Unique to Japan Basses

[Dabndug]

Additional brands worth checking out include Crews, Moon, Three Dots, and Kikuchi. You may also find some deals on used MIJ Musicman, G&L, and Lakland basses that were only available domestically.

If you're in Osaka, the Mikigakki Bass Side store would be a blast. In Tokyo, whilst Ochanomizu is by far the most densely packed music store locale, all the big chains have outlets across the city. If you're travelling with family or friends who want to do more generic siteseeing, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ginza all have a decent selection of stores (though they will be more scattered than at Ochnomizu). Thete are a large number of boutique stores scattered around Tokyo that can have some gems in stock, (e.g. Guitar Traders, Guitar Shelter, Ico Nico) but you need to be comfortable navigating the city in order to check them out.

Japan is fabulous! Have a great time there!

 

[jasonbraatz]

This! I was there last year and it was unbelievable. You could definitely spend two days there (I only had two hours as we had many other things on the list to do).

Yup, same here! Spent a whole day last year poking around Ochanomizu. Absolute must visit. (And there’s a shrine on the other side of the river that has amulet charms to ward off IT maladies. )

Ishibashi and many other retailers post their more interesting stuff on Reverb. I basically visited every instrument shop in Tokyo (and Osaka) by using Reverb to find where I should go.

 

[pbgonecrazy99]

If you will be in Tokyo, head to Ochanomizu Station on the Chuo train line. The main street has the greatest collection of musical instrument shops. New, used, custom and more. great place to spend a day, or two

I'm spending a few days in Tokyo, so I will definitely check this out. Would this place have ESP's MIJ?

Check out this guy before you go. I've never dealt with him but he has posted a ton of YT videos about Japanese-made basses sold and for sale. Good player, too.

Bass Japan Direct

I've seen this guys videos before, he always has the coolest basses. I'm trying to stay away from the standard pbass, jazz, jaguar type basses. Definitely been liking what Sago, Dragonfly, STR, and Sugi have.

Does anyone know if Ibanez does any Japan unique instruments?

 

[tb-player]

+1 for Sugi. I owned one and it was spectacular.

 

[joninjapan]

I'm spending a few days in Tokyo, so I will definitely check this out. Would this place have ESP's MIJ?

ESP's home in the Tokyo area is Ochanomizu. Custom shop, School, and repair shop as well as "Big Boss" their retail shop.

 

[Hibike]

I picked up a precision style bass from ESP in Ochanomizu a couple years ago. It had the best fretwork I've ever seen on a bass. The guys at the shop were super nice and helpful too.

 

[TomB]

21 posts before Moon came up. Japan must be a treasure trove of fine bass construction. My Moon was on a par with the best I’ve owned.

 

[Hibike]

Didn’t realize Moon was a Japanese brand. Definitely great stuff.

 

[Suntory]

HardOff is a nationwide chain store with locations in every city. They stock new and used instruments in a range of prices. There is also an online store: ギター・ベース本体|オフモール - 中古通販のハードオフ公式サイト【オフモ】

What doesn't hardoff sell? There's a guitar street close to Ochanomizu Station, but I found most of those shops had more in common with the guitar centre than shops that sell unique, and rare. I used to go to a few great shops back in the day, but like I said in another post, the slow economy is starting to kill off the cool little shops that had an interesting assortment of basses, leaving the shops that can move a lot of products. This shop sells just basses:

Guitar Shopping in Tokyo, Japan (Part One) (jeremys.studio)

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[jd56hawk]

I've always been interested in some of the unique basses that Japan seems to have that aren't available in the US, something along the lines of the ESP halibut. I will be traveling to Japan in the next month, and was wondering if anyone knows what places in Japan would have some of those types of basses and what brands/models to look for.

I'm considering a Bacchus Handmade Woodline, seller is here in the USA, but I just came across this Momose MJ...$2,300 plus $167 shipping, but I'm a bit worried about customs and tax.
Still, it's a beautiful bass and the quality is topnotch.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Danny's the best. It's amazing that in 4 days, he can ship a bass from Tokyo to Atlanta (via Alaska/Tennessee) and it arrive with nice low action. Examples...this Greco, as well as Funky Junk #36:

Ball park: How much are the fees to buy from Japan?

 

[Gervais Cote]

I'm considering a Bacchus Handmade Woodline, seller is here in the USA, but I just came across this Momose MJ...$2,300 plus $167 shipping, but I'm a bit worried about customs and tax.
Still, it's a beautiful bass and the quality is topnotch.View attachment 5480279

!

 

[ChuckBassman]

Ball park: How much are the fees to buy from Japan?

When you say "fees", the following comes to mind:

I've purchased basses from Japan, shipped, never (yet) got tagged for Export fees; tho it can happen.
Shipping usually via EMS which is very reliable is about $100-150 US depending on where you live. You also needn't pay the added sales tax that Japanese customers pay.

