the last few times I went. When in doubt, put レコード into Google Maps.

 

[kala]

NateBizzo said:



kala said:

i am going in june to osaka and kyoto for the first time
I've done tokyo a few times and it's always a blast
seems there's plenty of shops to hit and many are specialized....



I found that Bootsy's (cash only but amazing selection), Hitozuku (great jazz), and Workshop (Amazing japan jazz and ambient used) were the best shops in Kyoto. Meditations is rad as a place that is completely committed to a specific niche theme (new ambient records). But if you hit those three spots and then go to Jazz Spot Yamatoya (possibly my favorite Hi-Fi bar in Japan) you've fully covered Kyoto records.
Have never been to Osaka. Lot of people call Osaka the Chicago / Philly of Japan. Have heard there are great shop there though.

thanks for the heads updid you spend any time doing tourist stuff in kyoto?

 

[ako]

Appreciate the replies, I was so overwhelmed by everything, let alone the prices, that i didn't buy a single record in Japan, except some cheap YMO 10" at a hard-off for my girlfriend haha. We brought home a ton of other stuff though, and happened upon an outdoor flea market which was an amazing experience. Cannot wait to go back again, hopefully Kyoto next time.

 

[DOR]

Jimster said:



klezmer electro-thug beats said:Kyoto had only a few shops but I had a good time at Jet Set.




I once bought a car from Japan because it had a Jet Set Records Tokyo sticker in the window.

Last time we were in Japan I saw this in a parking lot and thought it would be a great little car for my daughter one day.
One came up for sale at auction here in Toronto a bit ago and ended up selling for around $10G's Canadian. If I had a spot to store it and slowly work on it I would have bought it. Another came up but was in much better condition and went for CA$26,000.

Anyways. I love posts about Japan. We haven't been back to visit since Covid. Yesterday I was browsing Instagram and I came across someone who used one of my Kyoto photos to paint for their art class and I was seriously impressed. I'd love to buy the thing and figure out how to ship it from Spain. But it also makes me want to jump on a plane back to Japan. Anyone have some cities/towns/villages that aren't the usual draws they would love to check out? Last time we were there to visit some family we spent a good amount of time around Kanazawa. I'd love to visit down around Miyako-jima.

 

[klezmer electro-thug beats]

On my last time there (out of two trips in my life, no balleur) Nagasaki was cool, and we drove up the west coast to Hagi. All that shit ruled. Coastal walks, weird rest stops, not much else. A lot of totally impassible hilly terrain. Historical buildings to visit. Down in a random valley away from the coast was some museum of a petrified forest where you descend into an underground silo where they've dug out huge still-standing tree trunks and slowly resinized them so they don't rot. Hagi had an okonomiyaki joint manned by one guy, who self-styled as a samurai. I spent zero time looking for records outside Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

Nagasaki itself was cool - Dejima, the Dutch district, was a tiny island in the city where the only foreigners allowed to land in Japan, the Dutch, were located - now it's an open-air town museum type thing. The atomic bomb museum is heart rending far beyond what you can put to words. I felt like it was better than the Hiroshima one but maybe I was just in a more receptive mood to utter downer material.

Dunno, I wasn't the planner of these trips so I shouldn't say you can't find a place in Japan that is too boring to visit, but that's how it felt.

 

[Jimster]

DOR said:


Jimster said:


klezmer electro-thug beats said:Kyoto had only a few shops but I had a good time at Jet Set.



I once bought a car from Japan because it had a Jet Set Records Tokyo sticker in the window.




Last time we were in Japan I saw this in a parking lot and thought it would be a great little car for my daughter one day.

Nissan Fargo, they are basically a Nissan Micra reskin, so mechanically all common = reliable, cheap and easy to repair. Suzuki used to do a similar one (Cappucino) which you could get as a soft-top. I still browse the jap import sites and will be looking to get a van next; probably a Toyota Vellfire. 3.5 v6 with the airliner recliners in the back. I think I can wheel the mtb straight in the back upright too. Has a real Manga face.

 

[Jimster]

klezmer electro-thug beats said:

That rules... but I get it, they have a great logo

 

[kicks79]

A lot of Australian record stores for the last few years have been taking advantage of the Yen's weakness and been going over there to source records. I'm not sure how I feel about it. On the one hand, I've heard the price of 2nd records over there has gone up, because, the dealers and stores realise that they can sell to Aus dealers in bulk. On the other, we have better access to records that are not normally available here. I just find it hard to pay x when I know I can pull the record for cheaper myself. I know you have to pay for airfare etc it's just my digger's brain kicking in.

 

[dizzybull]

I’ll be going again to Tokyo for work.in February. I don’t buy a whole lotta records these days.