Greetings Vinyl Junkies!
What is Tokyo Record Style Day? First a short story…
I was in the famous Flash Disc Ranch a while back and I saw a cute young couple come up the stairs. Together they paused, then she said to him “Good Luck!” and he said to her “Happy Digging!”
As I smiled, laughed quietly to myself, and delighted in how both adorable and cool they were, off they went, in opposite directions, flipping through records only to meet up moments later to share what the other had found, over and over. Watching them enjoy the record store together, I asked myself “Why the hell am I alone, here? Where are all my friends? Aren’t record stores meant to be shared?!”
So I thought I would kill a few birds with one stone: set a day on the calendar that everybody can plan for, pick a local record shop or a neighborhood’s cluster of shops, and invite my music-loving pals for the occasional weekend afternoon record store dig. We can make new friends and share our passion and appreciation for music together, discover new music through each other’s interests …and I can photograph all my pals in their cool street fashion and with their recently scored albums for Tokyo Record Style. Simple as that!
Welcome to Tokyo Record Style Day!
Upcoming Tokyo Record Style (TRS) Days
Tokyo Record Style Day – Vol. 10 – Big Love Records, Harajuku, Tokyo
Announcing “Tokyo Record Style Day – Volume 10 – Big Love Records, Harajuku, Tokyo”!! Join us for another afternoon of crate-digging with homies in local Tokyo neighborhoods, where gems and grails await us in clusters of awesome record shops! Score LPs, EPs, 10”s or CDs! Tapes? Reel-to-reels? 8-Tracks? We don’t judge! Just come celebrate your love for physical media and good ‘ol record shop culture! Pose for a photograph in your styley-est digs and with your Record Store scores, and make your mark on Tokyo Record Style!!
Big Love Records is a Tokyo gem tucked away in the bustling backstreets of Harajuku, offering a meticulously curated selection of vinyl from subterranean indie rock and melodic hardcore punk to electronic and experimental sounds, underground hip hop, anti-folk and everywhere in between. The shop also carries an array of books, zines, and exclusive select merchandise that is part of the trend-setting culture of harajuku. With its own swank cafe/bar, Big Love Records also provides a space for the music lovers, cultural connoisseurs, and the creatively curious that visit (and purchase a record!) Established by aficionados Masashi Naka and Haruka Hirata, the store exudes their passion for discovering and sharing the freshest sounds from around the globe.
You’re invited to join us at Big Love Records, Harajuku, Tokyo, and mix up, with homies new and old! We’ll meet there for some digging at 3pm, then maybe a beer or coffee in the cafe, then bye-bye, but not before a Tokyo Record Style Photo!
See you all Saturday, August 10th at Big Love Records, Harajuku, Tokyo! Everyone is invited!
Facebook event page: Coming Soon
Past TRS Days:
Record collecting friends! Brian here, representing Tokyo Record Style!!
Announcing “Tokyo Record Style Day – Volume 9 – ShimoIgusa!!” Join us for another afternoon of crate-digging with homies in local Tokyo neighborhoods, where gems and grails await us in clusters of awesome record shops! Score LPs, EPs, 10”s or CDs! Tapes? Reel-to-reels? 8-Tracks? We don’t judge! Just come celebrate your love for physical media and good ‘ol record shop culture! Pose for a photograph in your styley-est digs and with your Record Store scores, and make your mark on Tokyo Record Style!!
Organic Music + Planet Baby are side-by-side select shops nestled in the serene outskirts of Suginami-ku, Tokyo, offering a curated collection of very interesting used records from the edges of music (read: ECM, Leftfield, Avant-garde, Free and Fusion Jazz, Avant-garde), CDs, cassettes, books, and hi-fi on the “Organic Music” side, and vintage clothing, art pieces, handmade goods, and more on the “Planet Baby” side. With a cozy café-bar attached, it’s a lovely little haven for music enthusiasts, art appreciators, and record-loving homies. Founded by DJ, and author Chee Shimizu, a pivotal figure in Japan’s club culture since the early 90s, the store embodies his diverse musical knowledge and taste that span genres from ambient to experimental and everywhere in between.
You’re invited to join us at Organic Music + Planet Baby, and mix up, with homies new and old! We’ll meet there for some digging at 3pm, then maybe a beer or coffee in the cafe, then bye-bye, but not before a Tokyo Record Style Photo!
See you all Saturday, June 8th at Organic Music + Planet Baby! Everyone is invited!
Facebook event page: here
Tokyo Record Style Day – Vol. 8 – Garageville
Record collecting friends! Brian here, representing Tokyo Record Style!!
