Shinjuku Pit Inn

The perfect sized jazz bar for me! Not too big that it’s not intimate enough and not too small that you feel pressurized by too much attention and the need to make small talk. Nice acoustics. A comfy space to enjoy live jazz. Orderly queue system. Clearly marked in English so kinda foreigner friendly. Either reserve online by the night before 10:30pm or show up early to queue before bar opens, for walk-ins. ¥3850 cover charge inclusive of 1 drink - you can choose alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Ordered mixed nuts and they are pretty yum with drinks.

Found in the basement of a building in shinjuku, there inn provided a wonderful venue to get up and personal with performers. Limited seating and that night it appeared to be sold out. Jazz band that evening. The entrance fee included one drink. We purchased additional drinks and were gifted with cheese and crackers Not sure how they admitted reservations, but it’s would be better if they seated larger parties first. We had a group of five and needed to split up our seating as we couldn’t get five seats in a row. The length of the performances varies, but with intermission, our concert lasted over 2 hours. Waiting area outside of the inn is not air conditioned. Difficult to bear as went during the dog days of summer.

Great local jazz trio I saw . The system to get in is like a bread line under communism But worth it )

Very small space in the basement with oversold tickets. It did not have enough seating capacity and there were twice as many people standing than sitting, very uncomfortably. People were going outside to sit on the stairs to get some rest, why even sell so many tickets if you can’t even seat half of them!? On top of that they ask you come at least an hour early for no reason because they will call your reservation number for you to enter once the door is open. Was very excited to catch a live jazz in Tokyo and the lineup seemed great but couldn’t enjoy at all!

If you really like jazz, and you really want to learn the different side of Tokyo, here is where you should visit. I visited this jazz club during my travel in Tokyo, as “have an authentic jazz experience in Japan” has always been one of the ticking boxes for my solo travelling. At the beginning of my trip, I was a bit overwhelmed by the feeling of being always surrounded by tourists, and can’t experience the real Japanese culture - and this bar changed my feeling totally. I went on a Wednesday night, and it was jazz piano and guitar performance only for that night. 99% of the audiences are Japanese, and quite of a few of them came alone. Seeing so many jazz lovers just enjoy music casually on a weekday night in Shinjuku really impressed me - that’s the really charm of Tokyo I would say. The jazz performance was nice but not what I expected, as I personally preferred jazz with instruments like saxophone,trumpet, and drums more. But, it was a perfect night - as the story with jazz involved would never be just jazz. I randomly started conversations with the French guy behind me (we were the 1% of the audience - tourists…) talking about jazz and how we liked the performance - then found out we have same taste and opinion on jazz, music, movies, books, and life. Started with Jazz, we talked about everything in the end - it’s really rare to find connections like this in the busy world where most of us are living fast paced lives and worrying about not being successful enough, or not achieving something earlier, or just being anxious in general about what’s going to happen next - but that night in pit Inn, jazz slowed down everything. It was the most magical and beautiful night I’ve ever had, but maybe just one of the other ordinary nights in Shinjuku. In summary, if you love jazz, here is where you should go - you will get what you expect, and maybe also surprises. And also, I hope next time when I visit Tokyo, I can come back with this French guy.

Pit Inn is a jazz club located in the heart of Shinjuku. The night we visited, a rock band improvised over Keith Jarrett compositions. While the music didn’t fully meet my expectations, the atmosphere was lively. Bonus: their website offers an English schedule.

Hands down the best jazz spot in Tokyo. Super intimate environment that really attaches you to the performance. Friendly staff and drinks are ALL ¥600, after the roughly ¥2500-3000 entrance fee that includes a drink.

It's NOT a food venue tho drinks and snacks are available. It's a Jazz club Second time I've visited and same experience. Great intimate jazz venue with amazing artists

Great club. Reasonable cover charge includes one drink. Comfortable seating and great four piece jazz group the Wednesday evening I visited. The audience was respectful and quiet.