Record Store Day in Kobe, Japan
Two dates to know: Record Store Day Black Friday is Friday, November 29, 2026, and the next main Record Store Day is Saturday, April 17, 2027.
What is Record Store Day?
Record Store Day is an annual event built around independent record stores. The main event traditionally lands on the third Saturday of April each year; Record Store Day Black Friday is traditionally held the day after US Thanksgiving. Both days bring exclusive, limited-run vinyl and CD releases sold only at participating independent shops — not big-box retailers, and not mail order until the in-store exclusives sell through. Because pressings are limited, popular titles can sell out within the first hour, which is why a line-early culture has grown up around the day even at shops that are otherwise quiet on a weekday morning.
Tips for the day
- Arrive early. At busy shops, lines for popular titles can start well before opening.
- Bring cash. A cash line often moves faster than card on a shop's highest-volume day of the year.
- Check each shop's own site or Instagram in the week before the date — participating shops post their own opening time, line policy, and which exclusive titles they've ordered in.
- Release lists are first-come, first-served and vary store to store. A title in stock at one shop may not show up at another, even across town.
- Expect one-per-customer or per-household limits on the most in-demand titles.
- Not every independent record store participates every year, and allocations vary shop to shop — confirm directly with the shop rather than assuming based on a past year.
Shops to check in Kobe, Japan
Independent record shops open in Kobe, Japan right now. We don't yet track which specific shops participate in Record Store Day or what they've ordered in for a given year — check each shop's own site or Instagram close to the date for their exclusive-release list, opening time, and line policy.
- Abe Shoten
Shimoyamate-dori vinyl shop stocking new releases alongside used records; closed Wednesdays.
1 source
- Banana Records Kobe Motomachi
Kobe branch of the Banana Records used-vinyl chain, opened April 2023 with no closing days, about 3 minutes from Motomachi Station.
2 sources
- CARAVAN RECORDS
Kitanagasa-dori vinyl shop specializing in hard rock, psych, garage, prog, folk, punk and metal, new and used.
1 source
- Disc Garden
Motomachi shop specializing in used classical-music vinyl and CDs.
1 source
- Freakout Records
Used-vinyl shop on Nada's Suidosuji shopping street (relocated here Sept 2022), covering city pop, showa vocal, J-pop, Japanese and Western rock, jazz, funk, punk and world music.
2 sources
- Gapon Records
Motomachi used-vinyl shop specializing in 1960s-70s rock.
1 source
- Gekko Record
CD/record shop on the Suidosuji shopping street in Nada-ku, a few blocks from fellow Suidosuji record dealer Freakout Records.
1 source
- hangesha
Motomachi used-record shop in the Delica Motomachi building; closed Sundays.
1 source
- HMV三宮オーパ
HMV branch on the 4th floor of Sannomiya OPA near Sannomiya Station. Yahoo Maps categorizes it as a CD/DVD/video/record shop, alongside general J-POP/K-POP/anime/Western/enka and film stock.
2 sources
- KANKO RECORD
Motomachi-area used-record shop stocking all genres with an emphasis on Japanese and Western rock, jazz, world music and soul/funk; in-store listening stations and staff consultation available.
2 sources
- Paradox Record
Motomachi-area used-record shop; specific genre focus unconfirmed.
1 source
- Rakuen Records
Kitanagasa-dori shop buying, selling and trading used records, CDs, tapes and books; closed Mon-Tue.
1 source
- rhythmbox Kobe Motomachi
Motomachi branch of the rhythmbox used-record chain, focused on jazz, soul and oldies/old-rock vinyl.
2 sources
- rhythmbox Sannomiya
Main Sannomiya branch of the rhythmbox used-media chain, an all-genre used-CD store with vinyl strong in jazz, soul and oldies/progressive rock.
1 source
- rhythmbox Sannomiya West
Sannomiya-West branch of the rhythmbox used-CD/vinyl chain, strong in Japanese music, rock, world and club genres.
1 source
- STRADA RECORDS
Dance-music specialist near Motomachi dealing in house, techno, disco and dance-classics vinyl, with an in-house label and active online shop; irregular holidays.
2 sources
- Tower Records Kobe
Regular Tower Records branch on the 6th floor of Mint Kobe, by JR Sannomiya station's east exit. Previously excluded from this dataset under the old chain-skip policy; now included per the 2026-08-06 chain-inclusion ruling.
2 sources
- Underground Gallery Kobe Store
Retail record shop from the Underground Gallery techno label, founded 2003 by members of Detroit's Underground Resistance, stocking Detroit techno and electronic vinyl in Shimoyamate; closed Wed and Sun.
2 sources
- Underground Gallery Music Bar
Sannomiya listening bar opened 2016 by the Underground Gallery techno label, playing vinyl with original music-inspired cocktails; no cover charge; closed Tue-Wed.
1 source
- Wild Honey Pie
Motomachi all-genre used-CD/record shop with dedicated 7-inch and bargain-box sections, strong in pop, idol, group-sounds, Seoul funk, rock and jazz.
1 source
- Zipang Record
Evening-only used-vinyl shop in Tarumi-ku open since 2017, run by a beauty-salon owner and centered on eclectic Northwest-rock-leaning finds.
1 source
See the full record store listing for Kobe, Japan.