August: Typhoon Season × Tokyo Guitar Shopping × New Companion

Typhoons have been unusually frequent this year, disrupting many travel plans. I was worried about flight cancellations before this trip, but fortunately everything went smoothly.

First, let me show off my new guitar – an HD-28 (2001)!

This guitar is my new companion, and buying it was quite unexpected. Lately, I've become fascinated with the sound of American-made guitars, like the classic Gibson J-45 and Martin D-28. While I don't think these guitars suit my personal solo style, they're the standard tone you hear in folk music. They're what you'd call working guitars! (Feel free to reach out if you need guitar arrangements!)

Early in the month, I took a trip to Tokyo and scheduled an afternoon to visit Tokyo's guitar mecca – Ochanomizu. It's become my habit to browse shop websites for used inventory two weeks before a trip and make a list of targets.

I've compiled a Google Map list of shops I've visited ¹ at the end of this post. Feel free to use it if you're interested – you can find shop websites on the map.

The major shops on the main street, like Kurosawa Gakki and Shimokura Gakki, all have new and used sections. Even though I'd already checked their inventory online, I still went in with hopes of finding surprises.

• I forget which shop this was, but this entire floor was dedicated to Gibson acoustic guitars. I always take a closer look when I see guitars with their bracing exposed.

• A brand new Martin wall with everything from entry-level to custom models. And there were actually two left-handed guitars!

• I also tried a brand new Gibson LG-2 banner – the banner series is Gibson's latest relic model. Those vintage tuning pegs are absolutely captivating!

Next came the "used specialist shops" at the end of the street, which was what I was most looking forward to. These shops naturally focus on used guitars, and compared to the larger music stores, the shop space is relatively smaller. Inside, you'll find guitars from the 1930s to recent used models – it's truly like treasure hunting. If you ever visit Ochanomizu, you definitely have to check out these used shops.

Shops with used departments typically have their acquired guitars professionally serviced to playing condition before putting them on sale. Each guitar has different "battle scars," which affects the final price. Japan's used market is remarkably thriving, and the practice of refurbishing and reselling these vintage guitars is a wonderful way to cherish items.

My goal was to see if there were any J-45s or D-28s in the 70,000-80,000 TWD price range. My first stop was "Tripper's Guitars," where I had the most targets. With anticipation in my heart, while using my phone for navigation, I suddenly discovered that today was.... a closed day!!! What a shame 😭

Next stop was "en·guitar." Here I tried many 1950s Gibson LG-1s – very vintage-sounding small guitars, the budget version of the LG-2 I mentioned earlier.

• The Gibson wall at en・guitar.

• Tried three 1950s LG-1s – these are grandpa-era guitars.

• A 1970s HD-28 and D-18 📍Woodman Guitars

In the end, I didn't find my target on this trip... wait, where did that HD-28 from the beginning come from then?
I'll write another post introducing this guitar later!