The fact that Shibuya is not the city with the most record stores in the world
The fact that Shibuya is not the city with the most record stores in the world
It has often been said that "Shibuya is the city with the most record stores in the world." It has also been said that "it is even in the Guinness Book of World Records." However, I have yet to see that article in the Guinness Book. My search method might be poor, but if it exists, I would love to see it.
So, I actually checked the number of stores in areas with high concentrations of record stores in Japan using the "Record + CD Map" from 1991 to 2023. (Data for 1990 and 2006 is missing, and data from 2014 onwards is biennial.)
As a result, the Shinjuku area (West Exit, East Exit, South Exit) had the highest number in Tokyo in 2000 and 2001, with 74 stores. The Shibuya area (Udagawacho, Jinnan, Sakuragaoka, Shibuya, etc.) was second in Tokyo with 66 stores. Of course, I think there were some stores that refused to be listed because they "didn't like that sort of thing," but based on the data, Shinjuku took the win.
This is not meant to incite any "Shibuya vs. Shinjuku" rivalry at all (lol); it is just a list of the facts.
So, which area was the one with the most record stores in the world?
Numbers do not lie. The area with the most record stores in Japan was the Minami area of Osaka (Shinsaibashi + Namba + Nipponbashi), which had 93 stores in 2003 and 2004. The Record Map does not categorize them under the name "Minami," and people from Osaka might find it strange to group Shinsaibashi, Namba, and Nipponbashi as the same area, but considering the area name "Minami" and the fact that it is within walking distance, I believe this area was number one in Japan, or rather, number one in the world. I have been to Osaka several times during that period, and I remember that even from a visceral perspective, there were quite a lot of record stores. The strong used record stores in Osaka at the time were also frequently going to America to buy stock, and I would often run into several of them inside used record stores in America. I would get discouraged when they beat me to it, thinking, "There's nothing left now," or feel relieved when I beat them to it (lol).
Furthermore, even in the latest 2023-24 edition of the Record Map, Shinsaibashi + Namba is in first place with 32 stores. Shibuya has 16 stores, and Shinjuku has 30.
Tokyo was number one in the world in terms of the number of stores by city
This is also slightly old information, but according to Discogs data from 2017, Japan ranked 8th by country with 158 stores. However, 93 of those were concentrated in Tokyo, making it the number one city in the world in terms of the total number of stores in the metropolitan area, including Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ochanomizu, and Shimokitazawa.
Shibuya is the city that sold the most imported records in the world
However, Shibuya is likely number one in the world in terms of cumulative sales of "new imported records" over the past 60 years. From the 1960s with Yamaha Shibuya, the 70s with Cisco Records, Disk Port, and Pied Piper House, the 80s with Tower Records, WAVE, and Merurido, and from the 90s with Manhattan Records, DMR, and Guinness Records, famous stores dealing in imported records existed for a long time, and the discerning buyers at each store sourced high-quality music.
So, what about imported used records...? Buyers who could identify artists that major American distributors did not handle, independent releases, or records with low name recognition that were only distributed in certain regions, bought them as used records. That was Mr. Hirakawa, the founder of Manhattan Records. When Manhattan Records opened, it is said that "there were piles of rare records never seen before in Japan," and collectors and famous musicians flocked to visit.
Japan had the world's largest stockpile of records in the 90s, and the reason was Shibuya
When I opened my store in 1994, record stores in the city had almost entirely switched to CD shops (a senior colleague told me it was a sunset industry (lol)), and globally, stores had stopped selling records. However, in Shibuya, it was the golden age of imported records. Because a massive amount of records of music popular at the time, such as "Alternative Rock," "Hip Hop," "R&B," and "HOUSE," were being sold at imported record stores in Shibuya, I believe that the world's largest stockpile of records in these genres is in Tokyo. Anyone who went buying overseas in that era knows that there were no other cities actively selling new records in record stores at that time. At the very least, I remember that large stores in London and Los Angeles had completely switched to CDs.
Around 2014, when those memories of buying trips were starting to fade—about 10 years ago—I accidentally listed a certain alternative album on eBay, and the price skyrocketed strangely. At first, I didn't understand why. When I calmly thought about the cause, I realized that the alternative album that had skyrocketed in price was something that had been piled up in every large store in Shibuya. Yes, at that time, you couldn't buy records at record stores in cities around the world anymore. Even though it was a record that sold so well, I suspect it wasn't distributed much outside of Japan. And then, that certain alternative album was re-evaluated after the 2010s, its global value increased, and the price skyrocketed.
The relationship between record collectors and DJs of each generation and Shibuya
Talking to senior DJs who are now around 60 years old, many said they bought "new releases in Shibuya and used records at the Shinjuku West Exit from the late 80s to the early 90s."
It was like, "Go to so-and-so where my friends are" to buy new releases that were flown in every week, and "Go to so-and-so on Otakibashi-dori at the Shinjuku West Exit" for used records. I feel like I had that same sense when I was in my early 20s. We came to Shibuya seeking encounters with new records arriving from around the world every week. Everyone told me the same thing. They came to buy new imported records in search of various genres. 1995 was also a time when the yen was quite strong at 80 yen to the US dollar, and new records were becoming cheaper and easier to buy.
Records always come with good memories attached
I have also heard many old "record store stories" about Shibuya from people of the generation above me. The stories from those who frequented Yamaha on Dogenzaka were also extremely valuable. It was interesting that those who frequented Yamaha always talked about BYG as well. The stories from someone who was an opening staff member at Tower Records during the Udagawacho era were very interesting. From another senior, I heard stories like buying a Japanese pressing of a Dr. John record with an obi strip on an installment plan (?) at the now-defunct Midoriya. I think there are various stories, from accurate memories to embellished, incorrect ones (lol), but I have heard many stories about records from that time, and everyone spoke with their eyes sparkling. Talking about music and memories of when you bought records is fun for everyone.
Records always come with memories attached.
Shibuya becomes a city where people come from all over the world to buy records
Although it is a bit old, in the TV Asahi program "Japan Surprised the World! Amazing! Inspection Team" broadcast on February 3, 2018, there was a segment called "I came to this city to buy this!" where they conducted exit surveys of 240 foreign tourists, and the result broadcast was that "they came to Shibuya to buy used records." Thinking back to that time, I remember that foreign tourists gradually started to increase from around 2015, and by 2018, before COVID, they had increased quite a bit, so I think the survey content was generally correct. It was also around this time that requests for interviews about records from TV programs started to increase for our company.
Selected as one of the record shops in the world that people most want to visit!
If I may be so bold, although this was a little while ago, our Shibuya store was selected as the 9th place in the "Top 10 Record Shops in the World You Most Want to Visit" in June 2018 (according to the record store database site VinylHub). I have the impression that the number of foreign tourists increased dramatically after this article (this is a translation and capture of a past article from Discogs).
The future of record stores in Shibuya
After the war, Shibuya was a "city that provided new overseas record culture." Our predecessors wandered the streets in search of records, and now, record fans from all over the world wander Shibuya in search of records. It is a city where everyone wanders in search of "exciting records." We must continue to be that way, and I want customers coming from overseas to fully enjoy their time at our record stores before they head home. I believe that is my role as "a record store in Shibuya." Furthermore, we must continue the history that our predecessors have built over the past 60 years in forming such an attractive record store district.
