yeah, i was up in iwate about a year and half ago doing some
traveling around there, miyagi: higashi-matsushima & sendai, and
also rolled over to yamagata. Tohoku is a very proud, historical
area with a deep tradition. Good people up there.

Yeah, I'm a record guy, but I totally understand why people switch
to the compactness of CDs (even more so in Japan where lack of
space is a huge issue). I'm locked in over here for atleast the
foreseeable future and more likely forever, so for me vinyl was it.

CD prices have come down quite a bit since I've been here. Even Japanese stuff. Yeah Chuukou is where its at. Disk Union and Coconuts
are both amazing in Tokyo. They have the best overall selection
and price combination. I use amazon for new stuff now and again,
and the prices aren't much different from the states now. I'm
constantly seeing lots of pretty amazing CD titles in the 100-300 yen
boxes at disk union (even used japanese cds).

When were you over here lonesome? I've been here since 2007.