Pres Jazz Bar is located up near the end of “Center Gai” street in Shibuya, not the most likely spot for a jazz bar. Named after the great sax -man Lester Young, owner Iwasaki-san opened the place about twenty years ago when there were still some jazz cafes and bars next door (unfortunately all gone now).
The counter in Pres a U-shaped, with the seats a bit close together but still comfortable. The atmosphere is dark and serious, with the music at just the right volume. By far the most memorable thing about Pres are the murals painted on each side wall, large and very lifelike portraits of jazz greats, of course including ‘Pres’ Lester Young. They watch down over you while you drink and listen, like gods quietly observing their worshipers. It’s a unique feeling for sure. See more pictures of Pres over at Tokyo Jazz Joints.
For a bar right in the middle of screaming teenage Tokyo, Pres is a wonderful oasis of good music and sophistication. Perfect spot for post dinner drinks.
Size
15
Directions
Station: Shibuya-JR, Hanzomon/Ginza/Fukutoshi Subway Lines
Exit: Hachiko Exit
Distance from station: 6-9
The easiest way to get to Pres is to walk up Bunkamura-dori from Shibuya Station, and turn right on the street right before Book 1st. Walk up one street to Center-Gai and look on the right, you`ll see a grey-concrete like building to the left of a noodle restaurant. The Pres sign is lit up above.
Date published
02/14/2009 Updated SEPT 2016
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In 2013 Black Sun moved from it’s long time home in Nishi-Shinjuku to the heart of Kabukich...
2-4, Dai Kyo Machi, Shinjuku-Ku 3.71 km
03-3351-790403-3351-7904
Kissa Sakaiki gives me hope that the spirit of the Japanese jazz-kissaten will survive. Owner F...
Royal Mansion B1, Shinjuku 5-1-1, Shinjuku-Ku 3.71 km
03-3354-033503-3354-0335
Old basement club, lots of vocalists on the schedule. Mellow vibe and not too expensive.
1 Chome−1−10, Kabukicho, Shinjuku 3.72 km
How can I describe this place? It’s small, dark and old; owner Otsuka-san was surly and u...
Maruha Bldg. B1, 1-1-7 Kabukicho, Shinjuku 3.76 km
03-3204-202803-3204-2028
NOTE: Now Bar Clarisse’s, still with a lot of bourbon! 200 types of Bourbon, cool jazz play...
Daikan Plaza B-306, 7-10-17 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku 3.76 km
03-3364-157703-3364-1577
It’s all about vinyl at Hal’s Jazz. Owner Ikeda-san keeps a few racks of cds in the c...
2F, 1 Chome−13−6, Kabukicho, Shinjuku 3.78 km
I found this tiny gem of a jazz cafe amidst the chaos that is Kabukicho in Shinjuku. It is a smal...
5-1-2 Akasaka Engel Bldg 2F, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 3.79 km
Volontaire moved to its current location in Akasaka a few years ago after more than three decades...
6-6-4, Sakae Bldg B1, Akasaka, Minato-ku 3.83 km
The B Flat in Akasaka is a great straight-ahead jazz club in an area without many other options f...
3-7-15 Akasaka, Minato-Ku 3.93 km
Hashi no Shita (橋 の下 means “Under The Bridge” in Japanese) is in Akasaka-Mitsuke...
1-8 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-Ku 3.98 km
03-3357-985703-3357-9857
Eagle is really the prototypical jazz cafe. It opened in 1967 in Yotsuya, right down the street...
スズノビル1F, 3 Chome-2-10 Honchō, Nakano-ku 4.12 km
03-3372-347103-3372-3471
Genius was one of Shibuya’s more famous jazz cafes for more than 20 years before increasing...
Casa Rosa 2F Seijo 6-16-5, Setagaya-ku 4.33 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 4.33 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 4.4 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...
6-13-9 Minami Aoyama, Minato-Ku 4.86 km
03-5466-334803-5466-3348
Body & Soul is one of the most historically important jazz clubs in Tokyo. Featuring many of ...
New Gold Bldg, 2F, 3-6-10 Shinjuku-Ku 4.9 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,...
4-Chome 6-2 Koenji Minami 5.19 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...
4 Chome−3−1, Higashinakano, Nakano 5.22 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...
1-17-4 Nishi-Waseda, Shinjuku-Ku 5.77 km
03-3200-373003-3200-3730
Jazz Nutty opened in 2009 next to the campus of Waseda University. The wonderful Mr.& Mrs. ...
Igari Bldg., 1-23-9 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-Ku 5.79 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 5.79 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...
Sasaki Bldg, B1, 2-8-3 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-Ku 5.79 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...
1-11-17 Higashinakanobu, Shinagawa City, Tokyo, Japan 5.84 km
03-3785-487703-3785-4877
Jazz Snack Matsu sadly closed suddenly due to the neighborhood being torn down for re-development...
