One question that I get asked a lot is where to buy Okinawan music. For the purpose of this post, with many of Karakui’s readers residing in different countries, I’ll focus on online shopping and in a future post I’ll write about my favorite music stores in Okinawa. I’ll also only be recommending stores that I’ve ordered from in the past. So read on! (Note: Stores are listed in alpha-order and not by a rating system. Internet-Okinawa.com was not sponsored by the following stores.)
Store: Amazon.co.jp
Stock: J-Pop, major label albums for artists of other genres
Navigation: Japanese (if you’ve used Amazon.com, navigating the site shouldn’t be much of a problem though)
Shipping: High (recommended that you order with a group of people to save on shipping costs)
Notes: I’d recommend this site more towards books and/or DVDs with CDs as an addition to your order. You’ll find the J-Pop artist you’re looking for but it’s a rarity to find any Okinawa-based indie record label artist at the store.
Store: CD Japan
Stock: J-Pop, major and indie label albums for artists of other genres
Navigation: English/Japanese
Shipping: Moderate to high depending on the shipping option you choose.
Notes: One of the best online stores out there. They have a frequent buyer rewards program, shipping options, and a pretty good selection of artists.
Store: iTunes (US)
Stock: Mixture of major and indie label J/O-Pop artists
Navigation: Available in several countries/langauges
Shipping: Free (songs are downloaded to your Mac/PC)
Notes: Buying from the store will require that you download the software. Read my entry entitled “List of Artists Available at the US iTMS” for more info.
Store: Tower Records Japan (aka @TOWER.JP)
Stock: Has the best selection of Okinawan music of the stores that are listed on this post. Looking for that popular debut album from UEMA Ayano? You’ll find it here.
Navigation: Mostly in Japanese with a few pointers to help you along the way in English (you can also search for artists in romaji—a definite plus)
Shipping: High (recommended that you order with a group of people to save on shipping costs)
Notes: If you’re looking for albums that can normally be found from a shop in Okinawa, @TOWER.JP is your best bet. I think of them as the pioneer when it comes to supporting indie labels and they do have a brick-and-mortar store in Naha which makes it a bit easier for them to transfer stock back to the mainland to be shipped worldwide.
Store: YesAsia.com
Stock: J-Pop, major label albums for artists of other genres
Navigation: English/Japanese/Chinese/Korean
Shipping: Free for orders over $25
Notes: Who can beat free shipping? This makes it the perfect online store for your purchase of music/videos from major label artists like BEGIN, NATSUKAWA Rimi or Cocco. They also sell video games, anime, toys and a bunch of other stuff that’ll make that minimum order of $25 (to get free shipping) seem irrelevant.
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