Record shops in Kyoto: Kawaramachi to Okazaki

Kyoto doesn't have a Udagawacho or an Amerikamura. Its record shops are small, scattered over the upper floors of downtown buildings, and most of them have a clear specialty: jazz, noise and sound art, ambient and new age, 60s and 70s rock. The good news is that four of them are within about 400 metres of each other, going by their addresses, around Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station (Kyoto City Hall) and Kawaramachi-Sanjo. Two more are a short walk or ride north-east, near the Kamo River and Okazaki.

Before you go

• Most shops open at midday or later and close by 19:00 or 20:00. Kyoto is not a late-night digging city.
• Closing days differ: Workshop Records closes on Thursdays, Parallax on Mondays and Tuesdays, Meditations on Tuesdays, Hard Bop on Tuesdays, Sixth Garden on Wednesdays and on the 2nd and 4th Sunday. On a Friday or Saturday, all of them are open.
• The nearest station for the downtown four is Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae on the Tozai subway line; Keihan Sanjo and Hankyu Kawaramachi are ten minutes' walk.

Downtown: Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae and Kawaramachi-Sanjo

JET SET Kyoto is where JET SET started, in 1998, before its online shop and its Shimokitazawa store in Tokyo. It's on the fourth floor of the Unity Kawaramachi Building, on the west side of Kawaramachi north of Sanjo. Deep Kyoto describes it as stocking new vinyl across jazz, soul, rock, hip hop, house, techno, reggae, indie and pop, with direct imports and Japanese indie releases. We couldn't confirm current hours from the shop itself, so check its website before going.

JET SET KyotoNot watched yetKyoto · Kawaramachi-Sanjo · Mostly new · All genres · Imports Hours aren’t fixed: check their website before you go.Not watched yet Hours aren’t fixed: check their website before you go.Shop page →

Workshop Records opened in 1999 and is on the third floor of the Morris Building, about three minutes from Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae. Its stock is used and imported records and CDs: 60s to 2000s rock, UK folk, prog and psych, jazz, soul and funk, Latin and Brazilian, French, reggae and dub, film music, Japanese rock and kayōkyoku, and singles in every genre. Deep Kyoto singles out its jazz and soul. Open 12:00–19:00, closed Thursdays.

Workshop RecordsNot watched yetKyoto · Teramachi-Oike · Used · Rock & psych · Jazz & soul Not watched yet Shop page →

Hard Bop, next to Kyoto City Hall by exit 11 of Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae, sells only jazz, from early jazz to modern and free: used and new LPs and CDs, including original pressings bought abroad. The shop says it holds about 50,000 items, around 15,000 of them in the shop. Its site gives 12:30–18:00, closed Tuesdays, but other listings give a later closing time, so allow for either.

Hard BopNot watched yetKyoto · Shiyakusho-mae · Jazz · Original pressings · New and used Hours aren’t fixed: check their website before you go.Not watched yet Hours aren’t fixed: check their website before you go.Shop page →

Parallax Records is on the second floor of a building in the Sanjo-Shinkyogoku shopping streets, five minutes from Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae. It's the specialist for the other end of the spectrum: noise, industrial, drone and dark ambient, ambient, sound art, free improvisation and free jazz, contemporary music, field recordings and Japanese traditional music, on record, CD and tape, plus used items. It also holds exhibitions and events. From 11 November 2026 it opens 13:00–19:00 on every open day, closed Mondays and Tuesdays (open on public holidays).

Parallax RecordsNot watched yetKyoto · Shinkyogoku · Noise & industrial · Drone & ambient · Free improvisation Not watched yet Shop page →

North: Kawaramachi-Marutamachi and Okazaki

Meditations is on the third floor of the Kasuga Building, just north of the Kawaramachi-Marutamachi crossing. It centres on ambient, new age and drone, on vinyl, CD and cassette, and also sells books, films, incense and audio equipment. From Keihan Jingu-Marutamachi Station, exit 2, walk west to the crossing and three minutes north. Open 11:30–19:00 (Sundays and holidays until 18:00), closed Tuesdays.

MeditationsNot watched yetKyoto · Kawaramachi-Marutamachi · Ambient & new age · Drone & experimental · Vinyl, CD & tapes Public holidays: weekend hours.Not watched yet Public holidays: weekend hours.Shop page →

Sixth Garden Records (六番庭レコード) is east of the river in Okazaki, about nine minutes from exit 4 of Jingu-Marutamachi Station. It sells new bass, reggae and dub, experimental, techno and house records, with a used section. Hours are 11:00–19:00, Sundays 14:00–18:00, closed Wednesdays and the 2nd and 4th Sunday. Sixth Garden is one of the shops Hori watches for your wantlist. Going by their addresses, Meditations and Sixth Garden are under a kilometre apart, both reached from Jingu-Marutamachi.

Sixth Garden RecordsWatched by HoriKyoto · Okazaki · Bass · Reggae & dub · Experimental Also closed on the 2nd and 4th Sunday.Watched by Hori Also closed on the 2nd and 4th Sunday.Shop page →

If you can't make it to Kyoto

Several of these shops sell online as well. Meditations runs an online shop with new arrivals and pre-orders, Parallax Records has its own web store, and Workshop Records buys records in the shop, by post and, within Kansai, through home visits. Sixth Garden Records is one of the shops Hori checks every day: if a record on your Discogs wantlist shows up there, you get a LINE message with the price and a link.

What each shop is for, in one line:

• New vinyl, most genres: JET SET Kyoto.
• Used rock, jazz, soul, Japanese rock and kayōkyoku: Workshop Records.
• Jazz only: Hard Bop.
• Noise, drone, improvisation, sound art: Parallax Records.
• Ambient and new age: Meditations.
• Bass, dub, techno and house: Sixth Garden Records.

A day in Kyoto

1. 12:00 Workshop Records, then Hard Bop (12:30) next to City Hall.
2. JET SET, a few minutes south-east on Kawaramachi.
3. Parallax from 13:00, in the Shinkyogoku arcades.
4. Walk or take the Keihan line north to Meditations, then cross the river to Sixth Garden before 19:00.

Further afield: Nara

If you have another half day, Mole Music in Nara sells new and used house and techno, especially Chicago and Detroit, plus soul, jazz and Japanese music. It's about ten minutes on foot from Kintetsu Shin-Omiya Station and opens 14:00–20:00, closed Tuesdays (the shop sets the exact days on its calendar). Hori watches Mole Music too.

Mole MusicWatched by HoriNara · Chicago & Detroit · House & techno · Soul & jazz Approximate hours, set by the shop’s calendar.Watched by Hori Approximate hours, set by the shop’s calendar.Shop page →

Osaka's cluster is a short train ride away: see record shops in Osaka. For jazz across the country, including Hard Bop, see jazz record shops in Japan.