
A visual chronicle of Tokyo’s disappearing jazz bars (2016) - benbreen
https://thevinylfactory.com/features/tokyo-jazz-joints-visual-chronicle/
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doctorhandshake
I was a fan of Tokyo (and Kyoto and Osaka’s) “Old man bars” after stumbling
into a few on my first few visits there. Having discovered Tokyo Jazz Joints
on Instagram before my last visit, I used some of their writeups for
inspiration on where to check out this time around.

While I have been both shouted and clapped out of a Japanese bar and told a
bar was closed when it was clearly open (both immediately upon walking in,
presumably because of my gaijin appearance), I’ve never had a negative
experience in a jazz bar in Japan. If it’s your intent to quietly enjoy a
drink and maybe some salty bar snacks, you will be treated with a low-key
hospitality I’d describe as ‘genteel’ - it’s now a quality I look for in bars
here in America because it is totally my speed.

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walshemj
I liked the concept of "old man bars" \- tough a lot of UK pubs would fit that
description, but not really a "spoons" pub

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leovander
Oh, spoons. Where the whole family can come in to hang out with the town
drunks all day.

Experienced this outside of York, more country side.

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toyg
_> to hang out with the town drunks all day_

I hate spoons. It's the worst of the corporate world (race to the bottom,
conformity, lies, undercutting family businesses) sold as "what the working-
classes really want". It's the McDonalds of alcohol and tabloid-culture, with
a Scrooge-like owner to match.

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cageface
The bars may be disappearing but Jazz itself is alive and well in Japan. I
heard it _everywhere_ in Kyoto & Tokyo. I'm not sure why this is but it's a
lot more pleasant than the top 40 stuff you hear playing everywhere in the US.

~~~
bane
If you're into fusion jazz at all, two of the best bands of all time hail from
Japan: Casiopea and T-square. Their influence is felt deeply in lots of
80s/90s Japanese PC and Video game soundtracks. The keyboardist for Casiopea
also composed all of the station jingles for the subway in Japan, which all
together make one song.

\- [https://youtu.be/S0Xm1PWb07o](https://youtu.be/S0Xm1PWb07o)

\- [https://youtu.be/4DCWEJzsrJo](https://youtu.be/4DCWEJzsrJo)

\- [https://youtu.be/wBD1_mrRUIk](https://youtu.be/wBD1_mrRUIk)

~~~
nateberkopec
> The keyboardist for Casiopea also composed all of the station jingles for
> the subway in Japan

This is amazing! I had no idea this was the same person. I love Casiopea.

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bane
Yeah, check it out!

[https://youtu.be/nSG5IkRA9BE](https://youtu.be/nSG5IkRA9BE)

~~~
spike021
Whoa! This is awesome. Made me Google again (hadn't since my first trip to
Japan) for any melodies I could find as a download to use as a ringtone/text
tone (not that my phone is ever off vibrate mode).

Thanks!

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cercatrova
Reminds me of stories from Haruki Murakami, which were laden with jazz
references. He apparently worked at a jazz bar before writing his novels.

~~~
grzm
More than that, he owned a coffee shop/jazz bar.

~~~
oska
Called _Peter Cat_ and it was in Kokubunji (western Tokyo).

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11thEarlOfMar
I could get lost in this world.

I lived in Japan for a couple of years. A Japanese friend treated me to a Jazz
Bar a couple of times. It was long ago... I only remember requesting a Billie
Holiday song, Stars Fell On Alabama, I think. It was the perfect antidote for
the relentless energy of Tokyo’s public life.

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enahs-sf
Swing in Shibuya is a real treat. I stayed in an Airbnb in the same building
and found it by accident. I sat in there all day ripping cigs, drinking
highballs and listening to old school bangers. The guy who owns it, Suzuki-San
tends the bar and picks the tracks. He also plays trombone in a jazz band. I
probably shaved 3 years off my life in the course of three hours but I’d stop
in here anytime I’m in Tokyo.

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kgarten
If you visit Tokyo / Yokohama, I can recommend Dolphy for some live Jazz.
[https://dolphy-jazzspot.com/](https://dolphy-jazzspot.com/)

~~~
thiagocesar
Smack in the middle of Nogecho, one of the coolest nightlife areas I’ve ever
seen.

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olingern
As a person who just returned from Tokyo and sometimes plays with traditional
jazz bands, I’m going to say Tokyo has a great atmosphere and thirst for jazz
but rarely did I ever hear anything comparable to New York or New Orleans.
It’s not lack of talent, Japanese musicians are incredibly talented. I think
it’s more a lack of exposure to jazz pre-1950 or outside of the lounge genre
context. It’s even hard for some professional American musicians to get
because of trad jazz’s distinct feel.

Throw on Basie’s “Jive at Five” or Ory’s “Savoy Blues” and you can get an idea
of the genres (swing / nola jazz).

~~~
AndrewUnmuted
Japan's exposure to jazz extends well beyond the "lounge" setting.

It is home to some incredibly important participants in the free and avant-
garde jazz scenes.

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supernova87a
I would love to visit some of these if travel ever becomes possible again...
Although, you know it always seems a little intimidating to wander as a
stranger into a very specialized, private bar or restaurant in Japan, and if
not speaking Japanese (but that's a different topic).

I came across an episode of "Japanology" on Youtube about cafes (which is a
surprisingly interesting series produced by NHK -- each episode has a
generally heart-warming or touching twist to the general theme it covers). And
the ending is exactly about a jazz cafe that closed but was brought back for 2
weeks by its loyal fans some years later. I imagine some of the ones described
here are in the same boat.

[https://youtu.be/UF0dnPwqXqY?t=1326](https://youtu.be/UF0dnPwqXqY?t=1326)

~~~
rootsudo
You miss so much of Japan w/o knowing Japanese. Good thing that it's pretty
easy to pick up and the JLPT N5 - N1 is really a great standard to compare
against and see where you land.

I lived in Tokyo for a year and passed JLPT N3 with a breeze.

Bars are private and intimate, if you know how to speak Japanese, a world
really opens in front of you and you easily make friends. Especially if you
enjoy Japanese music.

Try it! Especially w/ some of your favorite Japanese songs. You'll be
surprised how quickly you'll pick it up!

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krackers
>Good thing that it's pretty easy

I think you're underselling the difficulty a bit considering that Japanese is
in the hardest class of languages as ranked by FSI [1]. Granted this probably
includes literacy as well; if you only want to learn the spoken aspects it's
probably not much harder than the category III languages.

[1] [https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-
training/](https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-training/)

~~~
toyg
The spoken aspect is really easy, by European standards, but you need a ton of
practice to re-learn the entire vocabulary from scratch - no hints, no
guesses. That requires _a lot_ of patient effort, for our modern attention-
deficit-by-default sensibilites.

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pugworthy
If you know Golden Guy (Burning Man camp), this seems straight up the kind of
thing that should be there. (I already posted it to the Golden Guy FB group).

And yea it's a takeoff on Golden Gai.

