Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world. The cost for everything from melons (20,000 yen for the best) to apartment rentals (six months rent in advance) can make you wince with economic pain. Jazz in Tokyo is not cheap. The old joke about the jazz promoter who, after five years, made a million dollars in jazz (the punch line is: he started out with two million!) applies equally well to jazz fans in Tokyo.
Any one coming to Tokyo to hear jazz should bring their credit cards, except most clubs do not accept credit cards. Japan is still a cash economy. So, what does jazz cost in Tokyo? Just getting in the door needs some bills. Entry fees run in three tiers, with the minimum at 2,500 yen, a bit more on weekends and much more when the band is bigger than a quintet. These "sessions" can be times to try out new members, new tunes or new attitudes. That might work great or sometimes fall flat (price is the same either way), but are usually more fun and loose.
Next higher up are clubs in expensive areas of town. They charge 4000 to 6000, but are less "session-like" and more considered performance. The band mates are tight, usually with a CD out together (available at the door for 2,500 yen). Next up are clubs owned by international companies and their swank imitators. These clubs charge from 8000 to 10000 for one set (70 minutes, so quadruple the price of a 70-minute CD). Musicians there are usually from overseas, though usually with touring musicians, and you are politely hustled out the door, past the register, after each set.
Once past the door, a beer (small glass) runs 800 yen, with glass wine and mixed drinks about the same. You are expected to order some dish, say a small bowl of nuts, for another 800 yen. A pizza or salad is 1,200 yen, portions being small in Japan. Bottle of wine? You can't get good European labels usually, but known or not, sweet or not, a bottle will run you 4,000 yen minimum. A popular option for whiskey, which is more the alcohol of choice, is the "bottle keep" system that lets you leave your bottle at the club until the next time you go. Whiskey to keep costs 4,000 to 8,000 yen, depending on the brand. Of course, ice, soda, lemon, service and storage is another 2,000 yen or so, though. At the top-tier clubs, you can add 50 percent on to these prices, but eat quickly because you only have one set of music.
So, to add it up like a jazz accountant (though maybe there is no such thing) we have a typical evening out: 3,500 yen entry fee 1,600 yen two drinks (small) 1,600 yen two bowls of nuts 1,200 yen train ride home 2,500 yen for a CD (but you can always get it signed) Total: 10,400 (Going alone? If not, double that!)
One-way train is about 600 yen, depending how far away you live. Want to drive? Parking fees are astronomical, but pity the poor drummers and bassists, who DO have to drive. They pay more in parking than they make at the club. Be careful, though, if you drink and drive, the fine for drunk driving is 1,000,000 yen (that's not a typo!) (and maybe a couple years in jail, too, where, presumably, no jazz is heard).
So, who can afford to go to clubs? In the bubble economy of the 90s, expense accounts covered all business entertainment, but those days of male voices and tobacco smoke are long gone. Nowadays, single businessmen are still there, usually alone, but the rest of the club is filled by two groups with the most discretionary money: young single working women and DINKS (double income no kids). The women usually live at home, so can spend their salaries on fun, while DINKS can always divide the bill by two.
There are cost-cutting measures, of course. Jazz club B Flat offers a once a month "No Charge Night" whose free admission packs in students and retired people. Shinjuku's Pit Inn has an afternoon session for up and coming musicians. A handful of clubs have student or over-65 discounts, but at most clubs, you can tell the students because they nurse the same drink for the entire evening.
It is hard to say which economic pressure comes first, but everything from rent to transportation, alcohol, electricity (the highest in the world) and the cost of glasses adds up to make jazz a very, very expensive habit. Musicians see only a small percentage of this, sadly, but owners, too are trapped by rent, which is amazingly high for even a small space. All that considered, though, jazz in Tokyo is a very expensive habit, but one that is always worth it.
1,000 yen = 6.2 Euros (2008) 1,500 yen = 9.3 Euros 3,500 yen = 22 Euros 1,000 yen = 7.5 Euros (2006 years ago)
