Tokyo record shops

[mathias broucek]

Planning a holiday in Tokyo and Kyoto.

Any suggestions? Am particularly interested in hard-to-find live material with Celi, Tensstedt, Jochum, Sinopoli and othera

[HighlandDougie]

Tower Records in Tokyo - 1 Chome-22-１４ Jinnan, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0041, Japan - as in just up from the famous Shibuya pedestrian crossing. Classical is on the 7th floor. See:

https://blog.discogs.com/en/digging-in-tokyo-tower-records/

for more detail. The 'reverential' aisle (as in devoted to individual conductors and soloists like Celi etc) is to the right of the tills (facing them) - and SACDs etc along the wall to the right of that. Prepare to spend some time there - and don't forget that you can claim the tax back in the shop.

Tower Records also produces its own series of SACDs and CDs (Boult's Brahms cycle as SACDs, for instance) which are well worth a browse. Worth googling, "Tower Records Definition Series" and "Tower Records Vintage SACD" to see what they have issued and what you might be interested in in advance, as it can all be a bit daunting. The staff are all classical enthusiasts and are only too happy to try and help. There are other Tower branches dotted around the city but Shibuya seemed to have the biggest classical section. There is also Disk Union Classical Music Store in Shinjuku (conveniently near the somewhat enormous station - a sight in its own right), which is good for vinyl as well as CDs.

Kyoto is a small city by Japanese standards (and a bit over-run with tourists these days - think York on a bank holiday Monday) so the local branch of Tower Records is much smaller and, from memory, is less likely to have Altus etc issues of live performances. Ditto other record shops like Jet Set. Whatever, wonderful place to visit (and with a great Railway Museum!).

[Pulcinella]

...
Kyoto is a small city by Japanese standards (and a bit over-run with tourists these days - think York on a bank holiday Monday) so the local branch of Tower Records is much smaller and, from memory, is less likely to have Altus etc issues of live performances. Ditto other record shops like Jet Set. Whatever, wonderful place to visit (and with a great Railway Museum!).

Very like York then.
There's probably lots of Harry Potter shops, too!

[kindofblue]

The Disk Union second-hand classical store is first rate. [Disk Union has a large number of second hand stores covering all genres of music all around Tokyo, so get the right one!] If you've never been to Japan before you mught be surprised by the location; look out for the sign and then you need to use the lift. The Tower Records in Shibuya is excellent and the staff are knowledgable. Going to a classical stockist in Japan is a joy, incredible selection and bargains to be had on certain labels. And if you like Bruckner you'll be in heaven! Obviously a lot of space given over to Japanese musicians and ensembles that may not not be well-known over here, but are excellent. Asahina, for example, is a great conductor. Have a wonderful time!

https://thevinylfactory.com/features/the-worlds-best-record-shops-006-disk-union-shibuya-tokyo/

[mathias broucek]

Thanks Dougie - that's EXACTLY what I needed!

Good also to hear about the railway museum

[cloughie]

...and Kyoto is an anagram of Tokyo!

[pastoralguy]

Tower Records in Tokyo - 1 Chome-22-１４ Jinnan, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0041, Japan - as in just up from the famous Shibuya pedestrian crossing. Classical is on the 7th floor. See:

https://blog.discogs.com/en/digging-in-tokyo-tower-records/

for more detail. The 'reverential' aisle (as in devoted to individual conductors and soloists like Celi etc) is to the right of the tills (facing them) - and SACDs etc along the wall to the right of that. Prepare to spend some time there - and don't forget that you can claim the tax back in the shop.

Tower Records also produces its own series of SACDs and CDs (Boult's Brahms cycle as SACDs, for instance) which are well worth a browse. Worth googling, "Tower Records Definition Series" and "Tower Records Vintage SACD" to see what they have issued and what you might be interested in in advance, as it can all be a bit daunting. The staff are all classical enthusiasts and are only too happy to try and help. There are other Tower branches dotted around the city but Shibuya seemed to have the biggest classical section. There is also Disk Union Classical Music Store in Shinjuku (conveniently near the somewhat enormous station - a sight in its own right), which is good for vinyl as well as CDs.

Kyoto is a small city by Japanese standards (and a bit over-run with tourists these days - think York on a bank holiday Monday) so the local branch of Tower Records is much smaller and, from memory, is less likely to have Altus etc issues of live performances. Ditto other record shops like Jet Set. Whatever, wonderful place to visit (and with a great Railway Museum!).

Fantastic information, Dougie! I've been to Japan three times but the last time was 1977 so I suspect it's changed a bit! Mrs PG and I are planning a big holiday soon and are looking at destinations however I suspect she would smell a rat if I happened to suggest that we visit Tokyo for its culture.

