Shops selling Bacchus
- Thread starter j3ster
- Start date
EugeneSmasher
New member
I think I've seen a few at Blackwood. Not sure though.
shinobi
New member
ishibashi is dead to us now. you can try
rakuten
http://event.rakuten.co.jp/borderless/
or get it directly from bacchus
http://bacchusdo.com/english/index.html
rakuten
http://event.rakuten.co.jp/borderless/
or get it directly from bacchus
http://bacchusdo.com/english/index.html
5stringwonder
Member
actually ishibashi will still ship here as long as the order is more the 50,000 JPY. pretty sure a bacchus would qualify.
BrazenPicker
New member
Bump!
Someone should start importing these. I ordered a Tokai LS136SEB via an ebay seller (with a good reputation so i'm pretty sure it's not a fake) and I'm disappointed with the quality of the inlay work. It has very noticeable drillholes in each corner of the inlay, filled with very dark filler which really contrasts with medium brown fretboard. Seems like Tokai is just going for the big bucks now and is forgetting its original moto of quality before quantity. I'm finicky about my guitars and will sell the Tokai and look for another les paul. Seems like Fgn and Bacchus are trying harder these days. It reminds me of the Avis ad "we are number 2, we try harder".
Someone should start importing these. I ordered a Tokai LS136SEB via an ebay seller (with a good reputation so i'm pretty sure it's not a fake) and I'm disappointed with the quality of the inlay work. It has very noticeable drillholes in each corner of the inlay, filled with very dark filler which really contrasts with medium brown fretboard. Seems like Tokai is just going for the big bucks now and is forgetting its original moto of quality before quantity. I'm finicky about my guitars and will sell the Tokai and look for another les paul. Seems like Fgn and Bacchus are trying harder these days. It reminds me of the Avis ad "we are number 2, we try harder".
lordie
New member
i ma going japan for a week next 2 weeks, any idea where i can browse shops for bass gears. trinkets, etc..etc..
google maps will be nice!
BrazenPicker
New member
Read this thread on thegearpage and you'll have more than you'll ever need.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=263725&highlight=tokyo
The place you can't miss is Ochanomizu. If you take the JR train (above ground Japan Rail system, as opposed to metro) the main drag with guitar and bass shops is right there as you exit the station.
Other places with good guitar shops are Shibuya (probably second) and Shinjuku. There's also some decent places in Ikebukero but by the time you've done the other 2 or 3 it will all look the same. I just went to Ikebukero because I'd noticed a good offer for a second hand guitar on Digimart.net. All this stuff lies close together. If you still need a hotel, I was very satisfied with the Shinjuku Sunroute hotel, very near the main Shinjuku south exit, just a few minutes but on a quieter street. It was 90,000 Yen per night, and I think it's hard to find much cheaper unless you're really staying in backpacker places. There's a direct train to Narita from Shinjuku and almost anywhere else in Tokyo, very convenient location.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=263725&highlight=tokyo
The place you can't miss is Ochanomizu. If you take the JR train (above ground Japan Rail system, as opposed to metro) the main drag with guitar and bass shops is right there as you exit the station.
Other places with good guitar shops are Shibuya (probably second) and Shinjuku. There's also some decent places in Ikebukero but by the time you've done the other 2 or 3 it will all look the same. I just went to Ikebukero because I'd noticed a good offer for a second hand guitar on Digimart.net. All this stuff lies close together. If you still need a hotel, I was very satisfied with the Shinjuku Sunroute hotel, very near the main Shinjuku south exit, just a few minutes but on a quieter street. It was 90,000 Yen per night, and I think it's hard to find much cheaper unless you're really staying in backpacker places. There's a direct train to Narita from Shinjuku and almost anywhere else in Tokyo, very convenient location.
BrazenPicker
New member
It's actually not that hard, but you absolutely need a decent map, precise knowledge of where you're going, and then take your time making sure you're on the right track. The first day I had looked at a map and thought I knew the general area where a store would be, but I ended up not finding it. It's a lot of fun, although unless something is on sale the prices aren't that great.
