On Tuesday, Jul 22, 2003, at 07:07 Asia/Tokyo, dennis summers wrote:

Hi all, I will be going to Japan for 2 weeks on Aug 1. Any suggestions for really good record shops, music venues or any special shows that might be going on then? Thanx. --ds

Since I asked the same question some time ago and had some time to investigate, I'll share some info I got. I'll assume that you'll go at least to Tokyo, Shinjuku is really the place to go. The best spot is the Nishi Shinjuku 7-chome (nana-chome), close to Shinjuku station or Nishi-Shinjuku station on Toei Oedo line. There is one main street north of the station that runs parallel to the train track (Yamanote line); the blocks on the West side are also full of small stores. Keep your eyes open as most stores are on the upper floors of buildings or in basements, but they have signs at street level. Here's a map of the area, Shinjuku station is the bottom part of the map, and you want to go in the top part: http://map.yahoo.co.jp/pl?nl=35.41.26.283&el=139.42.5.383&la=1&fi=1&sc=3 Other interesting spots in Shinjuku are the Tower Records in the Flags building (New South Exit of Shinjuku station) -- the "avant-garde" section is quite interesting, located on the same floor as the classical and jazz sections. If you're looking for stuff like the Boredoms et. al, it's in the J-Pop section, good luck if you try finding something there! (Knowing katakana will help...) You can try your luck at the HMV in the Takashimaya Times Square building on the other side as well. Also note that imports are more expensive that domestic versions, but domestic versions often have bonus tracks, and come out a few weeks earlier. Last but not least, a trip to Disk Union is in order (not just because they are related to John Zorn's labels!) There are three branches in Shinjuku, one is a big six-story store where every floor has a different section (metal, world, etc.) The avant-garde floor has some interesting stuff but it's really small. The basement has the Japanese artists (who are not on the avant-garde floor). Next to this one is the Jazz branch, more spacious, and quite nice (lots of thislisty stuff). While Shinjuku is the best place to try, it's not the only one. Shibuya has lots of small records store as well, seem to be more oriented towards Hip-hop and R&B but the Tower branch may be worth a visit. Ikebukuro is wort exploring as well, there is a good vinyl selection in the Recofan branch (lots of Sun Ra LPs, some BYG/Actuel reissues, etc.) If you pass by Ochanomizu (close to Akihabara, on the JR Sobu/Chuo line) you can try the various Disk Union branches. I found the Jazz one (in the street going down from Ochanomizubashi) well-stocked with a good vinyl section. (I like vinyl.) There are many second-hand stores in the nearby Jimbocho area as well. Harajuku has some very strange stores -- dedicated to only Elvis or the Beatles, for instance -- and it looks like there is one noise store, but I have never been. Finally I got a couple recommendations for Modern Music in Meidaimae (Keio line from Shinjuku or Keio Inokashira line from Shibuya) but since I'm not really into the PSF stuff I haven't tried yet. I'd like to finish by thanking all those who made some of these recommendations to me in the first place. Julien