Actually, I subscribe to a website that sells cord repertoire/ recordings in SACD format so it seems to be fairly easy to obtain. I've often wondered why no enterprising individual doesn't buy these discs for the European market.

[mathias broucek]

The Disk Union second-hand classical store is first rate. [Disk Union has a large number of second hand stores covering all genres of music all around Tokyo, so get the right one!] If you've never been to Japan before you mught be surprised by the location; look out for the sign and then you need to use the lift. The Tower Records in Shibuya is excellent and the staff are knowledgable. Going to a classical stockist in Japan is a joy, incredible selection and bargains to be had on certain labels. And if you like Bruckner you'll be in heaven! Obviously a lot of space given over to Japanese musicians and ensembles that may not not be well-known over here, but are excellent. Asahina, for example, is a great conductor. Have a wonderful time!


https://thevinylfactory.com/features...shibuya-tokyo/

Thanks kindofblue - will investigate Disk Union

[mathias broucek]

Have now been

Oh. My. Goodness.

Tower Records full of fascinating live and historical material, including stuff that doesn't even come up if you Google...

And Disk Union Classical (there's a great one in Osaka as well as the Tokyo one mentioned above) is astonishing. Lots of impossible/expensive to get hold of stuff, mostly at very low prices

The £390 customs limit was VERY irritating but I still managed to buy 90 or so disks including a lot of stuff from my wants list

Highlights included:

1. "Live from Tokyo" recordings with Jochum, Mravinsky, Kersesz, Kubelik
2. Other live material by such as Celi, Giulini, Karajan, Jochum and Haitink. And the fabled Carlos Kleiber / VPO Heldenleben (good sound and a fascinating performance based on a sample of the first 5 mins)
3. Hard-to-find mainstream releases like Sanderling's Philharmonia Beethoven, Bohm's late Vienna Mozart symphonies and Celibidache's DG Russian box
4. Easy-to-find but stupidly cheap boxes (e.g. Szell's CBS Brahms and Toscanini's 1949-52 Beethoven on RCA for £5 EACH second-hand).

Have mostly only sampled but can conclude that the live material is generally in good sound. And the commentators who say Karajan's live Rite on Palexa is extremely impressive seem to be right based on the excerpt I tried

Didn't partake of any vinyl due to transportation issues but there was a pretty stunning selection

Everyone who cares about records should go!!!

Oh, and Japan is fabulous...

[kindofblue]

Have now been

Oh. My. Goodness.

Tower Records full of fascinating live and historical material, including stuff that doesn't even come up if you Google...

And Disk Union Classical (there's a great one in Osaka as well as the Tokyo one mentioned above) is astonishing. Lots of impossible/expensive to get hold of stuff, mostly at very low prices

The £390 customs limit was VERY irritating but I still managed to buy 90 or so disks including a lot of stuff from my wants list

Highlights included:

1. "Live from Tokyo" recordings with Jochum, Mravinsky, Kersesz, Kubelik
2. Other live material by such as Celi, Giulini, Karajan, Jochum and Haitink. And the fabled Carlos Kleiber / VPO Heldenleben (good sound and a fascinating performance based on a sample of the first 5 mins)
3. Hard-to-find mainstream releases like Sanderling's Philharmonia Beethoven, Bohm's late Vienna Mozart symphonies and Celibidache's DG Russian box
4. Easy-to-find but stupidly cheap boxes (e.g. Szell's CBS Brahms and Toscanini's 1949-52 Beethoven on RCA for £5 EACH second-hand).

Have mostly only sampled but can conclude that the live material is generally in good sound. And the commentators who say Karajan's live Rite on Palexa is extremely impressive seem to be right based on the excerpt I tried

Didn't partake of any vinyl due to transportation issues but there was a pretty stunning selection

Everyone who cares about records should go!!!

Oh, and Japan is fabulous...

Delighted you had such a wonderful time MB! And yes, Japan is a wonderful country.

[pastoralguy]

Just as an aside re. Classical sections in record shops, I'm reminded of a nice story...

A year after Arthur Rubinstein died, his daughter went into Tower Records in New York to buy some Chopin CDs of her father's for a friend. She looked under Chopin. Nothing by Arthur Rubinstein. She looked under Pianists. Nothing by Arthur Rubinstein. She was disappointed, fearing her her father had been so quickly forgotten. She went to the assistant and enquired about her lack of success. 'Ah, Madam', replied the assistant, 'we keep Rubenstein's recordings in a special part of the classical department reserved for LEGENDS!'