Jazz clubs and jazz kissaten

Jazz kissaten, or coffee shops, have a long tradition in Japan. Customers go there to hear jazz on vinyl records or CDs, rather than live performances, while they drink coffee in the afternoon or sip cocktails in the evening.

Years ago, many jazz kissaten prohibited talking, and the customers were extremely serious fans who resembled monks seeking enlightenment. A few jazz kissaten are still like this, but most have gotten much more relaxed. Some of them serve restaurant-quality food, or at least good sandwiches and coffee, and they now attract a more diverse crowd of customers (i.e. not solely men).

But the biggest charm of the jazz kissa is still the music, played through a state-of-the-art sound system and presided over by staff with encyclopedic knowledge of jazz. So put away your personal-stereo earphones and check out one of Tokyo's jazz kissas!

Hikaru Okabe

Jazz kissaten
Jazz clubs

Jazz kissaten, or coffee shops, have a long tradition in Japan. Customers go there to hear jazz on vinyl records or CDs, rather than live performances, while they drink coffee in the afternoon or sip cocktails in the evening.

Years ago, many jazz kissaten prohibited talking, and the customers were extremely serious fans who resembled monks seeking enlightenment. A few jazz kissaten are still like this, but most have gotten much more relaxed. Some of them serve restaurant-quality food, or at least good sandwiches and coffee, and they now attract a more diverse crowd of customers (i.e. not solely men).

But the biggest charm of the jazz kissa is still the music, played through a state-of-the-art sound system and presided over by staff with encyclopedic knowledge of jazz. So put away your personal-stereo earphones and check out one of Tokyo's jazz kissas!

Hikaru Okabe

See venue map

Jazz kissaten

Milestone - Bar: Takadanobaba

Open 1pm-midnight daily.

A neighborhood hangout with jazz on the sound system, dim sum, Chimay beer and cocktails.

Open 1pm-midnight daily.

Intro - Jazz kissaten: Takadanobaba

Open noon-midnight daily.

An old-fashioned "jazz kissa" where you can nurse your drink and nod your head to the music for hours on end.

Open noon-midnight daily.

★Samurai - Jazz kissaten: Shinjuku

Open 6pm-1am daily.

Thousands of maneki neko (good-luck cat statues) fill the interior of this spacious cafe-bar, along with signed covers of jazz albums and underground theater posters. There's a counter and several...

Open 6pm-1am daily.

Narcis - Jazz kissaten: Shinjuku Kabukicho

Open 5-11pm. Closed Sundays.

The bustling Kabukicho neighborhood may seem like a strange place for a jazz kissa, but Narcis is a great spot for listening to quiet jazz, and their stylish interior design is reminiscent of old...

Open 5-11pm. Closed Sundays.

★JBS Shibuya - Bar: Shibuya

Open 2-11pm daily.

The initials stand for Jazz Blues Soul, but the huge, 11,000-disk vinyl collection here also includes an impressive selection of old-school hiphop from the seventies through the nineties. Customers...

Open 2-11pm daily.

Kissa Sakaiki - Jazz kissaten: Yotsuya 3-chome

Open 3-11:30pm daily.

By day it's a laid-back jazz coffeeshop, but in the evening it turns into a mini-jazz club, with a small performance and stage area that seats around fifteen people. The musical direction tends...

Open 3-11:30pm daily.

Eagle - Jazz kissaten: Yotsuya

Open 11:30am-midnight. Closed Sundays and holidays.

Boasting a big collection of vinyl, an impressive sound system and humongous JBL speakers, Eagle has a certain old-school jazz-kissaten charm, as long as you don't mind the cigarette smoke. In the...

Open 11:30am-midnight. Closed Sundays and holidays.

Big Boy - Jazz kissaten: Jimbocho

Open 11am-5, 7-11pm. Closed Sun, 1st, 3rd Sat.

With its bright yellow door and sunny, brasserie-like interior, Big Boy has an atmosphere that's the complete opposite of old-fashioned jazz kissas. The management plays jazz both new and old, and...

Open 11am-5, 7-11pm. Closed Sun, 1st, 3rd Sat.

Eigakan - Jazz kissaten: Hakusan

Open 3-11:30pm. Closed Sundays.

