Tokyo One-Day Jazz Kissa Challenge: Exit to Vintage Street

I’m nearing the end of another trip to Tokyo, and up until a few days ago had been lamenting a busy schedule and a lack of Jazz Kissa visits. Then a free Thursday popped up, and I decided to make the most of it.

Tokyo trips have become more frequent for me over the past year, ever since my wife, aka Mrs. Audiolove, moved back to Japan last summer as the advance guard for our planned retirement there. I’ll follow in a couple of years when I stop “working.”

Jimbocho is a convenient destination from her place as it’s a one-train ride on the Denentoshi/Hanzomon line (one line becomes the other) from Yokohama. One of my goals this trip was to finally visit Eigakan in Hakusan (only three stops from Jimbocho) so I planned my day with that in mind.

Jimbocho is also something of a Jazz Kissa hotbed. I’ve visited Jazz Big Boy and Adirondack multiple times (I included both a couple of years ago in an article on my favourite Tokyo Kissas), but had several other joints in the area on my wish list, so this day would be a perfect opportunity to scratch a couple of itches before heading to Hakusan.

I picked a couple of new places – Incus and Kissako – figuring I’d have lunch at one of them, and grabbed the noon train into town.

Incus

The first Jazz Kissa of the day could not have been more different than the other destinations I’d visit later. Incus is a sparse, modern, all black, minimalist space featuring huge JBL Professional Series speakers, Garrard 301 turntable and Mark Levinson amplification. Sound produced has wonderful clarity, depth and space.

Incus has a lot of rules; in fact it’s probably the strictest Kissa I’ve visited until now. There’s absolutely no talking, and a one-order-per-hour rule (no sitting on a single coffee for hours on end). Maximum party size of two patrons.

And if that’s not enough… No computer use (though phones and tablets, and photos, are allowed; the issue seems to be keyboard noise interfering with musical enjoyment). No music requests and no album “bring-ins.” And no kids under junior-high-school-age.

I have no problem with guidelines like this though as it ensures enjoyment, free of distractions. You have been warned.

The shop, equipment and record collection are meticulously organized and cared for. There’s seating for 8 in two rows of four plush chairs, plus 3 stools at the counter for overflow if there is any.

The menu features specialist, gourmet coffees, teas and desserts, with no other food on offer. Lunch would have to wait. I had Cafe au Lait, and cheesecake (ice cream on side), both of which were top-notch delicious.

Music I heard in my hour-ish stay included Benny Bailey, Cosmic Tones Research Trio, and Masabumi Kikuchi & Masahiko Togashi (all very fitting of the vibe).

Highly recommended for focused listeners and coffee afficionados.

Kissako

After leaving Incus I wandered over to Kissako, a quaint, casual, cozy space down a side alley a few minutes from the main book-selling area (and what Jimbocho is most famous for).

The blue exterior, take out window, narrow street and potted plants lining the front give Kissako a French country cafe feel as you approach.

Inside the shop there’s a tiny kitchen area and counter housing the turntable to the left of the door as you enter.

Seating is tight with space for about 15 surrounding two large Altec 820 horn-loaded corner speakers driven by a McIntosh MA-8900 amp, with Luxman PD-151 belt drive turntable as source. Records are stored up high, 360° around the room, with the day’s selected disks kept behind the counter.

Menus are unique, enclosed between 7” record covers. I didn’t notice if all menus are the same, but my menu was held between two reinforced Oscar Peterson record covers.

Like Incus this is a desserts and drinks only establishment, and I had an excellent Ice Cafe Latte. Lunch would again have to wait, but the Incus cheesecake was keeping me going.

Talking is okay here at low volumes and music is loud enough that surrounding chatter doesn’t interfere with enjoyment.

I didn’t stay here too long but heard sides from Bill Evans at the BBC and Bob Cooper’s Milano Blues.

Ella & Louis

My original plan for this day was to visit Incus and Kissako as “appetizers,” and then head three stops up the Mita Line to Hakusan to cap the day off with Eigakan as the “main course”.

Eigakan opens at 4:00 and I arrived at Hakusan station with about an hour to spare. I pulled up Google Maps to see if there was a spot nearby to kill some time and found Retro Cafe Ella & Louis.

The place looked quaint and as a bonus they serve food. From the name I assumed they’d be vocal jazz focused, and I decided to stop in for a bite and listen.

As advertised, Ella & Louis is rustic and casual with a full-on “Showa” vibe. Showa was the era from 1926 to 1989 corresponding with Emperor Hirohito’s reign, including World War II and the boom/bubble economy period of the ‘70s and ‘80s; most traditional jazz kissas opened in the post-war era and feature period-typical design and furnishings.

Ella & Louis was a regular coffee shop for 48 years and was taken over post-pandemic by a young Okinawan woman who shifted the cafe to more of a Jazz Kissa.

The shop is quite spacious with seating for about 30. It was quite busy for 3:00 in the afternoon, half full with mostly pairs of woman friends chatting quietly and sipping tea or coffee.

