Have you ever traveled abroad and found yourself longing for the strumming comfort of a favorite instrument that is 5,000 or 10,000 miles away? Somehow, I imagine there must be quite a few such foreign sojourners, bereft of their beloved guitar or ukulele, right here in Tokyo, right now.
If this is you, bear with me. I may have a remedy.
A Cautionary Note
There are plenty of new and used musical instrument stores in Tokyo, the big, fancy ones being situated mostly in Ochanomizu and Shibuya. Google and go have a look. While I do not wish to disparage with faint praise, I find most of these places to be run like carefully defended fortresses, targeting shoppers focused on brand, optics or price rather than tone, clarity or resonance. And too bad if you actually want to strum a chord, or bend a note; the policy is often look, but don’t touch.
Give a Listen
Fortunately, the vibe is not so uptight in the suburbs, and in one neighborhood, a five or six-minute walk from Ayase Station, there’s a small used guitar shop that I highly recommend. The place is called Yatagai Gakki, and the stock is primarily preowned stringed instruments. It offers a plentiful selection of vintage acoustic and electric guitars, a few violins, and a tempting clutch of Japanese-made ukuleles, including some real beauties from the sixties. Prices are reasonable and, yes, you can pluck and listen! For those not into strings, there is a smattering of other musical stuff, plenty of accessories, some amps, songbooks and even a shelf of Japanese LPs.
For Itinerant Buskers in Need of a Fix
The kind gentlemen who operates this shop – let’s just call him Yatagai-san, that works - has already adjusted the action on his acoustic inventory, so it’s ready for busking, serenading, or sitting in even before you take it out the door. Note: he offers tune-up services to local guitar owners, too, but please call ahead to discuss.
Don't Try This in Ochanomizu
Now, if you’ve read this far, and you’re thinking “How does this help me? I just need something to play for the next two weeks!” the answer should be plain. Mr. Yatagai will buy back the guitar he has sold you. He is not in the rental business, and don’t expect the impossible – sorry, Jimmy, your phenomenal touch has not imbued the wood with greater warmth and presence - but he does buy what he sells, and this goes for what he sold you.
If you visit Yatagai Gakki, and you don’t speak Japanese, please bring someone who does.
And may the muse be with you!
