Record Shopping In Japan

You've found yourself in Japan, and have discovered your love for vinyl records. Well, you're in the right place. Japan easily has more record shops than any place in the US I've been to. You just have to know where to look, and more importantly, what to look for.

-Probably the most important tip for record shopping in Japan is to learn kattakana. Even if you're looking for western bands, most of the stores will list the band name in the phonetic kattakana spelling on the label. For example, if you're looking for a Beck album, it will probably be listed under ベック. So unless you want to pull every record out and examine the cover to tell what band it is, I'd suggest spending some time and atleast learning kattakana. More importantly, you're a guest in another country, and the least you could do is make an effort to learn the language. Foreigners, with special emphasis on Americans, are notorious for being monolingual, and expect others to adapt to them and learn English. Even if it's just for a few weeks before your trip, learn the phonetic alphabets and a few phrases. It will not only help with finding records, but improves the impression you leave on others.

-The majority of western records you'll come across will be UK pressings, rather than US. While you will occasionally find a US pressing of a record, and even more rare is a Japanese pressing of a western band, the majority of records I've come across have been from the UK.

-I have never bought a used record from a Japanese record store and it not play perfectly. Do not be afraid to save some money and buy from a used store.

-It's very easy to just purchase bands that you know from your home country, and ignore the intimidating Japanese section. But why come home with only records from bands that everyone knows? Find some Japanese bands that you like, and try to see what you can find from them. Get to know shop owners or ask friends to suggest Japanese bands that might suit your taste.

-Record shops divide up their records into very specific genres. Tech House, Nu Jazz, Mondo Grosso, Post Rock, Abstract, etc. Plus respective genres for Japanese bands as well. If you can't find what you are looking for in one genre, try something similar. While the genres are specific, not everyone seems to consider bands a certain genre that I do. As a side note, a common labeling I've discovered is that anything labeled Rock/Pops, is almost always Journey and classic rock.

-Plan for a way to get your records home. I would not trust any records in my checked luggage, so plan for a small box that you can carry on the plane, or if you plan on buying a lot of records, invest in a metal record box.

-This may seem obvious, but if you plan on traveling around Japan, hold off on buying records until the end of your trip. Jumping on trains with luggage is hassle enough without worrying about crushing $400 worth of vinyl.

-Again, this is very obvious, but seriously think about what you want to purchase. Can you find the record in a store back home, or order it from ebay for a similar price? If so, just wait. There's no point in putting forth the effort of getting it back home when you can order it and have it waiting for you when you arrive.