Announcing “Tokyo Record Style Day – Volume 8 – Tsutsujigaoka!!” Join us for another afternoon of crate-digging with homies in local Tokyo neighborhoods, where gems and grails await us in clusters of awesome record shops! Score LPs, EPs, 10”s or CDs! Tapes? Reel-to-reels? 8-Tracks? We don’t judge! Just come celebrate your love for physical media and good ‘ol record shop culture! Pose for a photograph in your styley-est digs and with your Record Store scores, and make your mark on Tokyo Record Style!!
Garageville is a really cool shop and snack/beer hangout on the quiet west side of Tokyo in Tsutsujigaoka (which is located in what I call “The Goldilocks Zone”, far enough removed from the city center not picked over, and with better prices, yet close enough to have all the good stuff that you’d expect to find in the city center,) run by the friendly and knowledgeable, Yasu san, his wife Junko san, and their two cats, Kinoko and Goma! It’s a cool little outpost, you might even say a little slice of heavy, just outside of Tokyo, replete with a stocked fridge of crafted beers, yummy drinks, and some light snacks to share with friends on a couple of mini sofas!
You’re invited to join up, and mix up, with homies new and old! We’ll meet at the Garageville at 3pm, then possibly a zip by train to nearby Time Machine in Chofu (…or next time) and then bye-bye, but not before a Tokyo Record Style Photos!
See you all Saturday, April 27th in Garageville! Everyone is invited!
Facebook event page: here
Tokyo Record Style Day – Vol. 7 – Tent Records
Record collecting friends! Brian here, representing Tokyo Record Style!!
Announcing “Tokyo Record Style Day – Volume 7 – Nishiogikubo!!” Join us for another afternoon of crate-digging with homies in local Tokyo neighborhoods, where gems and grails await us in clusters of awesome record shops! Score LPs, EPs, 10”s or CDs! Tapes? Reel-to-reels? 8-Tracks? We don’t judge! Just come celebrate your love for physical media and good ‘ol record shop culture! Pose for a photograph in your styley-est digs and with your Record Store scores, and make your mark on Tokyo Record Style!!
Tent Records (Share Music Shelf Tent) is a unique record shop that is actually composed over over 100 mini record shops, each one just operating as a little cubby box run by individual sellers! It’s one of the most unique record shops in Tokyo!
You’re invited to join up, and mix up, with homies new and old! We’ll meet at the Tent Record at 3pm, then maybe a street beer or coffee and bye-bye, but not before a Tokyo Record Style Photos!
See you all Saturday, March 2nd in TENT RECORDS! Everyone is invited!
Facebook event page: here
Tokyo Record Style Day – Vol. 6 – CoCo Isle Music Mart
Record collecting friends! Brian here, representing Tokyo Record Style!!
Announcing “Tokyo Record Style Day – Volume 6 – Coco Isle Music Market!!” Join us for another afternoon of crate-digging with homies in local Tokyo neighborhoods, where gems and grails await us in clusters of awesome record shops! Score LPs, EPs, 10”s or CDs! Tapes? Reel-to-reels? 8-Tracks? We don’t judge! Just come celebrate your love for physical media and good ‘ol record shop culture! Pose for a photograph in your styley-est digs and with your Record Store scores, and make your mark on Tokyo Record Style!!
Coco Isle is in Shibuya and is filled to the bring with records direct from Jamaica! Whether your Jam is Ska, Rock Steady, Reggae, or even Hawaiian Reggae, Kazuki-san and Coco Isle has something for you!
You’re invited to join up, and mix up, with homies new and old! We’ll meet at the Coco Isle Music Mart at 3pm, then maybe a street beer or coffee and bye-bye, but not before a Tokyo Record Style Photo!
See you all Saturday, October 8th in Coco Isle Music Mart! Everyone is invited!
Facebook event page: TBD
Tokyo Record Style Day – Vol. 5 – Yushima/Ochanomizu
Record collecting friends! Brian here, representing Tokyo Record Style!!
Announcing “Tokyo Record Style Day – Volume 5 – Yushima/Ochanomizu!!” Join us for another afternoon of crate-digging with homies in local Tokyo neighborhoods, where gems and grails await us in clusters of awesome record shops! Score LPs, EPs, 10”s or CDs! Tapes? Reel-to-reels? 8-Tracks? We don’t judge! Just come celebrate your love for physical media and good ‘ol record shop culture! Pose for a photograph in your styley-est digs and with your Record Store scores, and make your mark on Tokyo Record Style!!
The Yushima/Ochanomizu area has a couple of great record stores, including Tohto Records and Disk Union Ekimae.
You’re invited to join up, and mix up, with homies new and old! We’ll meet at the Tohto Records at 12:30pm, then venture over to Ochanomizu (perhaps for some Burger King) but not before a Tokyo Record Style Photo!
See you all Saturday, August 26th in Yushima at Tohto Records & Books! Everyone is invited!
