Motion Blue
Sadly, closed in 2022.
モーション・ブルー・ヨコハマ (残念ながら2022年に閉店されました。)
3F “Akai Renga,” Building #2, Red Brick Warehouse, 1-1-2 Naka-ku, Yokohama. (045)226-1919
〒231-0001 横浜市中区新港一丁目1番2号 横浜赤レンガ倉庫2号館3F
Cover charge from 3000 yen to 8000 yen (separate fee for each show). Shows from 19:30 most nights, sometimes earlier.
Motion Blue is easy to access from the stations on the Minato Mirai Line, Nihonbashi O-dori station, Bashamichi Station or Minato Mirai Station are all roughly the same walking distance. Alternatively, Kannai Station and Sakuragicho Station are walkable. From any of these stations, head towards the water. Yokohama is an easy city to find information on in English, so download a map and the Red Brick Warehouse will be clearly marked by the bay. Once you get to the Red Brick Warehouse, choose the one to the right, and go up to the 3rd floor. It’s easy to get lost inside, so follow the interior maps carefully, especially if you’re late for the show.
Motion Blue is a super-comfortable place. It has the sophistication of other clubs, but manages to keep a relaxed atmosphere amid sleek surroundings. The lights are out of a science fiction movie, the sound system is great, food excellent if a bit pricey, and the sofas are a relief from the torturous seats, or standing spaces, at most clubs. Drinks and food are well prepared, and the tables spacious enough to eat without bumping the customer next to you.
The music at Motion Blue runs through an interesting gamut of genres. They are not trapped within any jazz snob parameters, nor any national boundaries, either. They have music from all over the world on a regular basis, African, Brazilian, Latin, singer-songwriter, blues, vocal jazz, hard bop, fusion, funk and re-combinations of all of the above. Their line-up is a reminder that there really are only two kinds of music—good and bad—and they offer the former. That said, it’s not a place to just drop into without checking to see of that night’s offerings are your thing or not. They have probably the widest variety of consistently quality music around.
Motion Blue is commercially linked to Blue Note Tokyo, with obvious design overlaps and some assistance organizationally from the corporate mindset, however, like Yokohama, Motion Blue keeps its individuality intact to create its own unique vibe. It’s more relaxed than Tokyo’s related venues, and the service is equally great, the kind of place where you say to yourself, “I should come here more often!” The walk back to Kannai station along the soft-lit walkway breathing the ocean air is always a romantic one, too!