An old homie of mine rolled into town a while back, a first kiss actually (there were a handful of first kisses), Stacey, Jenny, Stephanie, Nicole, Rebecca, Jennifer (all firsts in their own unique way …what can I say, I liked kissing …and why am I disclosing this?) Anyway, my old homie and one-time Jr. High smooching partner was passing through Tokyo on a whirlwind around-the-world solo sojourn (don’t worry, we became just regular ol’ homies long before this encounter) and convened for a coffee and a catch up at the cafe at the top of Gyre on Tokyo’s Omote […]
Tokyo Record Style
Taiga, Yuusei, and Yoshimi
Highschoolers, collecting records, oldschool, newschool. Dope. I bumped into Taiga, Yuusei, and Yoshimi in Shibuya Station. They had just picked up some records from RECOfan believe it or not, their firsts, all bought on a but of a whim if I remember correctly. Quite a selection. Considering it was the frantic Shibuya scramble underpass, perhaps my first TRS encounter INSIDE a station, I was mindful of the foot traffic and the energy that everybody was on the go. The fact that this encounter was in January, hence the sweaters and puffy coats, any sense of memory from my notes sadly […]
Tokyo Record Style
Sam, Shinyechan, Choisangyeop, Shingwangil
For this edition of Tokyo Record Style I met some South Korean record collectors from the quite famous K-Indie / K-Pop band, “Lucy”, who were strolling down the chochin-illuminated Miyashita Park izakaya promenade while I was walking up it. They were coming from Tower Records where they had each scored an album during an off-night of their current Japan Tour. I stopped and quickly pitched them the Tokyo Record Style concept and asked if they might be willing to be photographed, and they were very happy and friendly to oblige. Not realizing I was speaking to a renown group of […]
Tokyo Record Style
Towa
Nearly every day on my way home from work, I pass by Manhattan Records, a Tokyo institution of 30 years that mostly Hip-Hop, R&B, Soul, and House. After passing Ultra Shibuya, Hi-Fi Records, several Disk Unions, Tower Records, an HMV, Discland Jaro, Next Records, Mother’s Records, and a couple of Face Records, Manhattan Records is the last record shop on my way out of Shibuya on Inokashira Dori, the road that leads me all the way back home. By the time I’m rolling up on Manhattan, I’ve usually photographed a record collector or two on the way at one of […]
Tokyo Record Style
Saqip
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 […]
Tokyo Record Style
Kerry and Yuki
Meet lovely Kerry and (and Yuki) whom I caught up with on the streets of Shibuya for a friendly chat and some Tokyo Record Style. As is always the case, they were a little suspicious at first, just as I would be on the chaotic streets of Shibuya, but a genuine shared interest in music broke the ice and we got a off to smashing start. Kerry had just scored some records from Tower Records down the road. (Side note: In case you don’t know, a few months back Tower moved its giant ~7th-floor vinyl section in Shinjuku all over […]
Tokyo Record Style
Temuge
They say Shibuya Scramble is the busiest intersection in the world. Is it true? Could be. Two things are for sure. 1.) It still manages to impress, no matter how many hundreds (or thousands) of times you’ve crossed it, and 2.) It’s where I spotted Temuge crossing in the sea of people with his pal, both with ice-pops on a Saturday Night. I chatted Temuge there on the corner in a mix of Japanese and English and I began to wonder if Japanese was both our second languages. I asked Temugu where he was from and I thought I heard […]
Tokyo Record Style
Sara and Tyler
Slammed on the breaks on my way home from work, and made a hard left to catch these two standing in front of Tower Records, carrying that signature Yellow-red-orange bag. From quickly chatting Sarah and Tyler up from atop my bike, they gladly agreed to a photo, and told me they were cousins traveling together to Japan, from their home in Vancouver, on a trip they’d been planning for years, adding that after a few more days in Tokyo, they’d be heading to Kyoto to rendezvous with yet more family! Well, done team! From their vinyl Tower Records bag, they […]