BrazenPicker
New member
There are some decent ones, like Rock-in in Shinjuku, Ishibashi in Ikebukero, and I can remember at least 3 on the main street in Ochanomizu that have only second hand guitars. When you're in Ochanomizu, by the way, make sure to walk all the way downhill till you reach at the corner a large guitarshop called G-club (i believe). That one has only new stuff but may be the largest of them all. You could miss it because it's a couple of hundred meters past where most of the guitar shops are. As to second hand gear, as the thread on thegearpage says, it's a limited collection. I think with the rents so high there, they just make much better money on new ones. An efficient method to get second hand stuff is to look at digimart.net (a mix of new and second hand gear -- new is marked "S", then you have A+ (mint, usually display models), A, B+ etc. I've seen even B+ guitars that looked like mint to me. To be able to navigate digimart.net you should have some translation software on your computer. I use google chrome as a browser and installed google translate as a plugin (that may not even be necessary anymore in the latest version of chrome). It automatically translates everything from Japanese to English. So look at Digimart.net for gear you're interested in, click on the store, and usually there will be a map or address that you can type in google and it will spit out a map. You might want to do some research before you go there while you still have a printer at hand. I didn't and ended up using my camera to take pictures of maps with guitar stores on them, but it would have been easier to print them. At current prices, I'm mainly interested in used gear. The Japanese take good care of their guitars, and you can get some really nice stuff at a decent price still (in spite of the high Yen).
Indigo_blues
New member
hey i just got back from tokyo.. Ochanomizu has lots of guitar shops.. saw some used musicman stingrays going quite cheap. Some eye popping guitars in some shops too... great experience overall.
BrazenPicker
New member
Yes, it's a lot of fun. I have to say though, I had 6 days there and after 3 days or so I started to lose interest. It became just more and more rows of the same mostly mass production guitars. I think it's most fun if you have some idea of what you want and then you can hunt that down. But as a holiday it sure beats 6 days in Phuket. 
By the way, one shop that's a little hard to find but most worth it is the ESP custom shop in Shibuya. Look up the address on the internet. It's close to the station (less than 500 meters) but you can easily miss it. They have this entire wall with extravagantly carved guitars, most in the shape of religious statues. Quite a sight. Other than that, they have a really good selection of Edwards, Ltd, ESP, Navigator, etc.
By the way, one shop that's a little hard to find but most worth it is the ESP custom shop in Shibuya. Look up the address on the internet. It's close to the station (less than 500 meters) but you can easily miss it. They have this entire wall with extravagantly carved guitars, most in the shape of religious statues. Quite a sight. Other than that, they have a really good selection of Edwards, Ltd, ESP, Navigator, etc.
shinobi
New member
sorry for late reply bro
ishibashi is the big boy in tokyo and probably the rest of japan.
outlets (with addresses, maps) here
http://ishibashi.co.jp/eng/store.html
japan got very few malls, mostly walking street kind of shopping arcades with many small shops. this is why it seems like ochanomizu has so many ishibashi outlets.
apart from ochanomizu the ikebukuro and shibuya ishibashi outlets are quite big. the rest dont bother, alot of stuff cant find. unless u are looking for a specific 2nd hand item.
i've never been to the shibuya ishibashi, shibuya is just too hard for me to navigate and too many 'distractions'. but since their old webshop staff got transferred to shibuya, should have english speaking staff there.
other shops are mostly bullshit with the exception of 'music vox' in akihabara, but then u never know what u gonna get. used and new goods usually displayed together, if it's used it will be indicated on the tag.
you can take train everywhere. to find your way from shinagawa you can try this site
http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/
got other sites but i find this the simplest to use.
i think if i give you 101 directions it is still highly likely u will get lost, so must commando a bit.
survival japanese:
musical instruments - GAKKI
music shop - GAKKI-TEN
ishibashi - ISHIBASHI GAKKI TEN
live gig - RAIB ('live')
japanese ah lian - GYARU ('girl')
if you got iphone or ipod touch download 'trains.jp' there is a FREE offline version. cos roaming charges will rape you in japan.
tokyo gig guide. name speaks for itself
http://www.tokyogigguide.com/
bonus: for other weird underground shit you can check out
http://hellodamage.com/
may not be your cup of sake but in recent years i've started going to japan a couple of times, this site has been really handy
Last edited:
jbarks
New member
I like your style bro
i imported mine direct form a japanese shop that is willing to shop overseas.... i contacted the shop through e-mail, they said they would ship, and bank TT the money over, after a 3 days i think they said they received the money and then shipped the bass over.... can't remember the shop name now though... 
