Specialising in Latin, soul, jazz and rock, Rubbergard lies quietly in the back alleys a few minutes walk from Jinbōchō station. It offers a premium selection lovingly curated by an enthusiast of the Central and South Americas. The beautifully fitted out store is refreshingly open with two listening stations sitting comfortably in the centre and ‘Nice Price’ boxes littering the floor.

Here I salvaged many smooth groove Brazilian relics as well as some hot Japanese discs which the owner kindly recommended – the Nadja OST 7″ (light funky!), Akira Sakata – Tenoch Sakata 10″ (mental avant-electronics on the Better Days label) and Toshiyuki Honda – Opa Com Deus LP (recommended pseudo-Brazilia). Check out their website which is updated regularly with new arrivals.

Rubbergard Records 1F, 1-38-6 Kanda Jinbō-chō, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan

One for all of the trippers out there, F’lmore carries psychedelia and counterculture across all eras, in every variety possible. These amazing records are tightly packed with ingenious descriptive labels – “Spiritual Afro”; “Ambient/New Age/ECM/Chill Out/Raga”; “Minimal Electro/Synth Beats/Cosmic”; “Progressive – Spain”; “CTI, Groove Fusion” and “Brazil/Bossa Nova/MPB” to name but a few.

Was impressed to see some rarities filed away in “Progressive – Australia” as well as a Whirlywirld 7” on the wall. Found quite a few records that I’d been desperately seeking including Goblin’s Contamination soundtrack and an esoteric Rinder & Lewis alias, while a few friends blew my mind with some weapons they pulled out for public play. Given that these are not easy finds, prices were reasonable. There were also heaps of cheap boxes filled with random goodies around the counter. The owner made it a friendly experience.

F’lmore Records Sanko Bldg. 3F 2-1-8 Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan