Somewhat OT - Yamano Flute Salon, Ginza, Tokyo

Irish Flute
1

Just got back from a business trip to Tokyo. While I was there, I stopped by the Yamano music store in the Ginza area. On the 5th floor they have the “Yamano Flute Salon”. There, in a glass display case was more classic Haynes and Powell flutes than I thought was possible, something like 9 Haynes and 6 Powells, plus probably 100 other flutes of similar quality. Most in the $5000 - $20000 range. Having started out as a classically trained silver flute player, this was unbelievable, that so many flutes of this caliber could be in one place. They also had a display case of probably 100 high end headjoints that was astounding. Previously I had played a couple of Haynes, and seen one Powell, this was amazing…

Anyway, if you ever find yourself in Tokyo, go to the Ginza area and find Yamano music, just across the street from the Mitsukoshi department store.

Cheers,

Michael

2

Thanks for the info Michael. I just discovered the web site for Yamano a few days ago. http://www.yamano-music.co.jp/ in Japanese only. They seem to have much-better-than-U.S. prices for some of the high end Japanese flute makers such as Altus or Sankyo. I’m considering a trip to Japan this year, and may be looking for a new flute in about a year…

3

If you can make a trip to Ochanomizu(45 min on JR from Ginza) they have a shop called Ishimura(if I remember correctly) about 3 min walk from the train station (turn right from exit and left on the main street). They have a great display too and relatively lower prices. Some of their sale specials are pretty outrageous. Some old wooden flutes on display too. Too bad I saw them before being bitten by WHOA.