J-rock Visual Kei music stores in Tokyo! Book Off & Japan CD shops.
Readers often ask me: “Where can I buy Jrock CDs and Visual Kei memorabilia in Tokyo?”
In this post, I’ll take you to some of my favorite musical haunts in Shinjuku: Book Off, Closet Child Mens, and Pure Sound. At the bottom of this post, you’ll find more info about J-rock stores in Harajuku and Ikebukuro.
My shopping partner of the day was Yukiro Dravarious, wearing signature purple and lots of kitty-cat influences.
Who says Goths can’t rock neon? The Japanese taxi in the back matches the look.
I hadn’t brushed out my curls yet, but this gives you a sense of the blue-green shaded color. The scarf is by Sex Pot Revenge, and the sunglasses are old ones by Salvatore Ferragamo.
We first stopped by Book-Off, which has various locations. One is located near the Southern Terrace and Shinjuku station south exit.
Inside, you’ll find tons of used music and magazines. We picked up recent copies of Kera and Gothic Lolita Bible, and Yukiro even found Malice Mizer cds for about $2 each!
We walked to the West side of Shinjuku station, and spotted these rock-style boys looking at music posters. Obviously, we were in the right place…
… Closet Child Men’s, one of the more obscure branches of this secondhand alt clothing store. (If you’re been reading this blog for a while, you may remember I wrote about it in 2010.)
Here is a map of Closet Child Men’s; you may need to walk around a bit to find it.
On one side of the small store, you’ll find tons of J-rock and Visual Kei memorabilia, including special edition CDs and concert booklets. Many young people hang around, browsing for treasure, like this green haired girl.
Note: only the Men’s and Ikebukuro branches of Closet Child sell music as well as clothing.
On the other side, there’s a nice selection of Goth, punk and alternative men’s fashion. These brands include unisex ones like Super Lovers and Sexy Dynamite.
Right next door is Pure Sound, a Jrock-oriented music shop. When you see the giant posters of boys with teased colored hair and makeup, you’re there.
Pure Sound often has special events, such as band signings. If so, the shop may be temporary closed, and there could be a long lineup of fans.
All your favorite VK music is sold inside, like Penicillin, The Gazette, Golden Bomber and more.
Tip: pick up the free band flyers at the front of the shop. You can used these to decorate your walls.
A smaller rock music shop nearby also sells some used Lolita and Harajuku fashion.
The best place to shop for secondhand Goth Lolita Punk clothes, however, remains Closet Child. This is a snap of the upper “rock” floor of the Shinjuku location. (For more info about the various branches of CC, see my Tokyo shopping guide.)
I leave you with some close-ups of Yukiro’s cute accessories. A zombie doll…
… a cute faced plush cat.
Bright pink sneakers and mis-matched socks, a Harajuku staple.
Want more Jrock posts? Check out my collection of concert reviews including Dir en Grey, X Japan and Moi dix Mois.
There are also more Visual Kei merchandise stores in Harajuku; I’ve listed a few at the bottom of this comprehensive guide.
Which bands are currently on your playlist? Share your favorites with us in the comments!
Tons more Tokyo coverage coming right up — including the owl cafe, Heavy Pop Harajuku party and a horror themed bar. Be sure to add my Instagram for previews of my Asia adventures.
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LA CARMINA
41 Comments
I’m curious as to the name of the band on the poster in the picture above the caption “We walked to the West side of Shinjuku station, and spotted these
rock-style boys looking at music posters. Obviously, we were in the
right place…” Any info would be greatly appreciated, Thank You!
They are called “Greiva” //Yukiro
Thx
Hope you can visit :-)
They are called “Grieva” グリーヴァ
Oh, I so want to visit all those shops !!!
Awesome! I didnt even know there Was a closet child mens, and neither did I know about the book off in shinjuku (even though it has become my favourite store) off I go to explore this, and hopefully be able to pillage some of those malice mixer CDs as well!
Nice, you must check it out.
Ooh, nice! Might want to add Off House for the super bargain CDs – not sure where any locations are besides Hachioji though! I had so much fun in that store!
It’s from the same company as Book Off/Hard Off/etc, but it more or less follows the format of a typical thrift store. The CDs seem to be unsold ones from Book Off and way cheaper than any Book Off I went to (about 200-500 yen). They also have really cheap clothes, some lolita and goth brands included…I bought a lot of Engrishy shirts on their 210 yen rack + found a cute lolita purse for my friend for 45 yen there! The one I went to is in either Naraharacho or Inumecho in Hachioji (right on the border so I’m not sure)…it’s in a big shopping center that also has a Super Alps, D2, Mister Donut, Daiso, and a few other things, kind of tucked back inside the center. There’s also a very large Tsutaya nearby that sells a lot of stationery, manga, and cheap used FC/SFC games. From Hachioji Station, take the bus 工０１ a little past the 7-11 (after you pass Kogakuin University) and take a left across the bridge when you see an old folks’ service. Cross the street and take a right, and it’s on your left.
This is really helpful, I will check it out next time :-)
I miss living in Hachioji
Aww
kisses
Xo
just fab
:)
so cute!!
Xxixo
Thanks for this!!
Malice Mizer <3
<3
Cute shoes Yukiro
OMGFGG
Moi Dix mois, malice mizer and velvet Eden all the way!
agree
Versailles, Cell, and Sick2
Oh man, why always Gazette and Alice Nine…
Buck-Tick, Shazna, Malice Mizer, Lareine and Raphael for the win!
good choice!
Royz, Kiryu, Mejibray, The Gazette and Versailles! ,3
<3 XD
4 bands over all: X-japan, Dir en grey, Alice nine and The gazette
what about malice mizer?
Femme Fatale, Mejibray,
yarrr
yes finally XD i order from sex pot revenge not cheap tho ;/
Nice!
(*ﾟдﾟ*)ワン
I want to go
omg I just could not stop commenting this lol, but i’m pretty sure that “rock style guys” (pic 5) are xTRiPx!!! (i think looks like in this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df8IozhXLx0 ) they look really similar -tho i know, mostly jrock guys looks similar without makeup and i cannot to see his faces lol- but immediately his style made me think about them hahah, btw they’re a good band! i like it too much :)
And thanks for blog, i’ve enjoyed reading it. I went to some of those shops, are so awesome, really you can to find new treasures every day! wanted to buy everything hahah. I hope can go again soon and visit more shops too, but of course Closet child it’s my first stop, i found good treasures there hehe (^_^)
Also, answering to your question, some jbands in my playlist are: An Cafe, DaizyStripper, xTRiPx, SiD, DiV, NoGoD, SuG, DOG inThePWO, and others quite popular like Lar’c en ciel, TM revolution, etc.
Thanks to publish! i’ll keep reading your blog, waiting to next entry!
regards from Chile~
Hahah that’s awesome! So true!