TOKYO JAZZ JOINTS
An Irishman and an American share their obsession with Japan's hidden jazz bars and coffee houses. They document their pilgrimages through stories and photographs on their website and in a published photobook.
エピソード
Top Ten Countdown #1: George, James, Philip & Charles
Philip finally renders James speechless, as we reach the end of the 'Tokyo Jazz Joints Top Ten Countdown' and reveal our number ones, united in passion but not necessarily in choice. What a rollercoaster!
Clip from Paul Hardcastle's 'The Wizard' (1986). No copyright infringement intended.
Top Ten Countdown #2: Expression...Transition...Ascension.
This week we are in lockstep, as we enter the truest temple of jazz.
Top Ten Countdown #3: A Long Way to Go Out To (Curry) Lunch
Two joints very far away from each other on the map, but very close in passion, dedication and sheer wonder. The countdown continues with our Number 3 picks!
Top Ten Countdown #4: Daytime Drinking
Try turning it off and turn it on again... Two old skool Kyushu and Shikoku joints that just will. not. lie down. secure the Number 4 spot as our countdown continues!
Top Ten Countdown #5: Count Yourself Lucky Ray
Legends duking it out as we keep it in the jazz family with two unparalleled northern joints.
Top Ten Countdown #6: It's Always Sonny in Kyushu
Two saxophone colossi dominate this episode as we hit a couple of epic Kyushu joints.
Top Ten Countdown #7: Walls Come Tumbling Down
More craic than intellectualism as our Top 10 countdown continues north of the wall.
Top Ten Countdown #8: Enter (and Exit) Number 8
Our Top 10 countdown continues in two very different apartment buildings.
Top Ten Countdown #9: The Weird and The Welcoming
We continue our 'Ten Year Tokyo Jazz Joints Top of the Pops Top 10' countdown in style at opposite ends of the country and with the mandatory mention of the magically replenishing horse oil.
Top Ten Countdown #10: Charles in Charge
We begin our 'Ten Year Tokyo Jazz Joints Top of the Pops Top 10' countdown in style with two joints linked by an underdog.
![Tokyo Jazz Joints on the Stephen McCauley Show [Radio Ulster]](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-2xZbr0kMzYTHvmAD-k6KFzA-t3000x3000.jpg)
Tokyo Jazz Joints on the Stephen McCauley Show [Radio Ulster]
Philip chats all things jazz kissa with Stephen McAuley in his 'JUJU' pop-up as part of the 2025 'Sound of Belfast' festival. Originally broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster on November 21st 2025.
![STILL Standing Men! [Live from Pithecanthropus]](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-EWVsOImm3jHr5uAm-ZneUxQ-t3000x3000.jpg)
STILL Standing Men! [Live from Pithecanthropus]
*TW: Intense ASMR-style chewing at the beginning of the episode*
A milestone that no one expected to see! Least of all us… We finally reach the 100th episode of the podcast, and where else to mark the occasion than the project’s spiritual home, Kamata’s inimitable Chokuritsu Enjin (Pithecanthropus Erectus).
Back in Black
A double tap on the new and improved Incus and the usual chasm of James’s pop culture knowledge, followed by a few old and familiar friends, as our May 2025 adventures come to an end.
Ryukyu Rhythms
Philip's map-reading skills desert him before an awkward intro at Eagle. We also discuss two incredible Okinawa joints as the project finally expands to the fifth of Japan's major islands.
NOT a tourist attraction
Mostly talk about bananas, with a jazz kissa soundtrack.
Another Bricks in The Wall b/w The Bird Has Flown
In Episode 96, after a subterranean trip to Japan's bubble-economy yeatrs, we survive our very own Squid Game on the way to see an old friend – and all the mixed emotions that stirs up.
One mug, and adult hot chocolate in a cup (not mug)
Good stories told badly as we take bickering to the level of an Olympic sport, and get deep into the true nature of crockery with the truly ying and yang of Kyoto jazz joints.
Third Egg of the Day Drives Coltrane Away
We are California dreamin’ on this episode until Philip’s ideal world is shattered by some devastating breaking news. Was it merely a mirage?
Double-Edged Coin
James continues to offend people with mixed metaphors and cultural pitfalls before we end up whiling the evening away in an absolute gem of a spot to cap a long first day back in Osaka.
Blueberry Submuffins
Reunited in Kansai we hit the trail with a shaky start for nearly not quite three joints, well sort of three...
Northern Exposure Pt.2
A marathon episode for a marathon day hunting kissa up north, where it's far from grim. Epic joints!
Northern Exposure Pt.1
Topless TJJ with some of Sapporo's finest.
