New Vinyl Mecca: "HMV Record Shop Shinsaibashi" Opens

Mar 12, 2024 | News On Japan

OSAKA - Record fans have a new mecca in Osaka with the opening of "HMV record shop," boasting a collection of around 50,000 records, including jazz, soul, rock, and famous movie soundtracks.

The Shinsaibashi store is the first HMV record shop in the Kansai region. Surprisingly, the store was filled with young people on Sunday (March 10).

"I like Western rock and was wondering if there's anything good. The sound has depth. It even captures sounds that you can't pick up on streaming services."

"There's also the enjoyment of things like album covers, not just the music itself, which is interesting."

Even visitors from the United States were present. When asked...

"I heard Mariya Takeuchi's 'Plastic Love' a few years ago. I also like Tatsuro Yamashita, and I'm fond of other artists from that era."

Due to the rising inbound demand, the prices of some works have been increasing. A live album by J.A. Caesar, who created music for Shuji Terayama's plays, is priced at 198,000 yen.

(HMV Record Shop Shinsaibashi Manager, Manabu Nishimura) "Why is it about 200,000 yen? I think it's because the production volume at that time was quite low, and there is an unusually high demand for this record."

It looks set to become a new "holy land" for music fans.

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