Went to the Tokyo Fender Flagship Store

[TokyoPortrait]

Hi.

So, I had to be in the area yesterday, & decided to go to the flagship store in Harajuku as well.

S’all right.

Three levels of regular stuff (basement, plus two above ground). Lots of stuff. Lots of space. Lots of wee sofa things with hangers for guitars and each hanger with those Fender Mustang Micro headphone amps. So you can try out guitars.

Clothing / accessory section. Cafe downstairs in the basement.

Various sections showcase MIJ, made in US, special editions, etc.

Can’t quite remember now, but there’s another floor, I think, for the ‘Custom Shop Experience.’

There’s a nice big soundproof room too, with a lot of Fender amps, all their pedals and a fairly good selection of guitars and basses on the wall. I played some kind of US 60s style Tele paired with some kind of hand wired Princeton. And used their Hammertone fuzz too. Didn’t really like the neck on the Tele (probably just that ‘oh, different neck’ thing). Princeton was great. Fuzz was pretty good too, on non-octave mode at least.

Picked up and held a Joe Strummer model. Now, that neck was nice. Suited me anyway.

Then, had to leave for the next thing I had on. One day I’ll go back and play around longer. Forgot to try a guitar on the Mustang Micro - pitty, as I’m curious about that.

Here’s me at the counter. I took a panorama of what I call the black and white stairwell, and the ‘almost knocked me off my feet when the door opened’ glowing red interior of the elevator. But apparently they’re ‘too large.’ But, the glitchy accidental short pano shot I took when putting my phone away fits, and gives a good impression of what it was like inside the elevator…

Pax/
Dean

 

[hemingway]

If you were a little taller and stood a bit to your left, you coulda had wings.

I look at that second shot and I hear, "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dave . . ."

 

[TokyoPortrait]

Hi.

If you were a little taller and stood a bit to your left, you coulda had wings.

Yeah. I was about to give the staff member I handed my phone to some directions, then just couldn’t be bothered. If I’d been less pressed for time for my next appointment,* I’d have posed next to one of the Hokusai print guitars.

I look at that second shot and I hear, "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Dave . . ."

I know. I literally, as in actually literally, pulled up short and took a step back when the doors opened. I also said the f-word,** it was so intense and startling. And then, when the doors closed, it was quite ‘sealed off’ and disorienting.

Pax/
Dean
* by appointment, I of course mean afternoon beers with a friend
** flip, or something like that…