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Shopping for records in Japan

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chapsjon View Drop Down
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    Posted: 20 Jan 2020 at 11:26am
I'm not sure how many forum members travel to Japan. I am currently stationed here. I just wanted to let everyone know that Japan is a great place to shop for records. Every major city I have been to has at least one used record store, with many of them having multiple shops. When I went to Kyoto, I went to 4-5 shops within a couple mile walking distance. 
One of the things that's great about vintage Japanese records is that they almost always used virgin vinyl that tends to be thicker, probably 120 on average.
To my knowledge, vinyl remained popular in Japan even when is was not elsewhere, so they seem to have just about anything I have looked for.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote patientot Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2020 at 5:11pm
I have only watched videos of record shopping in Japan. It appears to be an amazing place for music shopping in general. My Japanese purchases are limited to ordering the occasional CD from Japan or Japanese LP pressings that show up domestically. Japan also has several interesting music scenes of its own, depending on your tastes. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote DT999 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2020 at 10:44pm
I have not bought new from Japan but I have got a few Japanese records through Discogs, and the pressing quality has been excellent on all of them. They were all graded NM and in my experience the sellers all appear to grade their used records honestly.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote chapsjon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jan 2020 at 9:45am
It is especially fun to find an older album that still has the obi. This was a label that wrapped the sleeve vertically (like a belt) providing the Japanese translation of the band name, album title, hits on record, and so forth. Because this was made of paper, they were sometimes thrown away or damaged over time, but I am amazed how often I find an older album with obi in excellent condition. I found the seat-titled Dire Straits album with obi and Japanese lyrics insert, all in VG+ condition (to include record of course) for 100 yen. This is about 90 cents USD. I was ecstatic.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote chapsjon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2020 at 12:35pm
Just found a VG+ copy of Bill Evans- The Complete Riverside Recordings, 18 LPs. Definitely made my day!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote kgilroy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 Mar 2020 at 2:03pm
Originally posted by chapsjon chapsjon wrote:

Just found a VG+ copy of Bill Evans- The Complete Riverside Recordings, 18 LPs. Definitely made my day!



Very Nice !

I'm a big Bill Evans fan.
Keith

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote chapsjon Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Mar 2020 at 9:27am
Me too! Had some Bill Evans digital, now have vinyl also. Listening to it right now. Very satisfying.
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