[sdiy] Synth museums/shops in Kanto (greater Tokyo) region?

[Erik Ribeiro]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. Much appreciated. I'm looking forward to checking them out, though I probably should leave my wallet at the hotel.
 Erik

      From: Miles Stevens <milesstevens89 at gmail.com>
 To: Hugh Blemings <hugh at blemings.org> 
Cc: Erik Ribeiro <djxpat at yahoo.com>; "Synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl" <Synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl>
 Sent: Sunday, December 20, 2015 8:08 AM
 Subject: Re: [sdiy] Synth museums/shops in Kanto (greater Tokyo) region?
   
That's funny, I'm in Tokyo at the moment visiting my Parents (they live here)
Ishibashi in Shibuya is alright, 2 floors below Recofan (good record store and easier to put into googlemaps), disk union is around the corner too (again, a record store).
I think 5G is a pretty stuffy store, attendants are rude. Echigoya is much cheaper, Ishibashi is cheaper again. Musicland in Shibuya is cool, for new stuff. Heartman Vintage is good for guitars and FX. Ochanomizo is the place for guitars. If you are in greater Tokyo check out Hard-Off, mixed bag though but cheap if they have anything.
Since this is the SDIY list, you should go to Akihabara Electric Town - I bought some knobs, and nice RK27 Potentiometers for ~$10 or so. Check out Sofmap around the corner.
Have fun
On Sat, Dec 19, 2015 at 4:58 PM, Hugh Blemings <hugh at blemings.org> wrote:

Hi Erik,

On 19/12/2015 13:19, Erik Ribeiro wrote:

I've got 2 days in Tokyo/Yokohama and was wondering if anyone knows of
any interesting shops or synth museums in the area. Looks like Roland
had a pretty extensive showroom, but I can't find any info about where
it is or how to visit.

Any ideas?


Sure - I've been fortunate to visit Tokyo a couple of times these last few years - most recently in October of this year.

Two stores I'd recommend you seek out - neither just strictly SDIY in the sense of kits etc. but well worth a look for vintage/modular/quirky;

Five G Music Technology - in Shibuya.  Harajuka nearest station.

https://goo.gl/maps/D8qRrPxB6cs

They have an amazing range of new and second hand gear - last time I was in there they had six floor to ceiling racks of Eurorack modules.  Three memory moogs, several Prophet 5s etc - vintage galore.

Check the opening hours - from memory they close on Tuesdays, most other days only open at midday or so.  As I recall it's not well signposted in English - but once you hit the right building it's on the 4th floor, turn right out of the lift if memory serves.

Echigoya Music - in Shibuya - Shibuya Station nearest.

https://goo.gl/maps/8cpax451Uqj

Smaller shop - almost tiny actually - but seem to have quirky bits and pieces - not so much specifically SDIY or modular though.  9th floor of the building, little corner sort of place as I'd recall.

If you start at Five G it's a pleasant walk down the hill - 10 minutes or so - to Echigoya.  "Rock On Company" https://goo.gl/maps/sWarxBhzwXn isn't Synth specific, but have interesting stuff too.

If you put "Musical Instruments" into Google Maps while centred on that area it will show up a few others in the Shibuya area.

Staff in both stores have reasonable skills in English if (like me) you're not fluent in Japanese.

One thing I'd caution in closing - if you have poor impulse control and/or strict check bag limits, leave all forms of payment at your accommodation :)

Hope this helps and they're in the right part of town for you.

Cheers,
Hugh







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