Jazz, Funk, Blues, Soul..like they say here in Japan, all “Black Music” available. All vinyl.
Station: JR Kichijoji – Chuo Line
Exit: Koen Guchi (公園口)
Distance from station: 5 minutes
See the map at the bottom of the homepage.
Scratch is a quiet cafe/bar that’s been in heart of Kichijoji since 1974. They open during the day for cafe time and have an extensive food and drink menu with over 100 cocktails, many of them with jazz related names like the “Bill Evans Waltz for Debby”, a strawberry and walnut cream daiquiri looking thing.
The vibe is mellow and dark, with the huge main window looking out across at John Henry’s bar across the alley separating Scratch’s building and the huge LOFT department store building. Along one wall of the room are a whole bunch of album covers , anything from Miles to Mingus, but most of the music they play is on the “cool” side…last time I was there Julie London and Sarah Vaughn albums were playing, very mellow but nice.
Scratch is a good place for some solo jazz cafe/bar time, just you, a book and some tunes. Scratch also wins points for having the greatest bar slogan of all time: “Coffee & Bourbon, Music Now, You meet the nice people in Scratch”. See more pics of Scratch over at Tokyo Jazz Joints. Not recommended if you have an aversion to cigarette smoke.
トムネコゴ (Tomunekogo) is a small, cozy and rustic cafe alongside the entrance to Inokashira-Koen in the Kichijoji area of western Tokyo. It’s located on the first floor of an old Showa-Era (postwar) apartment building that faces the park, although the cafe itself only opened 3 years ago.
Going through the narrow entrance you have to squeeze left in front of the tiny kitchen (right away you realize this was once an actual apartment) and into the seating area of the cafe. The decor is wooden and antique; you’ll notice in the center of the room, in front of the bookcase filled with records, a beautiful old gas heater with a kettle of of tea placed on top. It’s one of those little touches that always makes a cafe more welcoming.
The music is kept a softer volume than many other cafes; the owner says he wants the atmosphere to stay mellow with quiet conversation and mid-tempo jazz, so even though there’s alcohol on the menu don’t come here for a rowdy session. On our visit there he was playing some MJQ, then a Ben Webster ballads album, both of which sounded perfect in that space.
The entry has a small bookshelf and wooden ‘Open’ sign easily visible from the road along the park, just one minute walk from Inokashira-Park station on the Keio Line. See here for more pics of Tomunekogo.
S.U.B. Store (Small Unique Bookstore) is a very hip new hybrid cafe/bar/gallery/bookstore/recordstore/live space in the always vibrant Koenji neighborhood in west Tokyo. It was opened early in 2016 by the husband & wife team of Andhika from Indonesia, and Kumi from Japan, two welcoming hosts who are happy to talk music and more with the customers.
The shop is warm and funky with a counter bar facing a small kitchen on the right side, some racks with used vinyl on sale along the opposite wall. One part of the wall space in the center is used for various small exhibitions, and on the left side of the room by the window are DJ decks and a space for live performances. It sounds like it would be too busy and cluttered but it’s all laid out so you don’t feel boxed in at all, with the large window letting in plenty of natural light.
Andhika and Kumi are making an effort to put on a variety of events in SUB Store including live music (jazzy and otherwise), DJ nights and film showings, in addition to opening for lunch (look for the very good Indonesian dishes on the menu) and afternoon cafe time. The music is a mix of jazz and contemporary grooves, though you’re likely to hear a lot of genres from their collection of records and CDs. Andhika told me they even hosted Indonesian jazz guitarist Tesla Manaf for a show during his recent tour of Japan. They’re happy to host any kind of evening though so feel free to ask them about setting up any event you’d like to do. SUB Store is a very welcome new spot for music and art fans in Tokyo.
It’s all about vinyl at Hal’s Jazz. Owner Ikeda-san keeps a few racks of cds in the corner but pretty much concerns himself with the wax, and he’s got a serious selection packed into the small shop. The range of classic, original Blue Note albums, as well as the 70s free jazz section is very impressive as is the Japanese Jazz rack. The most unique thing about Hal’s is probably the large number of European jazz albums available. I was really tempted by an orignal Polish issue of Krystof Komeda’s ‘Astigmatic’, one of the best European jazz albums ever recorded and on sale for ￥8000 (about US$90). I wasn’t so tempted by an original copy of `The Artistry of Nunzio Rotondo` selling for a tidy ￥420,000..forty-five hundred dollars for Nunzio? Seeing albums like this for sale, and having Ikeda-san confirm that he sells such expensive albums regularly, really shows you the love and appreciation Japanese jazz fans have for the music.
Ikeda-san or his son, who is there more often these days, are happy to chat with you and to put stuff on the store system for you to give a listen. Their knowledge is unmatched; I brought my free-jazz label boss friend from Chicago there for a visit and he was stunned that Ikeda-san was familiar with even the most obscure acts on his roster. Both father and son speak some English so it’s worth a visit just to have a browse and some conversation. The Ikedas are proof of how jazz in Tokyo is never going to die.
Funky is the upstairs “Bar” part of the Bar & Kitchen Funky. It’s a sleek, dark room with a beautiful bar and great food available from the restaurant downstairs. Don’t expect too much (if any..) “funky” music here though, it’s more of a late-night wind-down vibe, great spot to end a longer Kichijoji night at. Expensive so bring enough dough. Great pics in the gallery on their homepage.
Funky is part of the Mugi group, owners of Sometime Piano hall in Kichijoji and several other bars and eateries.
Modern jazz specialty shop, more than 8000 records on sale from the 50s & 60s. Been open since 1973.
All used records (and a few CDs) here with vocals & swing jazz being the specialty. Lots of old music journals and magazines too, it’s a fun place to browse.
Good Italian food at this restaurant/bar/club. The schedule on the website shows the genre of each night (vocal, fusion, Latin, etc) which is helpful if you are not familiar with the artists. Strings is a good way to start a jazz-bar crawl night in Kichijoji.
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