Three to four times a week, Jazz Spot Intro has live jazz sessions that cook well into the night. Professional and amateur musicians get together to jam. Among the many notable names that have joined the sessions, Larry Coryell, Hino Terumasa, and Herbie Hancock have given impromptu performances. Since 1988 Intro has been the place for rare musical moments, witnessed by small audiences that huddled into its limited space. Not far from Takadanobaba Station, Intro is a capsule of a venue, but its rich cultural heritage has made it a Tokyo staple. Behind the bar there’s a vinyl selection from which patrons can request songs, encouraging people to listen to music outside the demystifying language of an algorithm. Intro isn’t just for jazz aficionados – the uninitiated do get converted.

Address: 2-14-8 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku

Website: jazzspot.intro.co.jp  

Tel: 03-3200-4396