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Tower Records: Japan's Music Retail Store

Yuri S.

by GoWithGuide travel specialist:Yuri S.

Last updated : Apr 30, 2022・3 min read

If you are one of those Japanese music enthusiasts, then I bet you would want to drop by a music store to check out some Japanese music CDs of your favorite artists and bands during your trip to Japan. Today I will introduce to you one of Japan's most famous record outlets, Tower Records.

Tower Records in Shibuya is considered as the flagship store among all the 83 (and counting) branches of Tower Records all over Japan. Shibuya Tower Records has undergone a major overhaul in the past few years and now has 9 full floors of original CDs, books, and other artist merchandise.

Photo from bravecaptain.wordpress.com

Each floor is occupied by different genres of Japanese music CDs and DVDs such as jazz, pop, electronic, classical, J-POP, rock, and more. Both new arrivals and back catalogue stocks are available at Tower Records, so you can go buy CDs from all the way back.

The striking red and yellow-themed building of Tower Records in Shibuya is not only limited to music CDs and DVDs. They also sell books. The 7th floor of the building is dedicated to a foreign books section where you can find books and magazines on different topics published in both in English and Japanese.

A Tower Records cafe on the 2nd floor gives you the option to have a good meal in the middle of your CD or book shopping. You can relax here while enjoying your purchase from the shop. A good cup of coffee is also available for take out which you can sip while exploring the store.

The basement features a mini exhibition space where visitors can enjoy live stage performances from various local artists.

Tower Records is an American-based company which first set its flags to Japan in the 1970s. Now standing up for itself, Tower Records Japan has become independent of the international chain store, which saved it from bankruptcy during the past decade.

Photo from mapptokyo.com

Tower Records is popular to people of all ages who enjoy recorded music, who patronize their favorite artists through buying their albums and singles. It is a good place to shop for records may it be new releases or back stocks.

Photo from localglobalworld.blogspot.com

Photo from quietgeek.com

Photo from businessinsider.com.au

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