And Then I Saw Her Face
An evening of two halves that starts on a slow boat to...a hectic finish with one new joint and two very old friends. And accidental meetings with actual friends!
Jazz Is My Battery
If you ever wondered what Sandra Bullock, Colonel Sanders, Mr T.Pott and Taylor Swift have in common, Chiba has the answer.
Marilyn Jazz Quotient
And just like that…deepest Chiba reveals some well-hidden treasures and Philip battles with mixed messages, having solved his camdram.
Camateur Dramatics
Philip defies the bookmaker's odds by avoiding the mother of all meltdowns in Yokohama, while James watches on, and invents a name for a kissa that no one will ever steal. Ever.
Fertile Crescent
In addition to some bonus DIY content, three absolutely banging Tokyo joints to get us back on the trail for May 2025!
Girlz N Boyz N The Hood
No passion fruit or lychee for you, but we close out 2024's shenanigans with three gorgeous joints – old and new – in Philip's old neighbourhood. Long live Shimokita!
Ten Long Years (IG Live!)
Some cheap Prosecco and a little bad language to mark the TENTH anniversary of the project with an Instagram Live.
Fun for the Ears
Despite zero documentation, we reminisce on two lovely Tokyo joints to almost round off 2024's adventures.
Thank as ever to Brian for sound assistance.
Groovy Exchanges
A final couple of belters in Okayama and one of the weirder interactions we've ever had in a joint. And James defeats a fence.
Richard Davis, Serial Signer
As the end of our latest regional adventure beckons, we take
a walk down the Avenue in Kurashiki and visit the charming Gojitoma, a jewel of a joint in the middle of nowhere.
Thanks as ever to Brian for his patience and assistance with sound.
At the Vanguard, but not the Village
At the Vanguard, but not the Village by Philip Arneill & James Catchpole
Now That's What I Call Episode 78!
It's May 2024, and after an Onomichi underwater detour, we find ourselves in nighttime Hiroshima, where Mother Teresa and Charles Mingus meet in perfect harmony.
Sitting Men, Live from Standing Man
Taking professionalism to new heights, this week we are live (and barely audible) from the incredible Pithecanthropus Erectus, birthplace of the Tokyo Jazz Joints project, the joint featured on the slipcase cover of the Tokyo Jazz Joints photobook, and our spiritual home. Even we don't know what we talked about...
NKOTB
We ring in the new year with some new kids on the Tokyo jazz kissa block, and a fair bit of coughing.
Thanks as ever to Brian for audio assistance.
Special 'K's
All the Ks (and a 'P') as Philip wraps up the last day in Tohoku alone and finally (!) heads home to Tokyo as a special guest makes hi presence felt.
The Butchers at the End of the World
Planes, trains and taxis assist Philip's epic 1,500km odyssey to check out the incredible Elvin to see if James was overstating how incredible it really is.
Thanks as ever to Brian for assistance with sound.
Miyazaki Mission Possible Pt.2
A mixed bag in Miyazaki with windswept Sonny Rollins photos to die for and a rather melancholic end to the visit, before Philip sets off on an epic one day journey north.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his assistance with sound.
Miyazaki: Mission Possible Pt.1
The band breaks up to pursue solo careers, as James heads home with a man and and a squid, and Philip takes off across Kyushu in a search of four more highly-rated joints.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his assistance with sound.
Going Bananas in a Mellow Tone
We go bananas before a bowl of lemon (yes, lemon) ramen and making it at last to two deeply different old school joints in Nagasaki. Some top Japan travel hacks, and James finally reveals at last that he's a 'two t-shirt a day' man.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for assistance with sound.
The Hard Sell at Harmony
We take a fast boat ride across the bay as we head for Nagasaki and Philip mistakenly masquerades as Japan's greatest living photographer.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his assistance with sound
Shitamachi Britney Spears & Japanese Keith Richards
James continues to alienate local tourist boards as we suffer further frustration in Saga, and finish the night with an utterly surreal stop in US Navy-town Sasebo. Not every day can be better than yesterday!
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for assistance with sound.
Kimonos in the Post
We finish our first full – and utterly epic – Kyushu day with 3 more joints, burnt records, posted kimonos, tiny whisky shots, some unexpected royal family action and our regular late night konbini run. Oh, and James offends an owner’s son.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his assistance with sound.
Love Supreme
Still making our way around Kyushu, it's an emotional return for us both as the project comes full circle.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his assistance with sound.
The Adams Family
Jam, a quick Jab and an inauguration into the Adams family in Fukuoka as a new Kyushu adventure ensues!
