Gate One

Masuda-san sadly passed away in 2012.

Stardust is an old bar, first opened in Asagaya in 1971 by the very chatty Masuda Junko-san. It’s been at its current spot for about fifteen years and has a steady customer base of mostly locals. It’s a dark basement bar with beautiful photos of jazz greats all around the place (as well as randomly hung American flag). The kind of bar that would have been plentiful back in the 60s and 70s but now is becoming all too rare.

Masuda-san plays all genres of jazz and is happy to take requests. Just be ready to wait awhile for your drinks while she chats away happily to you in Japanese (whether you can speak it or not!) Lovely lady and a lovely bar.

Jazz Olympus was opened by the very friendly Komatsu-san in 2009. It’s a sleek cafe/bar that is already well known in the area for it’s lunch-time menu (rare is the jazz cafe with good food!). Komatsu-san has a nice collection of about 4000 records and CDs in the place, with some beautiful album covers hanging on a few of the walls. His collection is mainly from the 50s and 60s but not exclusively, and he’ll play any genre of jazz depending on the time of day. When I was there on a sleepy, rainy Monday afternoon it was Anita O’Day coming out of the exquisite sounding speakers.

Komatsu-san also has record sharing and record release events at the cafe about once a month. There are flyers by the front door but don’t be afraid to ask him about them if you can’t read Japanese. Olympus is another great spot on the now plentiful Ochanomizu jazz joint map.
Non-smoking until 2pm.

Closed 2015

Small Hours is a new cafe/bar located in the back streets between Ochanomizu, Jimbocho and Suidobashi stations. Owner Nihei-san opened it in June 2011 and has already established a loyal customer base. It’s a long, narrow space with a beautiful wooden counter bar that comfortably seats about 10 and a table for 4 or 5 in the front.

The friendly and chatty Nihei-san is not a typical jazz cafe owner as she is young and not a manic record collector. She plays sax and flute though and certainly knows the music. “Soul Station” by Hank Mobley was playing when I walked in the first time; that gets immediate respect. One of her goals with the cafe is to have a space for those non-“maniacs” to come hear the music but not feel intimidated by older, regular customers who can be a bit prickly about the music (and new fans.)

For either coffee or some drinks Small Hours has a completely relaxed vibe where anyone can feel welcome. There’s beer and a large whisky selection though closing time is 9pm so get here by 8 for an early nightcap.

Jazz House Five Star Records is a unique little place in the Noge neighborhood, next to Sakuragicho station in Yokohama. This is an area that still has some of the rough and tumble vibe of old Yokohama, a place packed with small drinking dens and several jazz bars. I cam across FSR by chance while wandering around Noge one Saturday afternoon.

FSR is an independent record label run by Mitsukoshi Yoshie-san, a 50ish lady who speaks a mile a minute and knows the entire history of jazz in Yokohama. Before I could finish my coffee I had pages of notes with details about the area and all the bar owners, as well as the “Yokohama Jazz Association” (横浜ジャズ協会) that puts on various events around town.

The small building has a studio up top where brothers Pat and Joe La Barbera and have recently recorded CDs while in Japan (Mitsukoshi-san kindly gave me free copies, they’re great.) The first floor bar/cafe seats about 12 people and there’s room for monthly live events alongside occasional CD release parties. There’s the usual coffee and tea plus alcohol, and a book shelf with magazines and jazz guides customers can flip through while drinking.

FSR should be one of your first stops on a Yokohama jazz night; the community is lucky to have Mitsukoshi-san around to keep things vibrant.

I found this small-even-by-Tokyo-standards “piano bar” while lost in Nakano one night. The system is quite unique; they have live music a couple times a week but on “bar nights” customers are welcome to start jamming or rehearsing, using the grand piano that’s wedged in the place or by bringing their own instruments. While sitting at the tiny bar in the corner one night I saw two guys walk in and order drinks, then start playing trumpet and bass. Very casual, very cool.

Pignose is a real neighborhood joint, very cramped but really friendly. Highly recommended.

Jazz Nutty opened in 2009 next to the campus of Waseda University. The wonderful Mr.& Mrs. Aoki ran their own flower shop for 26 years before deciding to open their own cafe. It’s a small narrow place dominated by two out of this world speakers; this is a cafe for some serious jazz listening and not idle conversation.

All the drinks, including beer, are 500 yen. Closed on Tuesdays. All rejoice! A new jazz cafe is born in Tokyo, let’s all spend some money there so it survives!

Kamome means “seagull” in Japanese; it’s an apt name for a venue in the port town of Yokohama. It’s a great new-ish restaurant club in the historic but recently downtrodden Kannai neighborhood, not far from Chinatown or the baseball stadium. There’s live music every night with a really eclectic mix of styles..be sure to check the schedule (and have a Japanese reading friend confirm the genre of the evening) before going. The food is very good here and all the seats face the stage for the most part. The gigs usually end about 10pm so Kamome is a good first stop on a jazz-hopping evening in Kannai.

A reminder: there is no smoking inside many (not all) establishments in Kanagawa prefecture, to which Yokohama belongs. Certain bars still allow it but many places with food do not.