Hifi shopping in Tokyo

[ex brickie 138]

Hi folks

I noticed some chat on the Vintage Hifi thread about picking up Hifi in Tokyo. Has anyone had any success?

I'm off there in early March and my main focus - aside from the tourist sites - is the mass of record stores. However, I'm not averse to checking out some vintage Hifi whilst there - or indeed vintage watches. Anyone got any tips on where to go?

Cheers

BTW I realise the voltage is different and I won't be buying any tuners knowing they have a narrower bandwidth.

[MickyGBanger 35]

Yes, Akihabara, which is on the Kehin-Tohoku and Yamanote lines. You walk out of the station and you're already in the thick of it. Out of the South-West exit there is tight complex full of little vintage hifi stalls on the right side of the road, not far down from the station. Bought lots of gear there- all good. Good place to buy high quality Japanese cable off the roll for DIY interconnects and speaker cable. Lots of vintage gear around. They do like a lot of old rubbish though. It's not all good.

Edited January 31, 2016 by MickyGBanger

[mkaramazov 232]

Ahhh, happy memories....

[Sparkle 223]

+1 to AKihabara... It's the source!!! And completely mad... A must do!

[New Sensations 1,365]

Record stores: start with the Disk Unions. My fav is the one in Shimokitazawa. Ikebukero one is also good. A whole street of them in Shinjuku.

Then hit Recofan in Shibuya. Set aside 2 hours min.

There's also a great new record store in the back streets of Shinjuku, north west of the station. It's called VINYL.

For used audio gear: Audio Union in Shinjuku.

For shits and giggles: Dynamic Audio in Akihabara.

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[Demondes 448]

Record stores: start with the Disk Unions. My fav is the one in Shimokitazawa. Ikebukero one is also good. A whole street of them in Shinjuku.

Then hit Recofan in Shibuya. Set aside 2 hours min.

There's also a great new record store in the back streets of Shinjuku, north west of the station. It's called VINYL.

For used audio gear: Audio Union in Shinjuku.

For shits and giggles: Dynamic Audio in Akihabara.

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Also note if you plan to cover multiple areas in one day factor in travel time (note you can easily walk 1km underground transferring from line to line).

 

 So you are better off spending 1/2 - 1 day in Shibuya or Shinjuku area and go to Akihabra for 1/2 day etc.    

[Kamikaze 132]

Also note if you plan to cover multiple areas in one day factor in travel time (note you can easily walk 1km underground transferring from line to line).

 

 So you are better off spending 1/2 - 1 day in Shibuya or Shinjuku area and go to Akihabra for 1/2 day etc.    

 

Unless you know where you are going... Shinjuku>Akiba is like 4 stops on Chuuo^ Express (rather go to Kanda and walk about 500m back)... about 6-8 minutes on the train.

Shibuya to Shinjuku is only 3 stops on Yamanote line. also about 4 or 5 minutes.

 

Shimokita, is a little out of the way, but there are a few tiny "live house" around that area, so you can always stay out that area till latish and check out quirky Japanese bands.

[New Sensations 1,365]

Shimokita, is a little out of the way, but there are a few tiny "live house" around that area, so you can always stay out that area till latish and check out quirky Japanese bands.

Agreed. But only a few stops from Shibuya.

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[ex brickie 138]

Thanks so much for the tips folks. Disk Union is high on my list for records that's for sure....

[Kamikaze 132]

only a few stops from Shibuya

I've always found navigating from Jr lines to inokashira line in shibuya a pain. May be because I grew up on the east side and only used it on occasions.

[New Sensations 1,365]

Thanks so much for the tips folks. Disk Union is high on my list for records that's for sure....

Good call. They're all different so it's worth visiting as many as possible. You'll never buy used vinyl in Australia again!

Don't get pinged for excess baggage: buy a couple of the DU branded thick tote bags ($15 each) for carrying on yr purchases.

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[illusion 750]

Interesting video on the Audio Union store, 5 levels of Vinyl and HiFi in Ochanomizu, Tokyo.

[ex brickie 138]

Good call. They're all different so it's worth visiting as many as possible. You'll never buy used vinyl in Australia again!

Don't get pinged for excess baggage: buy a couple of the DU branded thick tote bags ($15 each) for carrying on yr purchases.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've weighed average records and CDs to measure what I can bring back . We're taking two cases but only enough belongings for one. And lots of bubble wrap in the cases

[New Sensations 1,365]

I've weighed average records and CDs to measure what I can bring back . We're taking two cases but only enough belongings for one. And lots of bubble wrap in the cases

My October trip ended up like this:

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[Sparkle 223]

I enjoyed the Video of Audio Union.. Done it a couple of times.. Once we met the owner who told us that he'd spent the eqivalent of a Rolls Royce collection on Hifi!  But still wasn't sure what the best was was to get the best sound!

If you are into musical instruments,, then Ochanomizu is the source.  We walked back to Akihabara, maybe 20+ minutes