Guitar Shopping in Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo is one of the best places in the world to go guitar shopping — if you can find the shops. Last week I spent four days searching for as many guitar shops as I could. Putting in the hard yards to make your Tokyo guitar shopping fantasy come true!

First, this is by no means a complete list. Not even close. The Japanese love music, particularly guitar music and they buy guitars big time. There’s lots of shops I didn’t get to or couldn’t find but here’s plenty to get you started.

1. ‘Guitar Street’ – Ochanomizu Station

‘Guitar street‘ is your first stop. As you’d guess from the name, this is a street full of guitar shops. You can find pretty much everything here. The sheer amount of guitars makes your eyes water. Fender and Gibson feature heavily especially the Fenders made in Japan. Most of the guitars are new but each shop has second hand items. You can tell from the colour of the price tag though each shop tended to have a slightly different system. Ochanomizu is on the metro line (M20) and is also a Japanese Rail (JR) station. All the shops have at least someone who can speak English.

2. Ishibashi Music – Shibuya

This was the biggest shop I visited. Had a huge selection of pedals and accessories and the most interesting collection of second hand /vintage guitars. Worth a look.

It’s a five minute walk from the Hachikō statue.

3. 246 Guitars, Shibuya

I made quite an effort to find this small shop but it had some cool, reasonably priced guitars. So if you’re staying in Shibuya go up and have a look. Not worth a separate trip however.

A couple of things to add:

Trying guitars in Japan takes a little longer than other countries. Here in Hong Kong you just grab a guitar and have a play. In Japan you need to ask (politely, you’re in Japan after all) and then wait while the shop assistant tunes and sometimes cleans the guitar. I found it useful to point out at least two at a time then when while you’re playing another guitar is being prepared.

The prices here are on a par with the states for new guitars. Perhaps cheaper for the made in Japan models. You can find some excellent deals with second hand guitars though. For one thing Japanese musicians seem to look after their instruments so they are generally in top condition and there must be a preference for new because the second hand discount can be quite generous.

I only wish the shops had more second hand stock. I just couldn’t find most of the brands and models I was after but could see that the price points were generally good by international standards and there were a few bargains. What the shops do stock is vintage guitars and custom shop models. So if you’re got some serious cash and high-end taste then you’ll be spoilt for choice.

So what did I buy?

A mint condition Gretsch 6119 from 2008, the 125th anniversary year. Lovely guitar.

In such a vast and sprawling city I am sure there are many more great guitar shops. They’ll have to wait and next time…