2-14-8 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-Ku 5.84 km
03-3200-439603-3200-4396
Jazz SPOT Intro in Takadanobaba is a tiny basement bar about 2 minutes walk from the station. I...
東京都千代田区有楽町2-3-6 マスヤビルB1F 5.93 km
03-3575-031503-3575-0315
Kiri is a wonderful little basement spot in between Hibiya, Ginza and Yurakucho stations. It̵...
5-56-15 Nakano, Nakano-Ku 6.01 km
03-3389-798003-3389-7980
Jikan Ryokou (the sign is in Japanese 時間旅行, it means “Time Travel”) is simply won...
1-14 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku 6.02 km
03-3267-842303-3267-8423
UPDATE: Found out just yesterday that the lovely Matsuura-san passed away just about two years ag...
B-113 Lions Mansion Nakano Dai-5 B-113, Arai 1-14-16, Nakano-Ku 6.03 km
I found this small-even-by-Tokyo-standards “piano bar” while lost in Nakano one nig...
3-15-12 Shinjuku 6.05 km
03-3354-777603-3354-7776
The ‘New Dug’ in Shinjuku is a cafe/bar with a complex back story. It was the annex...
1-11 Kanda-Jimbocho, Chiyoda 6.24 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 6.24 km
Cafe Ragtime has live music every Thursday and Friday nights, usually piano and sax or vocalist d...
2-24 Jimbocho Kanda, Chiyoda-Ku 6.24 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 6.24 km
03-3294-362103-3294-3621
All used records (and a few CDs) here with vocals & swing jazz being the specialty. Lots of o...
102 Dai-Ichi Mitomi Bldg 102, 1-30-6 Arai, Nakano-Ku 6.37 km
03-6454-028303-6454-0283
Rompercicci is a fairly new jazz cafe/bar just a short ten-minute walk from Nakano Station. It...
Higashi-Ooimachi 5-6-10 1F. Shinagawa-Ku 6.43 km
Jazz Bar Impro is small, even by the incredibly small standards of most Japanese jazz joints. It&...
3-11-12 2F, Shinjuku 6.66 km
CLOSED Fall 2014. Ten years after closing, and I still miss Jazz Pub Michaux and all those nights...
3-1-12 Koenji-Kita, Suginami-Ku, Tokyo 6.67 km
080-3496-3883080-3496-3883
S.U.B. Store (Small Unique Bookstore) is a very hip new hybrid cafe/bar/gallery/bookstore/records...
B2F 8-6-18 Ginza, Chuo 6.69 km
Cygnus is the sister club to Aries in Ueno but a bit more upscale. Live shows three times a night...
Ogawamachi 3-24, Kanda, Chiyoda-Ku 6.86 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...
Japan, 〒101-0051 Tōkyō-to, Chiyoda-ku, Kanda Jinbōchō, 1 Chome−2−9 ウェルスビル 6.87 km
The Adirondack Cafe is a unique jazz cafe and bar just off the main road through the Jinbocho are...
1-6-12 Minami-Koenji, Suginami-Ku 7.03 km
Kissa Seikatsu (喫茶生活 “Cafe Lifestyle”) is a gem of a place a few mins walk from...
1-35-21 Minami-Asagaya, Suginami-Ku 7.03 km
Misty is a small cafe located in the heart of Asagaya’s old style “shotengai” (...
2-12-5-2F Kita-Koenji, Suginami-Ku 7.03 km
03-03339-621103-03339-6211
Nadja is a great little cafe in Koenji that stands out for its tasty lunch menu, especially the M...
Inoue Bldg (井上ビル) B1, 5-16-15, Ogikubo, Suginami-Ku 7.03 km
03-5347-736903-5347-7369
Rooster is a great little live-house that features jazz, blues, funk, New Orleans..basically all ...
2F 3-20-13 2F, Ogawamachi, Kanda, Chiyoda-Ku 7.04 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 7.21 km
Jazz Bar Gugan is a small bar in the east side of Tokyo, near both the Ochanomizu and Jimbocho ...
2 Chome−1−10, Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku 7.22 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...
Numabukuro 1-34-4 B1, Nakano-Ku 7.24 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...
1-chōme-3-16 Minamiyukigaya, Ota City, Tokyo 145-0066 7.53 km
03-6421-819303-6421-8193
Slow Boat is a beautiful neighborhood jazz cafe opened only in 2019, on the first floor of an oth...
2 Chome−2−7, Asagayakita, Suginami 7.54 km
03-3336-796103-3336-7961
Tiny club in jazz rich Asagaya, Manhattan is always worth stopping by. All-night jam sessions thr...
30 Konya-Cho, Kanda, Chiyoda-Ku 7.61 km
03-3252-498203-3252-4982
Root Down moved down the street just 30 meters from it’s original spot, it’s now Tō...