A U.S. original release of Hot FussWeekend Record Shopping in Tokyo
I’m relishing this last month in Japan. No, who am I kidding! I’ve relished the last four years in Japan, but now I’m scrambling to do every-single-thing.
We spent the entire weekend record shopping in Shinjuku. And camera shopping too! I’ve never considered myself an electronics nerd, but I’m going to miss Tokyo’s superior electronics culture probably more than anything else when we finally leave Japan.
Tokyo has some of the absolute best vinyl record shops in the world so we spent Saturday night hunting around Shinjuku’s multiple Disk Union shops. And we managed to find some great records to add to our collection.
Afterward, we browsed around the Isetan, a department store that gives anyone in Paris a run for its money. We then had dinner at one of our favorite Thai spots in Shibuya, stopped at Ladurée for my favorite dessert, and even did a little camera shopping in-camera town. I love this city beyond words. Have I mentioned that before?
Our Record Shopping Experience in Shinjuku
I was THRILLED to find this Killer’s album seen above. I honestly didn’t know what to expect record shopping in Tokyo, but I can’t believe I found one of my favorite albums of all time. Hot Fuss is probably my all-time favorite album and this is a US original limited edition pressing of only 3000. Major win.
ADDRESS: Yamada Bldg., 3-31-4 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0022
PHONE: 03-3352-2691
URL: Disk Union Shinjuku
Here’s a map to the Main Store for Disk Union in Shinjuku. There are actually six different stores as well as an Audio Union nearby on the 8th floor of Store #3 (see the picture below). They also sell tons of audio equipment from receivers to turntables.
If Shinjuku doesn’t offer what you want, the train stop Ochanomizu is also a large music neighborhood and offers a nice selection of record shopping too.
The Disk Union Shinjuku Locations
A great find: No Doubt Tragic KingdomNo Doubt is one of my all time favorite bands and Tragic Kingdom was the FIRST CD I ever owned growing up. I listened to it religiously all through high school and to this day, Gwen Stefani is still my idol. This definitely makes a great addiction to our collection.
David Bowie & The BeatlesWe’re still on the hunt for Beatles albums, but instead of spending $200 on an original Abbey Road (maybe later), we opted for the original EU release of 1. And lastly, this David Bowie album is an original promotional release of 1980 All Clear.
Disk Union offers a large selection of audio equipment as well
A quick stop at Menchies Froyo for some yogurt
Squeezed in some camera shopping too!
Stopped by the nearby National Art Center Tokyo
Sounds like a perfect way to make the most of your time in Japan. You can’t beat vinyl finds! The Bowie would be my favourite 🙂
Agreed!
So let me ask you. Do you lug your big camera around with you, or just use a point and shoot for your excursions…?
Nope, I don’t carry a bulky DSLR around with me, as it’s just not practical especially when shooting these kinds of shots. It’s just way too cumbersome for one. And for street photos, it’s insanely inhibiting. But the images in this post were mostly all shot with a Leica M9 and a Fujifilm X100s. These cameras are literally invisible but insanely good. But I definitely have different cameras for different purposes, but occasionally I do carry my larger DSLR with me but it depends on where I’m going and what I need it for, etc..