I was in Shibuya and bought a Dragonfly- so great. Had it shipped home, no other fees paid, I bought it at Musicland Key, a very cool chain. Also, Grundy, and SO many others.

Check these since nobody else mentioned them: Zeus, Sonic, Provision- All nice stuff. Very nice.

Your mouths would drool at the inventory at the Bass specialty shops there; NUTHIN' like it here (maybe one or two shops), you would see Ateliers, Sugis, DragonFly's, Moons, Freedoms, more; more more.
And very revered there: G&L. Yes. rightfully so.

 

[maakkim]

Check out Sugi bass, Atelier Z or Dragonfly

 

[Brad8008135]

Ball park: How much are the fees to buy from Japan?

$160 for UPS shipping from Tokyo to Atlanta (at least from Danny), pre-Covid (based on 2 Ishibashi guitar shipments) it was $80. Ikebe/Ishibashi will be between $200 & $250 as of the time of this writing (for me, to Atlanta). This of course will fluctuate depending on the value of the yen relative to the dollar. I haven't bought a bass over $1k and there were no additional fees beyond that. I've bought from Danny (Japan Bass Direct), Ishibashi once, and Ikebe Gakki once.

With all three, email them beforehand, tell them the bass you're interested in and ask for the total cost to your address. Ishibashi/Ikebe have English speakers and will respond in English. They'll typically invoice you. It'll be cheaper than adding the bass to the shopping cart and paying the stated price. Finally remember that if you pay via Paypal, their exchange rate is slightly more than the "real" exchange rate, so you will pay extra for Paypal.

That's about it; all of my purchases arrived within a week, unscathed...slightly longer than buying something from Sweetwater.

Edit: Fedex did bill me $30-$40 after the fact for some import fee after the fact for my last Ikebe Gakki purchase. Given that the exchange rate was so good at the time, I didn't care. Basically, the exchange rate will drive your purchasing power.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

$160 for UPS shipping from Tokyo to Atlanta (at least from Danny), pre-Covid (based on 2 Ishibashi guitar shipments) it was $80. Ikebe/Ishibashi will be between $200 & $250 as of the time of this writing (for me, to Atlanta). This of course will fluctuate depending on the value of the yen relative to the dollar. I haven't bought a bass over $1k and there were no additional fees beyond that. I've bought from Danny (Japan Bass Direct), Ishibashi once, and Ikebe Gakki once.

With all three, email them beforehand, tell them the bass you're interested in and ask for the total cost to your address. Ishibashi/Ikebe have English speakers and will respond in English. They'll typically invoice you. It'll be cheaper than adding the bass to the shopping cart and paying the stated price. Finally remember that if you pay via Paypal, their exchange rate is slightly more than the "real" exchange rate, so you will pay extra for Paypal.

That's about it; all of my purchases arrived within a week, unscathed...slightly longer than buying something from Sweetwater.

Edit: Fedex did bill me $30-$40 after the fact for some import fee after the fact for my last Ikebe Gakki purchase. Given that the exchange rate was so good at the time, I didn't care. Basically, the exchange rate will drive your purchasing power.

Thank you for the great information. I want another Japan made Bass. When I do buy, i know the quality of construction is worth the extra $.

 

[ggvicviper]

Fender still has some stuff exclusive to Japan, made in Japan. The Hybrid II series is quite nice, and a more budget conscious option to some of the MIA offerings.



Yamaha also had some JDM BB offerings in the 80's. Most were bolt on alternatives to the neck-thru basses sold worldwide. Models like the BBVI, BBVII, BBVIIs, and the double P BBVIII.

 

[ChuckBassman]

I love this XIMERA "ARXI" JBass.

(She ain't too shabby either).

 

[pklima]

Since this thread got bumped... this T.S Factory bass pops up on the Bigboss page.

 

[Tom Bomb]

Ishibashi, in Shibuya, has been a virtual home away from home, for me. If I'm not mistaken, when buying online, they'll ship your bass guitars etc. in, from every prefecture to the Shibuya store, to set them up, if needs be, before they're shipped to you. I don't see why you couldn't find one or two — online — before you go and meet them half way. Never done it but they're a magic enterprise.

According to Danny from Japan Bass Direct — another fine option — Sugi made my neck. I've had it a good while now — purchased online, over a decade ago — Lovely bass. I was none the wiser at the time, about Sugi's involvement, but I did like what I saw online with this bass, and I already had some runs-on-the-board, and it was priced right U-box, as it was back then, as always, sealed the deal with aplomb. No sweat.

Their Shibuya store looks mammoth. I imagine you'd have some fun there if you're heading in that direction.​

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