With the pandemic having more-or-less ended, and travelers having postponed their Japan trips for a couple of years now , Tokyo is brimming with tourists. “Over-tourism” is a buzzword being floated around on TV and in conversations, which comes with a plethora of contradictions and complexities. On one hand, it’s great to see business booming, and restaurants and bars full, record stores too, but on the other hand, the streets and train stations are crowded with lost people standing in your way, and every once in a while, you yourself get slightly overwhelmed with a bit of that entitled New York attitude, “Keep it moving, people! I’m walking here!”
Well… to be honest, I don’t ever really get that feeling myself. I actually quite like seeing the city filled with visitors, I tend to experience the city anew all over again vicariously through their wonder. I’m both quick to help a frustrated traveler get pointed in the right direction, and also attuned to know when to leave them be and let their puzzle-solving skills be a part of their Tokyo experience, which is still very much a part of mine.
Among the tourists is Saqip, pictured here and visiting Tokyo for the first time from Stuttgart with a fellow engineering student. They plan to spend most of their time in Tokyo but with a couple of day trips to some of the interesting villages and important townships on the outskirts of Tokyo.
One other of their collegemates back in Stuttgart asked them to pick up any copies of Childish Gambino (who I absolutely love) if they went to any record stores, so Saqip actually picked up these two copies for them, not a first or second time that people have posed with records they planned to give to friends.
I was gonna bring this back to tourism, but let’s stay on record-gift-giving here and say to anyone with a record collector in their life. You can NEVER go wrong with the gift of vinyl. It is, hands down, the most consistently loved and most unanimously appreciated gift for us. When in doubt, give records.
So thanks Saqip for reminding us of this! Enjoy the rest of your stay in Japan! Come back often and buy more records!
More TRS on the way!
Childish Gambino – Because The Internet
Label: Glassnote – GLS-0152-01R
Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Repress
Country: Europe
Released: 2022 (originally 2013)
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style: Abstract, Conscious, Contemporary R&B
https://www.discogs.com/release/22948928-Childish-Gambino-Because-The-Internet
Childish Gambino – Awaken, My Love!
Label: Glassnote (2) – GLS-0221-01
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 2022 (origianlly 2016)
Genre: Funk / Soul
Style: Contemporary R&B, Funk, Neo Soul, Psychedelic
https://www.discogs.com/release/22388944-Childish-Gambino-Awaken-My-Love
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