The title of this post is “The Biggest Guide to Tokyo Record Stores on the Internet,” and it very well may be. It’s exhaustive as hell, and written in a super personal manner, which makes for a fun read. Skimming through it, I felt a lot of nostalgia, as I definitely spent a lot of time in a lot of these shops during my early years in Tokyo. Something to bookmark as reference for use on your next Tokyo music hunting trip.
My first reaction when I saw the beautiful new site Tokyo Soup was that, hey, this is what I’ve been trying to do my entire life, but done better. At least on a visual level. Created by Tokyo-based art director Michele Angeloro, it’s a beautiful curated guide to the best that Tokyo has to offer in terms of art and design, presented in a slick and image-heavy package. Definitely something to follow if you’re on the lookout for delicious Tokyo eye candy. Hat tip to my buddy Gueorgui, whose Turbulence zine you should pick up.
There’s a good chance you’ve already heard of Luis Mendo‘s The City Reporter series — I’ve shared the love on this site in the past, and have handed out a self-published edition of the Tokyo map at one of last year’s PauseTalks. Luis is coming back to Tokyo in early April for a couple of weeks, and the reason is because we want to work together on a new edition of the Tokyo report, one that will be more detailed and cover more of the city. We’re currently looking for sponsorship/funding on the project — mostly to help cover Luis’ expenses, but also to get it out there (print or digital). If you are someone who could help on this, do not hesitate to get in touch, we are open to all ideas and initatives.
In the meantime, do take a look at what Luis had done in the past with the other cities he’s visited, bringing to life lovely illustrated takes on each one.