Thanks as ever to Brian from Grooves Ahead for his assistance with sound, and to Louie Lastic for the theme tune.
A Bag of Bricks
We take a more free jazz approach to this episode as we waffle unashamedly for about half an hour and reflect on what's been a truly incredible year for the project. James continues to reframe the English language in his own image.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his patience and assistance.
The Last Waltz
April's trip comes to an intimate end, not in that way, and we wrap up things with two stunning, and stunningly different places in the drinking lanes of the oddly tropical-feeling city of Kochi.
Thank as ever to Brian for the sound mix and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Uptown Funk
We are in Shikoku at last as James continues to expand his palate while Philip comes to grips with an unexpected response (and not James' this time...).
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his assistance with sound.
Smoke Gets in Your Ice Pt.4
A powdered-up James eats mountains of the shaved stuff as Philip tentatively dips his toe in the lesser-known jazz kissa art world in this last part of our three-day Kansai adventure.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his assistance with sound.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Pt.3
All editing prudence goes to the wall as we fall down a deep, deep Kansai-shaped hole in this feature-length episode which is the third of a four-parter...strap in!
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his assistance with sound.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Pt.2
Disagreement is the name of the game in this second instalment of a four-parter over three hectic days in Kansai.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for sound assistance and to Louie Lastic for our music track.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Pt.1
Edible insects, jazz double entendres and some unreal Osaka joints in this first of a four-parter where we spend three hectic days in Kansai.
Thanks to Brian of Grooves Ahead for sound assistance and to Louie Lastic for our music track.
The Curtain, The Sword & The Samurai
After his daring diversion into curry a few weeks ago in Masako, James reverts to the old anti-jazz kissa food ways as we get back into town for a good old-fashioned Tokyo episode with three cracking Tokyo joints!
This episode is dedicated to the inimitable Natori-san of Osaka's legendary Bird/56, who sadly passed away on August 7, 2023.
Thanks as always to to Brian of Grooves Ahead for audio as
The North Remembered Pt. 4
James continues to offend in the last of a four-parter trip up north: this time it's just the whole of the European continent. Philip recaps on some book launch party highlights in Belfast while James murders French words. And we visit the epic Paragonian run by the inimitable Hiroshi!
The North Remembered Pt.3
James pisses off another regional tourist board as we hit the snowless spring streets of Aomori for another couple of contrasting but equally brilliant joints.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead for sound assistance, and to Louie Lastic for our theme music.
The North Remembered Pt.2
In this second of four on a northern tour, we visit Morioka, officially the next best city after NYC apparently, for two great joints. And Philip has a serendipitous encounter with a certain Johnny...
Thanks to Brian of Grooves Ahead for his help with all things sound.
The North Remembered Pt.1
It's the turn of James to live vicariously in this first episode of a four-part sojourn to colder climes with teachers, taxi and a treasure trove of joints. Oh yeah, and The Crusaders.
Das Buch!
James chats to Philip about the mind-blowing experience he had seeing the Tokyo Jazz Joints photobook finally being born at the printers near Heidelberg in Germany!
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead, and to Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Reunion!
Two men weep uncontrollably as they meet in a Shibuya hotel and finally recommence what they love doing most. Five years later, post-pandemic, we reunite to hit three Tokyo joints that symbolise the old and the new, and somewhere with the best of both!
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead, and to Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Days of Wine and Roses
A recap of the incredible support we have had with the book project, the next steps, and a couple of tantalising Tohoku pitstops.
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Book-er TJJ & the MG's
James (probably) offends all of Finland, and we have a quick catch up before announcing our big news!
Buy the book! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/philiparneill/tokyo-jazz-joints
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Crochet & Croquet
We're back with some stories and updates and while James swans about Kyushu and Honshu visiting jazz joints, Philip lives vicariously through the stories from the other side of the world...
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Six Kyushu Joints Pt.2
The second part of James' solo trip on the island with a trip down memory lane and a distant brush with a famous Fred.
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Six Kyushu Joints Pt.1
Pork 'belly' politics, Sony Rollins on the beach and a mixture of the new and old as James heads south on a solo mission.
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Coda
Episode 44: Not the end by a long way, merely the end of the beginning. We first look back and then look forward to what is in store for Tokyo Jazz Joints in 2021 and beyond.
And Philip finally gets the last word.
