Any Store(s) in US...??

[LastAngel]

@Yukas
The store I go to is in the suburbs of Chicago. It's in Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, IL. It's about an hour away from Chicago.

[sugarbasil]

I live in Milwaukee, which is about an hour north of Chicago. I go to Mitsuwa once or twice a year, and the bookstore in there is called Sanseido. They carry a pretty huge selection of Jpop, but I really would not buy it. It is HORRIBLY over priced and they'll rip you off. That's where I bought my first Ayu single, Moments for $40. Don't do it. There's got to be better places to buy.

BTW, the website for the Chicago Mitsuwa is http://www.mitsuwa.com/tenpo/cica/eindex.html. Also, they're not actually in Chicago, it's in Arlington Heights, about 30 minutes northwest of Chicago.

I would suggest going to an anime store, since they often sell Jpop.

[jpopfan]

I live in San Antonio and there is a store on the River Walk that sells all kinds of stuff from anime, comics, sci fi, and japanese goods. I went by Saturday and they had some ayu albums and a wallscroll hanging from the ceiling

[YukasMx_TA]

^ I'll check it... maybe i'd go and see if I find something not so over priced =P, thank you!!

Originally Posted by xXDiane1xX

@Yukas
The store I go to is in the suburbs of Chicago. It's in Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, IL. It's about an hour away from Chicago.

Thaanks =) I'll look for it and isn't too far... btw do you know the store's name?? =P

Originally Posted by jpopfan

I live in San Antonio and there is a store on the River Walk that sells all kinds of stuff from anime, comics, sci fi, and japanese goods. I went by Saturday and they had some ayu albums and a wallscroll hanging from the ceiling

Definitely i'll try to go there by the end of the year ^_^ thanks a lot!! =)

[LastAngel]

^
The name is Too Cool. There's a bunch of Hello Kitties in the entrance of the store.
The store is in the Lower Level by JCPenny.

Mall's website. The address is there if you do go.
http://www.stratfordmall.com/index.html

[YukasMx_TA]

^ LOL I think that I'll see like a gay buying in there xDD
But it's ok... I'll go there =) ^^
Thanks a lot!!

[LastAngel]

lol your welcome.
Enjoy your stay in Chicago!
And Too Cool. It's heaven~
Hehe, I didn't wanna leave the store the first time I went in. XD

[Picaflor 7/4]

kinokuniyas has an online website, but I forgot what it's called. electricforest.com or something really random like that. but the prices are the same at every other jpop store and I'm not even sure if the online store sells in america cause they don't have an english version of the site, atleast I don't think.

(the new york one v)
A good thing about them though is that they almost always carry first press. the time before the last i was there, they had the long sleeve versions of mirrorcle world on display (both version), but at the time i didn't know it was first press and kind of ignored it. That very same time, I was looking through their ayumi selection and they had the first press version of one of the ayumix 2 cds. with the speckle (sparkly) case. I think it was this version.

Another good thing is that they have everything the day after it is released in japan, if not the day it is released. Last time I was there, they had dbsk's Toki Wo Tomete single on display and when I went, it was just released a day or so ago in japan, and they had many copies of it on display. and I think someone on this site even called them (the new york one) to ask if they had ayumi's rnrc limited box set, and they said yes and they reserved one for her so she could go up there and buy it. (They even had the limited edition/first press version of koda kumi's black cherry album (cd+2dvd) at the time i saw the first press version of ayumix 2 and first press version of mirrorcle world. I even mentioned a while ago that last time i went, they had first press versions of Rule/Sparkle version A and B (but no version c). I bought version B even though I received no poster. (but that's expected after the single being out for 2 years already)

Down side is that everything is horribly priced. 2 albums ran me over $100. 2 singles ran me over $40. I rarely buy from them. maybe once or twice a year. Besides. I live 2 hours from them.

Another downside is that they don't have everything by everyone. Last time I checked, by utada, they only had Ultra Blue, Heart Station, Singles Collection, and Prisoner of Love. You'd think a japanese store would sell more by famous artists. They didn't have any hare-brained unity, capsule, Crystal Kay, MiChi, the Gazette, and had maybe 2 singles by Perfume. (I looked for a lot more artists than that but I can't remember) They literally had none of the cds I was looking for.

But I say "Hey, if you are ever in the area, why not try it for your first time?"

[deebosco]

Hey come to NYC
We have a book-off and kinokuniya bookstore here
if you need my help pm me

[Lady~Deviance]

Aww, you should come to NY. My husband and I purchase our J-cd's from a Japanese store called Book-Off in Manhattan. The store sells Japanese Books, CD's, DVD's, and Magazines. They also sell English books, CD's, etc. Most of the CD's are used but in exceptionally mint condition. Trust me. Most of the Japanese CD's there sell between $10-$15. I've purchased brand new CD's there but that was because I took my time to find them. The only exception is recently released CD's, for example Ayu's R'nRC will sell for the original Japanese asking price of 3,000 yen ($30), while Next Level will sell for $15 because it is no longer recent. So don't bother purchasing recently released stuff in the store. You have to wait for the pricing to drop.
For instance, I purchased Kumi Koda's Kingdom (first press) and Best First Things (first press) versions for $23 each and they were never used granted this was last year but still you can't beat the price. Like I said, you really have to take the time and find steals in that store. You never know what you will find. And many people I know purchase their J-CD's from that store and their stock is unbeatable. If you see something there that you really want, don't hesitate to buy it. Because chances are that item will be gone in a few day's time. Oh, and their Ayu stock is huge, no really it is.

I also shop at Kinokuniya as well but like others mentioned, their prices are deplorable. That's why I shop at Book-Off most of the time. If anyone is looking for an Ayu CD that they cannot get a hold of online and they are desperate, shop there. Trust me, this sista' will never do you wrong.