Shimokitazawa

Shimokitazawa is a good place for indie shows (Shelter, Club Que) and there's a great indie shop here -- if you're after Japanese indie only, and you're willing to deal with a substantial language barrier to get it.

Shimokitazawa is pretty easy to access from Shinjuku or Shibuya. Take the Odakyu line from Shinjuku or the Keio Inokashira line from Shibuya. Every train stops at Shimokitazawa. The ride's no more than 10 minutes.

High Line Records

High Line Records is a Japanese indie shop. Forget English in this place, it won't help you. Everything is sorted in the Japanese equivalent of alphabetical order, and most of the titles on the CD's spines are written in Japanese. Good for current releases of local bands.

There's only one ticket gate at Shimokita and two exits. Walk through the ticket gate and turn left. Walk down the stairs and this is what you'll see:

Walk straight ahead toward the McDonalds and pass to the right of it as you walk down the shopping street. Walk maybe 200 meters, passing a Hasegawa restaurant (unmistakeable "cute" octopus logo), a Mister Donut, and J Crew (the J Crew may not be there anymore) on your right. When you get to the corner below, make a hard left.

Walk up the street 75 meters until you reach High Line Records. It's in the basement.