This cozy cafe bar is furnished with European and Japanese antiques and heavy-duty lights used for shooting movies; the ambience seems almost like that of a private detective's office in a Raymond...

Open 3-11:30pm. Closed Sundays.

Apollo - Bar: Shimo-Kitazawa

Open 8pm-3am daily.

This tiny basement bar hosts live performances from local jazz musicians a few evenings a week, and plays a wide assortment of jazz CDs and videos the rest of the time.

Open 8pm-3am daily.

Jazz clubs

Someday - Jazz club: Shinjuku Gyoen-mae

Open 6:45-11:45pm. Closed some Mondays.

Located in a Shinjuku basement space, Someday is a smallish live jazz club that features local talent.

Open 6:45-11:45pm. Closed some Mondays.

Pit Inn - Jazz club: Shinjuku

Open 2:30-5, 7:30-10:30pm daily.

It may be smoky and cramped, but you can hear some of the most interesting local and international jazz in town here.

Open 2:30-5, 7:30-10:30pm daily.

Blue Note - Jazz club: Omotesando

Open 5:30pm-1am daily.

The venue of choice for top jazz and R&B acts from overseas.

Open 5:30pm-1am daily.

Praca Onze - Brazilian: Omotesando

Open 7pm-1am. Closed Sundays, Mondays.

Live music, dancing, and a good deal of drinking. Open Mon-Tue 6:30-midnight (no music); Wed-Thu 6:30-1am; Fri-Sat 6:30-2am.

Open 7pm-1am. Closed Sundays, Mondays.

JZ Brat - Jazz club: Shibuya

Open 5:30-11pm. Closed Sundays.

A popular venue for jazz and R&B acts from home and abroad.

Open 5:30-11pm. Closed Sundays.

Blues Alley Japan - Jazz club: Meguro

Open 11:30am-11pm Tuesday-Friday. Closed Mondays.

A supper club with live blues and jazz (mostly from local groups) and French and Italian food. At dinnertime main courses start at around Y2,000, but lunchtime is more competitive, with a Y1,200...

Open 11:30am-11pm Tuesday-Friday. Closed Mondays.

Tribeca - Jazz club: Shinagawa

Open 11am-11pm (LO) daily.

A popular jazz bar with live music every night.

Open 11am-11pm (LO) daily.

Billboard Live - Jazz club: Roppongi

A live venue for international soul, r&b and jazz acts.

Cotton Club - Jazz club: Marunouchi

Live soul, r&b and jazz.

Sometime - Jazz club: Kichijoji

Open 7pm- daily.

Jazz nightly from 7pm, from Y1500. Check their schedule for live events.

Open 7pm- daily.

See venue map

Jazz kissaten, or coffee shops, have a long tradition in Japan. Customers go there to hear jazz on vinyl records or CDs, rather than live performances, while they drink coffee in the afternoon or sip cocktails in the evening.

Years ago, many jazz kissaten prohibited talking, and the customers were extremely serious fans who resembled monks seeking enlightenment. A few jazz kissaten are still like this, but most have gotten much more relaxed. Some of them serve restaurant-quality food, or at least good sandwiches and coffee, and they now attract a more diverse crowd of customers (i.e. not solely men).

But the biggest charm of the jazz kissa is still the music, played through a state-of-the-art sound system and presided over by staff with encyclopedic knowledge of jazz. So put away your personal-stereo earphones and check out one of Tokyo's jazz kissas!

Hikaru Okabe

Jazz kissaten
Jazz clubs

Jazz kissaten, or coffee shops, have a long tradition in Japan. Customers go there to hear jazz on vinyl records or CDs, rather than live performances, while they drink coffee in the afternoon or sip cocktails in the evening.

Years ago, many jazz kissaten prohibited talking, and the customers were extremely serious fans who resembled monks seeking enlightenment. A few jazz kissaten are still like this, but most have gotten much more relaxed. Some of them serve restaurant-quality food, or at least good sandwiches and coffee, and they now attract a more diverse crowd of customers (i.e. not solely men).

But the biggest charm of the jazz kissa is still the music, played through a state-of-the-art sound system and presided over by staff with encyclopedic knowledge of jazz. So put away your personal-stereo earphones and check out one of Tokyo's jazz kissas!

Hikaru Okabe

See venue map

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Jazz kissaten

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