New Gold Bldg, 2F, 3-6-10 Shinjuku-Ku
Ōkubo 2 Chome 3-6
Shinjuku-ku
Tōkyō-to
JP
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, a neighborhood packed with great music bars and places to eat. Opened 16 years ago by master Satodate-san, it’s an intimate, no frills jazz bar with mostly regular customers. There are periodic 2 or 3 piece live shows, mostly standard type stuff. Satodate-san has a nice collection of CDs and vinyl; I was pleased to see an original Hank Mobley album hanging behind the bar.
Satodate-san was a pleasure to chat music with and he invited me back anytime to check out one of the live shows and talk with some of the regulars. Houdenasu is a another great spot in 3-chome and I’m happy to have discovered it after many years of visiting the area. English menu so it’s an easy place for tourists to order in. ¥1000 seating charge.
Oh, Satodate-san told me with a smile that ‘ほうでなす’ is a bit of Tokhoku regional slang for ’ばかやろう!’
Size
11-20
Food
Yes
Directions
Station: Shinjuku 3-Chome, Shinjuku, Marunouchi & Fukutoshin Lines
Exit: C3
Distance from station: 1 minutes
Date published
01/01/15
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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 2.23 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 2.23 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 2.23 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 2.23 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...
3-15-12 Shinjuku 2.48 km
03-3354-777603-3354-7776
The ‘New Dug’ in Shinjuku is a cafe/bar with a complex back story. It was the annex...
Kashiwagi Mura2 7-20-12, Nishi-Shinjuku 2.49 km
Swanky live club, heavy on the vocalists. Enjoyable but a bit soft for my tastes. It’s the ...
1−28−9, Shibuya, Yoyogi 2.57 km
03-6300-523103-6300-5231
Music Bar is part of the new development Yoyogi Village (read more about it here. It’s no...
1-8 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-Ku 2.63 km
03-3357-985703-3357-9857
Eagle is really the prototypical jazz cafe. It opened in 1967 in Yotsuya, right down the street...
Toshima-Ku, Higashi-Ikebukuro 1-28-1 Takuto T.O. Bldg 2F 2.92 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...
1-14 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku 3.07 km
03-3267-842303-3267-8423
UPDATE: Found out just yesterday that the lovely Matsuura-san passed away just about two years ag...
Toshima-Ku, Nishi-Ikebukuro, 1-15-6, Toshima Kaikan B2F 3.12 km
Absolute Blue is a new club opened in Feb 2015 by Ayumi Hoshikawa, previously a club owner in New...
スズノビル1F, 3 Chome-2-10 Honchō, Nakano-ku 3.2 km
03-3372-347103-3372-3471
Genius was one of Shibuya’s more famous jazz cafes for more than 20 years before increasing...
Toyo Bldg. B1, 2-20-19 Yoyogi, Shibuya-Ku 3.26 km
03-3370-180103-3370-1801
Haikara-Tei is another Shinjuku jazz bar that somehow never popped up on my jazz radar after all ...
Palace Garden Milano Bldg, 1F, Ikebukuro 2-63-6 3.46 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 3.76 km
03-6914-349903-6914-3499
Montgomery Land opened up a couple of years ago just a short walk from Ikebukuro Station. It̵...
Umimoto Bldg (梅本) , 4F, 3-29-2 Nishi-Ikebukuro 3.76 km
03-3985-024003-3985-0240
Paper Moon (ぺーぱーむーん) is a 15 seat L-shaped counter bar opened and run by the friendly Ya...
Parkside Fuki B1, 3-22-8 Nishi-Ikebukuro 3.76 km
03-5960-225203-5960-2252
Jazz Live Bar Independence is another great joint located in the surprisingly hip neighborhood ...
102 Dai-Ichi Mitomi Bldg 102, 1-30-6 Arai, Nakano-Ku 3.85 km
03-6454-028303-6454-0283
Rompercicci is a fairly new jazz cafe/bar just a short ten-minute walk from Nakano Station. It...
5-56-15 Nakano, Nakano-Ku 3.87 km
03-3389-798003-3389-7980
Jikan Ryokou (the sign is in Japanese 時間旅行, it means “Time Travel”) is simply won...
