Tower Records still exists here in Japan. They've had a lot of major Beach Boys promotions recently, starting when the Smile Sessions came out and then again with the new album (which seems to have been a pretty big hit here). I went to the nearest branch yesterday, and there were THREE separate BBs display sections, with a huge variety of their albums, giving Smile Sessions and TWGMTR major emphasis. They even featured solo albums from all the current members except for Dave, plus Dennis and Carl's albums, with A Postcard from California getting special love, due to its newness I suppose.
The Japanese BBs fans are great--they know ALL the albums (every one is available in Japan except for SIP), and really have a lot of depth in their knowledge. The BBs have been popular here since the beginning, and the fans have followed them throughout their career (Japanese fans are hugely loyal), so it's not a situation like in Spain where people just know the early stuff and look confused when they play "All This is That." Really looking forward to the shows later this week!
