deep kyoto

I have previously written about the record shop Prototype, managed by my good friend Yoshida-kun but I’ve been thinking it’s time I added a few more Kyoto record shops to the list. I asked friend and collector Nana H. (that’s her on the left spinning discs at Joao) to give me some pointers and she recommended the following stores.

Bootsy’s

A pure, minimalist store without much decoration, this place is very neat and tidy compared to some of the other record stores in town. Genres include: Blues, Gospel, Alternative, New Wave, Progressive Rock, Reggae, Ska, World music and Jazz. Says Nana: “Most of the stuff here isn’t new, maybe up to the 80′s, or if Hip-Hop then the 90′s. This is where you come if you want to know where the new stuff comes from.” Bootsy’s is on the 3rd floor of the Takase building on the south side of Sanjo, west of the bridge, about two doors down from the Lawson’s convenience store. Here is a map.
Open 12:00 – 20:00 seven days a week. Tel: 075-231-5078

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Bar Cafezinho owes its existence to it’s owner’s love of Brazilian music; Samba, Bossa Nova and Pagode. A cafe during the day and a bar come evening, Bar Cafezinho’s strongest point is the cheap cheap menu. You can get good, strong, Brazilian coffee at only ￥２００ a cup and the whisky here is also remarkably cheap at roughly half the price you’ll find elsewhere. Here’s my lunch; a vegetarian coconut curry (spicy! spicy!) for ￥５５０ and Cafe Com Leite at ￥２００:

Here are some more items off the menu:

All coffee: ￥２００
Beers Draft (Small): ￥３００ (Medium): ￥４５０ (Large): ￥５００
Heineken: ￥400 Guinness: ￥450 Corona: ￥500
Cocktails: ￥３８０
Whiskies and Bourbons ~ from ￥３５０
Early Times: ￥350
Jack Daniels / Black Bush / Johnnie Walker: ￥400
A Glass of Wine (red or white): ￥350
Snacks: ￥200 – ￥300
An extensive range of sandwiches (large) at ￥280
Pilaf: ￥500 Dry Curry: ￥500
Brazilian Garlic Steak: ￥1000

There’s no table service here, so order your meal at the counter and remember to return your dishes when you have finished. Bar Cafezinho is open from 9:00 am ~ 22:00 pm. On Saturdays they have a Samba jam session that anyone can join from 17:00 pm. To find it walk west of Shimogamo Hondori on Kitaoji Dori and watch out for a Brazilian flag on your left. It’s right opposite the great big red “Lucky” pachinko monstrosity on the north side of the road. Tel: 075 712 5477

Below is a map:

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