I took a seat and finally ordered a Japanese cafe-staple lunch of pizza toast: thick-sliced, hyper-refined white toast with tomato sauce, green pepper, sausage and melted processed cheese. Pizza gourmets may raise their eyebrows, but it went down a treat!

Music wasn’t too loud, and more background to conversation than focused listening. The audio system is simple, with custom-built speakers, a Fostex AP25 “personal amplifier” (one input and speaker outputs), entry-level Technics SL-100C turntable and a small Luxman 5-band equalizer.

Staff seemed in a Tony Bennett kinda mood this day and I heard a side of Tony Bennett classics followed by a side from his collaboration album with Lady Gaga. Not necessarily my preference, but it was pleasant enough.

While the music and sound weren’t overwhelming, this is a lovely relaxing spot, and I enjoyed my visit immensely. Pizza toast consumed, the hour was approaching so I paid my bill and made my way to Eigakan.

Eigakan

Oh my. Where does one start with Eigakan? If there is a list of top “historical landmark” jazz kissas in Tokyo, this combination music/movie museum is most definitely up there.

The space is wedge-shaped with speakers placed in the narrow end. The vibe is woody and rustic, with low lighting.

The sound was remarkably clear and articulate, with bass that reached way down without turning the room into a demolition site. The music was loud, but not obnoxiously so. Enveloping, not invasive.

Seating is spread out with room for 30-ish including a communal area at the front, chairs and tables for 2-6 in the rear, and stools down one side along the bar. Low volume talking is okay, and smoking is allowed.

The audio system has been customized and tweaked over the decades into an auditory work of art. Main speakers are based on Western Electrics with custom made Hokkaido-sourced Tamo-wood horns and high-pitch super tweeters, and tube amps are customized from Dynaco kits (thanks for details to @djproben).

Am not sure what the Franken-turntable is, but perhaps someone who’s been to Eigakan can enlighten me in the comments. The pre-amp (not sure if this has been customized in any way, but it wouldn’t surprise me) is an Accuphase C-280.

Eigakan is a feast not only for the ears but also the eyes, with shelves and racks of reading materials. I spotted (and leafed through) the ERG Media Jazz Kissa book, the Tokyo Jazz Joints picture book, and the recent kissa-focused National Geographic.

Being late afternoon when I arrived, I switched from coffee to beer with a tasty craft-brewed Tokyo Ale. It seems the brewery and Eigakan have a special relationship, with the Tokyo Brewing Company sponsoring events from time to time at the shop.

Musical accompaniment for my visit came from Elvin Jones (Dear John C), June Christy (Something Cool) and Gary Peacock (December Poems).

Eigakan will certainly go down as one of the highlights of this Tokyo visit, and I’m sure to return often in the years to come.

Addendum: Jazz Olympus!

Had I not visited a week before, and if I’d gotten my act together a couple of hours earlier for this marathon day, I could have done a lot worse than to start the adventure at Jazz Olympus.

My first full day in Tokyo typically sees me heading to Ochanomizu to hit the Disk Unions (Jazz and Classical) and usually one or two of the Jimbocho Kissas.

For some reason though I’d never hit Jazz Olympus! on an open day. I’ve either made the attempt to visit on a Sunday or Monday (their regular closing days) or during one of the big, one-week Japanese holiday periods when almost all Jazz Kissas close (Golden Week in early May, O-bon in August, and at New Year).

As it turns out, Olympus! closed down in the spring of 2025, underwent some renovations and a system changeover, and reopened under new ownership in November 2025.

Olympus is not officially in Jimbocho but is so close (just across the street in Ochanomizu) that it might as well be.

This time around I checked ahead to see if Olympus! was open before visiting, and it was worth the wait. You can also make reservations, which is unusual for a Jazz Kissa.

The non-smoking space is quite large and modern, but also welcoming and comfortable. There’s seating for 24 at six 2-tops down both sides of the room and a long communal table down the middle for singles.

The big JBL Olympus speakers sound superb with amplification (power and pre) also by JBL, with Thorens TD-126 Mk. II turntable as source, and the vibe was perfect.

They play Western music from opening (noon) to 12:45, then jazz. Quiet talk is okay through lunch, and volume goes up from 2:00 for “listening time.” They also serve dinner from 6:30 in the evening.

The Spicy Chicken Curry lunch set with drink, in my case iced coffee, was delicious. Olympus! is known for it’s curry to the point where some question if this is a Jazz Kissa that serves curry or a curry shopthat plays jazz. For ¥300 more I could have had a larger portion of curry, but that would have been gilding the lily.

I stuck around for several record sides including Dave Brubeck (Take Five), Art Blakey (Live at Birdland), McCoy Tyner (Nights of Ballads & Blues) and Jim Hall (Concierto).

Closing

This really was a great day. Four Kissas in a day could easily have been five, and it wouldn’t have been a huge stretch to add one or two of the other Jimbocho shops – Big Boy and/or Adirondack, or one of the places I’ve yet to visit, like On A Slow Boat, Ladrio or Naru (also Ochanomizu) – to make a bumper day of jazzing.

If you’ve visited any of these places, or do so in the future, I’d love to hear about it in the comments or by DM on Instagram at @audioloveyyc.

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