Hama Roppongi Bldg. 5F, 6-2-35 Roppongi, Minato-Ku
Roppongi 7 Chome 12-21
Minato-ku
Tōkyō-to
106-0032
JP
03-3479-203703-3479-2037
Opened in May 1980 and now in its 41st year, Alfie is simply one of the best live jazz spots in Japan. Located in the busy nightlife area (though not a big jazz neighborhood) of Roppongi, Alfie was run by drummer Hino Motohiko and his wife Yoko. Hino was a major figure in the J Jazz community, often playing with his trumpet playing brother Terumasa as well as visiting jazz musicians from America. Hino sadly passed away in 1999 but Alfie is still run by Yoko, with top quality live jazz nightly.
There are lot of different types of jazz featured at Alfie, mostly local acts with the occasional visiting musician from overseas. Popular trumpeter TOKU is a regular each month as is pianist Yoshizawa Hajime, but also keep a look out for special weekend ‘party’ type events.
Alfie is also one of the few jazz spots to stay open for drinks after the gigs end, so if you’re out past midnight you can still drop by for a few drinks. It’s a warm space, and though it may be considered small by guests from outside Japan, Alfie doesn’t feel suffocating the way many Japanese clubs can. It should be on any list of top five Tokyo jazz clubs.
Size
41-50
Directions
Station: Roppongi – Hibiya, Oedo Subway Lines
Exit: 1
Distance from station: 1 minutes
English map on the website, it’s easy to find in Roppongi.
Date published
06/01/2009 UPDATED Aug 2021
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Watanabe Bldg B2 Ginza 8-6-19 4.42 km
The Ribbon is what most people would think of when hearing the words “Ginza Jazz”. It...
Minami Bldg B1 Asagaya-Kita 2-13-5 4.42 km
03-3337-132503-3337-1325
Masuda-san sadly passed away in 2012. Stardust is an old bar, first opened in Asagaya in 1971 ...
Inaba Bldg , 2F Asagaya-Minami 3-28-31 4.42 km
03-3220-127503-3220-1275
吐夢 (Pronounced “To-mu” or just “Tom”) is unique in a couple of ways. ...
Asagaya 3-37 4.42 km
Note: Closed in early 2015. I guess he couldn’t get many customers after all… Cafe El...
Marco Polo Bldg 2F, 1-8-14 Hon-Chi, Kichijoji 4.42 km
Scratch is a quiet cafe/bar that’s been in heart of Kichijoji since 1974. They open durin...
Wako Bldg 1F 1-62-4 Kanda Jimbocho Chiyoda-Ku 4.42 km
03-5283-711703-5283-7117
Closed 2015 Small Hours is a new cafe/bar located in the back streets between Ochanomizu, Jimbo...
Ikebukuro Roudou Kijun Kyoukai Bldg B2, Ikebukuro 1-8-8 4.42 km
03-5951-680703-5951-6807
Jazz, Funk & Soul are on tap at Miles’ Cafe. The Ikebukuro area is not known for having...
2Ｆ Dai Ichi Nishimura Bldg. 2F, 2-17-4 Miyagawa-cho, Naka-Ku 4.42 km
045-261-4542045-261-4542
Jazz Spot Dolphy opened in 1980 but moved to its current location in 1990 and has kept up a ste...
Ogawamachi 3-24, Kanda, Chiyoda-Ku 4.43 km
03-3259-005503-3259-0055
Jazz Olympus was opened by the very friendly Komatsu-san in 2009. It’s a sleek cafe/bar t...
Tokyo-to, Meguro-Ku, Yutenji 1-22-6 4.44 km
Ohio is great, an intimate, friendly bar with a huge collection of soul music. Owner Kin-chan has...
Japan, 〒101-0051 Tōkyō-to, Chiyoda-ku, Kanda Jinbōchō, 1 Chome−2−9 ウェルスビル 4.53 km
The Adirondack Cafe is a unique jazz cafe and bar just off the main road through the Jinbocho are...
2F 3-20-13 2F, Ogawamachi, Kanda, Chiyoda-Ku 4.58 km
03-5577-482603-5577-4826
Grauers is a new cafe/bar opened August, 2011. Owner Furusho Shinjiro is a long time jazz journal...
2 Chome-17 Kanda Tsukasamachi Chiyoda-ku 4.71 km
Jazz Bar Gugan is a small bar in the east side of Tokyo, near both the Ochanomizu and Jimbocho ...
New Gold Bldg, 2F, 3-6-10 Shinjuku-Ku 4.81 km
03-5367-236603-5367-2366
Houdenasu (ほうでなす) is a small 2nd floor bar located right in the heart of Shinjuku 3-Chome,...
2 Chome−1−10, Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku 4.91 km
03-3291-232103-3291-2321
Naru in Ochanomizu first opened in 1969 as the sister live spot to the Naru jazz cafe in the Yoyo...
30 Konya-Cho, Kanda, Chiyoda-Ku 5.01 km
03-3252-498203-3252-4982
Root Down moved down the street just 30 meters from it’s original spot, it’s now Tō...
Kashiwagi Mura2 7-20-12, Nishi-Shinjuku 5.03 km
Swanky live club, heavy on the vocalists. Enjoyable but a bit soft for my tastes. It’s the ...
1-17-4 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-Ku 5.07 km
03-3200-373003-3200-3730
Jazz Nutty opened in 2009 next to the campus of Waseda University. The wonderful Mr.& Mrs. ...
155-0032 東京都世田谷区代沢5-31-14 5.58 km
TEL 03-3412-3947TEL 03-3412-3947
Lady Jane has a very cinematic feel to it, the kind of joint that a lot of people outside Japan w...
