A two-day record digging itinerary for Tokyo

The hard part of a record trip to Tokyo isn't finding shops, it's fitting them into the hours they're open. Most open around noon and close at 20:00, several close one or two days a week, and the good areas are on different train lines. This itinerary is built around those hours. It assumes two full days, a weekday or Saturday for day one and a Friday, Saturday or Sunday for day two, and it's easy to cut down or stretch.

Hours below are from each shop's own website or the most recent listing we found (November 2026). Check before you go, especially on public holidays.

Which days to pick

The closing days that matter for this route:

So: day one on a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday; day two on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. A Saturday and Sunday works. diskunion is open every day, from 12:00 on weekdays and 11:00 on weekends and holidays.

Day one: Ochanomizu, Jimbocho and Shinjuku

12:00, diskunion Ochanomizu Ekimae. Start by JR Ochanomizu Station, at the Hijiribashi exit, on diskunion's biggest sales floor in Tokyo: all genres, mostly used, more than 70,000 items. If you dig jazz or soul, JazzTOKYO and the Soul/Rare Groove shop share a floor in the New Surugadai Building nearby.

diskunion Ochanomizu EkimaeNot watched yetOchanomizu Public holidays: weekend hours.Not watched yet Public holidays: weekend hours.Shop page →

13:00, Lighthouse Records. Two minutes from Shin-Ochanomizu Station, mostly new electronic vinyl: house, techno, nu disco and balearic, ambient and downbeat, with new arrivals every week. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 13:00–20:00. Hori watches it.

Lighthouse RecordsWatched by HoriOchanomizu · Mostly new · House & techno · Nu disco & balearic Watched by Hori Shop page →

14:00, Jimbocho: CLASSICUS and Echo Records. If you dig classical, CLASSICUS (from 13:00, Tuesday to Saturday) sells used LPs and 78s sorted by instrument. Echo Records, between Jimbocho and Suidobashi (13:00–20:00), sells psych, krautrock, prog, world music, ambient and pre-war blues and jazz, and has a bar counter if you need a coffee.

Echo RecordsNot watched yetJimbocho · Psych & krautrock · Prog & ambient · World music Not watched yet Shop page →

16:00, Shinjuku. The JR Chuo Line runs from Ochanomizu to Shinjuku. diskunion's shops are east of the station around Shinjuku 3-chome, and they close at 20:00, so give them the rest of the afternoon. Start at the Jurakutwin B Building (Union Record on the first floor, the Jazz-kan on the third, the Soul/Dance Music Shop on the fourth), then pick floors in the Yamada Building by genre. Our diskunion guide lists them.

diskunion Shinjuku Soul/Dance Music ShopWatched by HoriShinjuku Public holidays: weekend hours.Watched by Hori Public holidays: weekend hours.Shop page →

Evening. HMV record shop Shinjuku, on the eighth floor of Shinjuku Marui Main Building, is open until 21:00.

Day two: Shimokitazawa and Shibuya

12:00, Shimokitazawa. diskunion's two shops share a building facing Kitazawa Town Hall (from 11:00 on weekends): the Club Music Shop, which Hori watches, and the general store. Then JET SET on Ichiban-gai (new vinyl, most genres, 12:00–20:00) and Flash Disc Ranch (used, all genres, mostly bought in the US, 12:00–20:00).

13:30, Rana Musica. Opens at 13:30 every day: new house, techno, bass, balearic, experimental and ambient, plus used records. Watched by Hori.

Rana MusicaWatched by HoriShimokitazawa · House & techno · Disco & balearic · Experimental & ambient Watched by Hori Shop page →

The full Shimokitazawa walk is in our Shimokitazawa guide.

15:30, Shibuya. The Keio Inokashira Line runs from Shimokitazawa to Shibuya. Go to Udagawacho first. If it's Friday to Sunday, DISCLAND JARO (jazz) closes at 18:00, so do it first. Then diskunion's Club Music Shop and the Jazz/Rare Groove floor above it, Manhattan Records (hip hop and R&B, used records upstairs, until 20:00), Face Records (used, all genres, until 20:00) and next records (original 12-inch singles, until 20:00).

DISCLAND JARONot watched yetShibuya · Udagawacho · Jazz · Original pressings · Used Not watched yet Shop page →

Evening. HMV record shop Shibuya is open until 21:00 and TOWER VINYL SHIBUYA, the record floor of Tower Records, until 22:00, so finish there.

TOWER VINYL SHIBUYANot watched yetShibuya · New and used · All genres · J-pop on vinyl Opening days vary: check the calendar on their site.Not watched yet Opening days vary: check the calendar on their site.Shop page →

More Shibuya shops, including Recofan and the Harajuku pair, are in our Shibuya guide.

Day three, if you have it: the west side

Koenji, Nakano and Kichijoji are all on the JR Chuo Line west of Shinjuku.

• Koenji, from 13:00: Los Apson? (new and used records picked from every genre, 13:00–19:00, closed Wednesday) and UNIVERSOUNDS (used jazz, 14:00–19:00, closed Tuesday and Wednesday).
• Nakano: RARE Nakano (used, all genres, 10:00–20:00) and a diskunion general store.
• Kichijoji: Coconuts Disk Kichijoji (watched by Hori, 12:00–21:00 every day), diskunion Kichijoji with its jazz shop-in-shop (10:00–20:00), HMV record shop Coppice Kichijoji and RARE Kichijoji.

On a Monday or Wednesday

Mondays and Wednesdays are the hardest days for this route. On a Monday, Lighthouse Records and CLASSICUS are closed; on a Wednesday, Echo Records, Flash Disc Ranch, Los Apson? and UNIVERSOUNDS are. diskunion is open both days, so a Monday or Wednesday is a good day to go deep in one diskunion area: Ochanomizu in the early afternoon, Shinjuku from mid-afternoon until 20:00. Rana Musica, JET SET, Manhattan Records, Face Records and the big Shibuya floors are open too, so Shimokitazawa and Shibuya still work with one or two stops missing.

Practical bits

• Carry a bag. A day of digging gets heavy; a tote or a record bag saves your shoulders.
• Ask before you play a record. Some shops have listening stations, others play records at the counter on request, and policies differ.
• Read the grade. Used records carry the shop's own grading, sleeve first and disc second. Our grading guide explains the scales and the Japanese on the price cards.
• Getting it home. If you buy more than you can carry, Japan Post's international services and the US duty rules are in our guide to buying records from Japan.

If you mostly dig house and techno, our electronic record shops guide reorders this route around the club music shops.

After the trip, Hori keeps watching the shops marked as watched for the records on your Discogs wantlist, and messages you on LINE when one turns up.