Why Tokyo Has So Many Record Stores
In a country where curation itself has long carried economic value, the identities of Tokyo’s record stores are inseparable from the owners’ personal obsessions.
Michael Schoolnik
Michael Schoolnik is an American creator based near Tokyo. He runs Rice Field Records, a YouTube channel documenting record stores, collecting culture, and the used-record economy in Japan. His work focuses on how independent shops, specialist retail, and physical media cultures survive in dense urban environments.