Thanks as ever to Brian of Grooves Ahead, and to Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Ultimate TJJ
Episode 43: Record cleaning dentists, curried gyoza, Guinness World Records and upright standing man (not James obviously). In the final part of our Tokyo Jazz Joints Awards we finally get to our our all-time favourite joint, not an easy task with so many to choose from. We have a go anyway just for the hell of it, peppered with the usual slick preparation and professionalism you have now come to
TJJ Greatest Hits Vol.2
Episode 42: Dodgy snacks, retired teachers, sleeping in kitchens and more... Part 2 of our very own Tokyo Jazz Joints Awards, as we reminisce on the project so far, and choose some of our biggest regrets, and funniest and most baffling moments from the last 5 years. We’ll both get to our all-time favourite place in the next episode, but not before sharing just a few more laughs, stories and reflec
TJJ Greatest Hits Vol.1
Episode 41: Tiny toilets, right wing politics, road rage, ice cream sundae dishes and more... We’re back with our very own Tokyo Jazz Joints Awards, as we reminisce on the project so far, and choose some of our weirdest, saddest, funniest and most irritating moments from the last 5 years. Eventually we’ll both get to our all-time favourite place, but not before sharing a few more laughs, stories a
5 Days in June Part 8: All Over Kyushu
A bumper length episode today as our journey comes to a climactic end with a manic, phenomenal day of discovery, and we hit 7 joints around Kyushu. More importantly, James finally reveals the secret ingredient to his luscious locks: the reason that you’ve really been listening all this time….We hope you’ve enjoyed coming on this epic trip with us, and thanks for all the listens and downloads.
Hap
5 Days In June Part 7: Fukuoka
Welcome to Part 7 of 5 Days in June! We finish off a day of ups and downs with four incredibly cool and individually unique places in the amazing and funky waterfront city of Fukuoka.
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
5 Days in June Part 6: Aso desu ka
Part 6 of 5 Days in June brings us easily the most beautiful location of any jazz kissa ever, and the uncovering of a beautiful Fender Rhodes hidden in a B&B, before a slightly frustrating afternoon of shuttered shops and a desperate search for some food!
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
5 Days in June Part 5: Kumamoto
Our journey continues as we make a tight deadline and arrive in Kumamoto to spend the evening in a trio of very different joints, before finishing up with some dinner and jazz to line our stomachs, before a bit of a blow out for one of us...
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
5 Days in June Part 4: Kagoshima
So here is Part 4 of 5 Days in June. We hope you like it. Apart from James’ fashion show, we hike up a volcano (kind of), visit the awesomely tasteless RIFF in Kagoshima, and get serenaded over dinner by men in loincloths. Oh, and go to the epic, epic Paragon as we wind our way north on Kyushu island. All photos of the joints are on tokyojazzjoints.com so make sure to listen as you look!
Thanks
5 Days in June Part 3: Still Sapporo
5 Days in June: Part 3 is upon us, and still in Sapporo, we take a double bite at the Bossa cherry, and sleep in glorified coffins before dissecting Philip’s extensive morning routine. After breakfast at the wonderful Groovy, and a quick one in Mingus Coffee, we race back to the airport to jump on a plane for the next leg of the journey at the other end of Japan.
Thanks as always to Brian of gro
5 Days in June Part 2: Sapporo
In Part 2 of 5 Days in June, we are still in Hakodate, where we uncover the incredible Leaf, before jumping on a slightly too long train ride to the biggest city in Hokkaido - a chance for James to catch up on some sleep of course - for an amazing evening in some utterly classic joints, some of which we knew about, some of which we didn’t.
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio
5 Days in June Part 1: Hakodate
Right. Here we go. We’re back and hope you’re ready to join us! 5 Days in June:
Part 1 is live and we are kicking off in Haneda before hitting Hakodate to uncover the beautiful Sōen and the incredible Bop. 行きましょう〜 Oh, and James takes the first of many naps, probably.
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Well Hello, Dolly
Ep 32: This week we finish up with our final joints in Kansai and take the long way home back to where we started 32 episodes ago, via the faded seaside glamour of Atami and a wealthy Tokyo suburb.
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
Sono ta / その他
Episode 31: This week we hit a selection of joints that didn't quite fit neatly anywhere else and as ever, every one is a gem. We marvel at Philip's French, find out where the best place to store a bike helmet is, and finally put the great Bunca vs. Banka debate to bed once and for all.
Thanks as always to Brian of groovesahead.com for audio assistance and Louie Lastic for our theme music.
The Final Cut
Episode 30: This week is the fourth and final part of our Tokyo Deep Cuts series, and in the spirit of leaving (some of)the best till last, we cruise the funkier streets of Kichijoji to take in Scratch and Sometime, before heading back via Shimokitazawa to call on Lady Jane. We head out to the suburbs to finish up in the incredibly enigmatic Genius, and hear about the owner’s legendary record coll