Facebook event page: here
Tokyo Record Style Day – Vol. 4 – Kichijoji
Record collecting friends! Brian here, representing Tokyo Record Style!!
Announcing “Tokyo Record Style Day – Volume 4 – Kichijoji!!” Join us for another afternoon of crate-digging with homies in local Tokyo neighborhoods, where gems and grails await us in clusters of awesome record shops! Score LPs, EPs, 10”s or CDs! Tapes? Reel-to-reels? 8-Tracks? We don’t judge! Just come celebrate your love for physical media and good ‘ol record shop culture! Pose for a photograph in your styley-est digs and with your Record Store scores, and make your mark on Tokyo Record Style!!
The Kichijoji area has a couple of great record stores, including Coconuts Disk, Rare Records, Disk Showa, HMV, Disk Union, Hard-Off, and Parade in Mitaka not so far away.
You’re invited to join up, and mix up, with homies new and old! We’ll meet at the Coconuts Records at 3pm, then venture off on our own but not before a Tokyo Record Style Photo!
See you all Saturday, July 22nd in Kichijoji! Everyone is invited!
Tokyo Record Style Day – Vol. 3 – Hatagaya
Announcing “Tokyo Record Style Day – Volume 3 – Hatagaya!!” Join us for another Sunday afternoon of crate-digging with homies in local Tokyo neighborhoods, where gems and grails await us in clusters of awesome record shops! Score LPs, EPs, 10”s or CDs! Tapes? Reel-to-reels? 8-Tracks? We don’t judge! Just come celebrate your love for physical media and good ‘ol record shop culture! Pose for a photograph in your styley-est digs and with your Record Store scores, and make your mark on Tokyo Record Style!!
The Hatagya area has a couple of great record stores, including Ella (Nishihara), The Record Rack (Honmachi), and Adult Oriented Records (Yoyogi).
(Also, there an amazing BB-Smokehouse/Jewish Soul Food restaurant – Freeman Shokudo – right across from Ella – the owner is Jeremy Freeman AKA Scratch Famous, of Deadly Dragon Sound System. How about Pastrami Sandwich lunch from 12:00pm, then Ella at 1pm?!?!)
You’re invited to join up, and mix up, with homies new and old! We’ll meet at the Ella Records at 1pm (or at 12pm at Freeman Shokudo for those who want to eat), then venture off on our own but not before a Tokyo Record Style Photo!
See you all Sunday, May 21 in Hatagaya! Everyone is invited 
Tokyo Record Style Day – Vol. 2 – Shibuya
Record collecting friends! Brian here, representing Tokyo Record Style!!
Announcing “Tokyo Record Style Day – Volume 2 – Shibuya!!” Join us for another Sunday afternoon of crate-digging with homies in local Tokyo neighborhoods, where gems and grails await us in clusters of awesome record shops! Score LPs, EPs, 10”s or CDs! Tapes? Reel-to-reels? 8-Tracks? We don’t judge! Just come celebrate your love for physical media and good ‘ol record shop culture! Pose for a photograph in your styley-est digs and with your Record Store scores, and make your mark on Tokyo Record Style!!
Shibuya has over a dozen record stores and you’re invited to join up, and mix up, with homies new and old, and visit your favorites! We’ll meet at the music-blown Hachiko statue in front of Tower Records at 2, scatter to our favorite shops, and rendezvous again at Disk Union on Center-Gai for some down-and-dirty street-beers/can-coffee (with photos!)
Still working on DJ Party Finale – will likely have to wait until Volume 3 (or perhaps a special annual event!) See you all Sunday, March 19 in front of Tower Records at 2pm! Everyone is invited
Facebook Event link: here / Photos and more: here
Tokyo Record Style Day – Vol. 1 – Shimokitazawa
Record collecting friends! Brian here, representing Tokyo Record Style!!
I’m starting a new project called “Tokyo Record Style Day” where I am going to try to gather some pals together on a Sunday afternoon once a month and hit a small cluster of record stores in one local neighborhood of Tokyo, and photograph you all with your records, starting with a dig through Shimokitazawa!
Shimokita has over a dozen record stores and I can suggest a path to visit a few of my favorites, or we can choose our own. Let’s meet at the legendary Flash Disk Ranch, and end at Disk Union, and maybe hit General, Jet Set, Record Station, and a few of the many options in between!
We can get a can-coffee/street-beer after it’s all over, or we can go to Magic Spice near Disk Union to grab some curry and share our scores!
I hope it might be possible to host this event once a month, and that I can make all your portraits, and that we might even sometimes find a way to host a DJ party finale, and that together we can explore and celebrate Tokyo’s vibrant Record Store scene and our shared love of music! (Volume 2 – Shinjuku???)
See you all Sunday, January 29 in front of Flash Disk Ranch at 2pm! Everyone is invited