Jingumae, 3 Chome−5−2 3.91 km
03-3402-753703-3402-7537
Gekko Sabou (月光茶房 “moon-light-tea-chamber”, a wonderful name) is not a jazz cafe/...
6-6-4, Sakae Bldg B1, Akasaka, Minato-ku 3.99 km
The B Flat in Akasaka is a great straight-ahead jazz club in an area without many other options f...
B-113 Lions Mansion Nakano Dai-5 B-113, Arai 1-14-16, Nakano-Ku 4.08 km
I found this small-even-by-Tokyo-standards “piano bar” while lost in Nakano one nig...
3-7-15 Akasaka, Minato-Ku 4.13 km
Hashi no Shita (橋 の下 means “Under The Bridge” in Japanese) is in Akasaka-Mitsuke...
5-1-2 Akasaka Engel Bldg 2F, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 4.15 km
Volontaire moved to its current location in Akasaka a few years ago after more than three decades...
1-11 Kanda-Jimbocho, Chiyoda 4.19 km
03-3233-434303-3233-4343
Big Boy is a tiny cafe/bar on a side street off the main road through Jinbocho, the old book shop...
Fujimi Yoshida Bldg. B1, Fujimi 2-2-11, Chiyoda 4.19 km
Cafe Ragtime has live music every Thursday and Friday nights, usually piano and sax or vocalist d...
2-24 Jimbocho Kanda, Chiyoda-Ku 4.19 km
Kissa Ko is one of the older cafes in town but had a facelift in 2012 so now has an all new decor...
2F 1-52-1 Jimbocho, Kanda, Chiyoda-Ku 4.19 km
03-3294-362103-3294-3621
All used records (and a few CDs) here with vocals & swing jazz being the specialty. Lots of o...
Numabukuro 1-34-4 B1, Nakano-Ku 4.39 km
03-3388-204003-3388-2040
Organ Jazz Club: the name gives it away, doesn’t it? One of the few places in town with a r...
Bunkyo-Ku, Hakusan 5-33-19 4.41 km
03-3811-893203-3811-8932
The Eigakan (映画館 “Movie Theater) is a jazz cafe for both jazz lovers and cinephiles. Own...
Fuji Shoji Bldg. 2F, Sakuragaoka 2-3, Shibuya-Ku 4.54 km
03-3461-338103-3461-3381
Many years back I found Mary Jane by accident, as I had been looking for the wonderfully named ...
Himawari Bldg. 2F, Dogenzaka 2-26-5, Shibuya-Ku 4.54 km
Very small place that is really just a bar with live music every night of the week. I’ve go...
Japan, 〒101-0051 Tōkyō-to, Chiyoda-ku, Kanda Jinbōchō, 1 Chome−2−9 ウェルスビル 4.69 km
The Adirondack Cafe is a unique jazz cafe and bar just off the main road through the Jinbocho are...
16-4 Kamiyamacho, Shibuya, Tokyo 4.72 km
03-5790-954403-5790-9544
Despite its old-world cafe atmosphere, Swing only opened in 2014 and is one of the newer jazz spo...
Shibuya Parco B1, Udagawa-Cho 15-1 4.75 km
03-6455-300103-6455-3001
The central streets of Shibuya often conceal some cool little music spots amidst the brand stores...
41-23 Udagawa-Cho, Shibuya-Ku 150-0044 4.77 km
03-5458-418503-5458-4185
Bar Bossa in Shibuya is a quiet gem of a place, perfect for bossa nova fans and/or couples lookin...
Shibuya-ku, Udagawacho 19-5 4.78 km
Koen-Dori Classics is a small performance space located underneath a church in the heart of Shibu...
〒150-0002 Tokyo, Shibuya City, Shibuya, 1 Chome−5−6 B1F 4.78 km
INC Cocktails opened in late 2018 just a short walk from Shibuya Station. It’s a very large...
Chiyo Bldg, B1, 5-9-22 Dai 2, Roppongi 4.81 km
Electrik Jinja opened in April 2012 and quickly became the hippest spot in Roppongi. It’s ...
Hama Roppongi Bldg. 5F, 6-2-35 Roppongi, Minato-Ku 4.81 km
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 ...
2 Chome−1−10, Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku 4.85 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...