Sasaki Bldg, B1, 2-8-3 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-Ku 5.66 km
03-3200-145203-3200-1452
Gate One is a small bar run by the husband and wife guitar-vocal duo Hashimoto-san and Kajiwara-s...
2-20-2 Kitazawa, Setagaya-Ku 5.66 km
NOTE: Masako closed in FEB 2010…I’m leaving it here anyways, so people will remember....
5-6-14 Daizawa, Setagaya-Ku 5.69 km
03-3412-594503-3412-5945
Jazz Haus Posy was opened in 1973 by jazz fanatic Misa. She’s a serious enough fan to hav...
2-14-8 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-Ku 5.81 km
03-3200-439603-3200-4396
Jazz SPOT Intro in Takadanobaba is a tiny basement bar about 2 minutes walk from the station. I...
スズノビル1F, 3 Chome-2-10 Honchō, Nakano-ku 5.81 km
03-3372-347103-3372-3471
Genius was one of Shibuya’s more famous jazz cafes for more than 20 years before increasing...
Igari Bldg., 1-23-9 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-Ku 6.02 km
03-3200-451303-3200-4513
Milestone sadly closed its doors at the end of July, 2019 after 45 years in business. As the nam...
B1, 3-23-5 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-Ku 6.02 km
03-3367-123303-3367-1233
Hot House is the world’s smallest jazz club! Maybe 8 or 10 customers max in this place. Mak...
Higashi-Ooimachi 5-6-10 1F. Shinagawa-Ku 6.1 km
Jazz Bar Impro is small, even by the incredibly small standards of most Japanese jazz joints. It&...
4 Chome−3−1, Higashinakano, Nakano 6.19 km
03-3365-057203-3365-0572
Neighborhood cafe/bar/small live club. This is the kind of place you really only find in Japan; i...
1-11-17 Higashinakanobu, Shinagawa City, Tokyo, Japan 6.26 km
03-3785-487703-3785-4877
Jazz Snack Matsu sadly closed suddenly due to the neighborhood being torn down for re-development...
Makita Bldg B1, 2-4-8 Ueno, Taito-Ku 6.42 km
Aries is a very local jazz live-house in the back streets of Ueno. By “local” I mea...
Tsuji Bldg B1, 3-14-12 Ueno, Taito-Ku 6.42 km
Every Swing is a small friendly club in the barren back streets east of Ueno Station. This is n...
4-Chome 6-2 Koenji Minami 6.65 km
03-3312-768403-3312-7684
Maze is a very hip soul music bar located right in the middle of the Koenji Pal Arcade ‘s...
Bunkyo-Ku, Hakusan 5-33-19 6.76 km
03-3811-893203-3811-8932
The Eigakan (映画館 “Movie Theater) is a jazz cafe for both jazz lovers and cinephiles. Own...
3-11-12 2F, Shinjuku 6.88 km
CLOSED Fall 2014. Ten years after closing, and I still miss Jazz Pub Michaux and all those nights...
3-15-12 Shinjuku 6.88 km
03-3354-777603-3354-7776
The ‘New Dug’ in Shinjuku is a cafe/bar with a complex back story. It was the annex...
Casa Rosa 2F Seijo 6-16-5, Setagaya-ku 7.15 km
I’ve known Yoshioka-san, owner and sole staff at Cafe Beulmans for several years now, since...
Minami Karasuyama 5-17-13 3F, Setagaya-Ku 7.15 km
03-3309-146003-3309-1460
Ragtime is the ideal jazz cafe in many ways. It’s a small place up on the 3rd floor of a ru...
Matsubara 1-37-14, Setagaya-Ku 7.16 km
03-3321-943103-3321-9431
Miles is a treasure. It opened in 1960 and is one of the few remaining neighborhood jazz bars fro...
2 Chome-43-2 Sendagi, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 7.17 km
‘Modern Jazz’ Players Bar R started in June 2022 in the existing Players Bar R, with ...
Toshima-Ku, Higashi-Ikebukuro 1-28-1 Takuto T.O. Bldg 2F 7.36 km
03-5391-738803-5391-7388
The Owl cafe in Ikebukuro was a great mystery to me as the first three times I went by it was clo...
5-56-15 Nakano, Nakano-Ku 7.53 km
03-3389-798003-3389-7980
Jikan Ryokou (the sign is in Japanese 時間旅行, it means “Time Travel”) is simply won...
B-113 Lions Mansion Nakano Dai-5 B-113, Arai 1-14-16, Nakano-Ku 7.63 km
I found this small-even-by-Tokyo-standards “piano bar” while lost in Nakano one nig...
Toshima-Ku, Nishi-Ikebukuro, 1-15-6, Toshima Kaikan B2F 7.75 km
Absolute Blue is a new club opened in Feb 2015 by Ayumi Hoshikawa, previously a club owner in New...
102 Dai-Ichi Mitomi Bldg 102, 1-30-6 Arai, Nakano-Ku 7.75 km
03-6454-028303-6454-0283
Rompercicci is a fairly new jazz cafe/bar just a short ten-minute walk from Nakano Station. It...
3-14-10 Nishi-Nippori, Arakawa-Ku, Tokyo 7.82 km
Charmant opened in 1955 and certainly looks and feels its age. It’s a tiny bar on the secon...
Palace Garden Milano Bldg, 1F, Ikebukuro 2-63-6 8.06 km
Kenny’s Bar is by far the hippest place in not-so-hip Ikebukuro. It’s a small, dark j...
Dai 2 Okumura Bldg, B1, 1-47-13 Ikebukuro, Toshima-Ku 8.43 km
03-6914-349903-6914-3499
Montgomery Land opened up a couple of years ago just a short walk from Ikebukuro Station. It̵...