Guides

Person holding a vinyl record featuring Mount Fuji and a red Japanese obi strip.

What Is an Obi Strip?: Japanese Vinyl's Design ...

FukuyoshiMaya

Step into Japanese vinyl obi: its origins, role, and design appeal to global collectors. Dive into Showa music culture!

What Is an Obi Strip?: Japanese Vinyl's Design ...

FukuyoshiMaya

Step into Japanese vinyl obi: its origins, role, and design appeal to global collectors. Dive into Showa music culture!

Seven 1980s Japanese female idol vinyl records arranged against a pastel pink and blue background

What Is a Japanese Idol? Showa Stars and Idol C...

FukuyoshiMaya

What makes a Japanese idol different from a Western pop star? This guide explores the Showa-era idol boom, the songs that still hold up, and why these records remain a...

What Is a Japanese Idol? Showa Stars and Idol C...

FukuyoshiMaya

What makes a Japanese idol different from a Western pop star? This guide explores the Showa-era idol boom, the songs that still hold up, and why these records remain a...

Red classic car on a seaside road with blue ocean, palm trees, and city pop title

What Is City Pop? Japan's 1980s Sound Explained

FukuyoshiMaya

Learn what city pop is, how Japan’s late-1970s and 1980s urban sound emerged, and why vinyl is one of the best ways to experience it today.

What Is City Pop? Japan's 1980s Sound Explained

FukuyoshiMaya

Learn what city pop is, how Japan’s late-1970s and 1980s urban sound emerged, and why vinyl is one of the best ways to experience it today.

Japanese kayokyoku vinyl records arranged on a cream paper background

What Is Kayokyoku? A Guide to Showa Japanese Pop

FukuyoshiMaya

Learn what kayokyoku is, how it shaped Japanese pop from the Showa era, and why vinyl is one of the best ways to experience it today.

What Is Kayokyoku? A Guide to Showa Japanese Pop

FukuyoshiMaya

Learn what kayokyoku is, how it shaped Japanese pop from the Showa era, and why vinyl is one of the best ways to experience it today.