Jazz Cafe & Bar DUG

ジャズカフェ＆バー・ダグ

3-15-12, Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo. (03)3354-7776

〒160-0022 東京都新宿区新宿3-15-12（アドホック隣）

Hours: Sunday-Thursday 12:00-23:30. Friday, Saturday, The day before a public holiday 12:00-26:00.

http://www.dug.co.jp/
https://www.facebook.com/jazzdug
https://www.instagram.com/dug_jazz.cafebar/

From the East Exit of JR Shinjuku Station. Go down towards the large Yasukuni Dori (the big street with lots of lights). Right next to the sports shop “Adhoc,” near Shinjuku Piccadilly Cinema. 

Perhaps the granddaddy of jazz kissaten in Japan, DUG is smaller than it once was. Three full floors of jazz, plus two nearby spaces, have shrunk down to this basement space, but no matter, the brick walls, wood furniture and great music make DUG one of the coolest places in Tokyo. It’s been that way since it was opened in 1961(when it was called DIG, so, actually DUG started in 1967).

The selection of music comes first here, though, as cool a place as it is just to hang out and soak up the history in. That collection of vinyl and CDs was built up by the owner, Hozumi Nakadaira san, whose fantastic photographs hang on the walls. Take a look and you’ll see the photos he took when John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Miles Davis, Archie Shepp, Bill Evans, Tommy Flanagan and basically, most of the American jazz greats, and definitely all the Japanese jazz greats, came through Tokyo.

Many of the musicians played at DUG, back when it had space for live performances. Nakadaira-san met them, photographed them, and helped to make Japan the jazz-loving country it is today. If the photos on the wall are not enough, ask to see one of Nakadaira-san’s books, a copy of which is usually somewhere around the bar.

Like most jazz kissaten, the afternoon is more quiet and calm, without as much talking, though that rule is not always strictly enforced here. Evenings, it gets noisy, smoky and the music loud. The well-worn wood of the tables and chairs is testament to the number of customers who have stopped by over the years. DUG is a very well-known place, which is just as it should be. It should be a stop on every jazz fan’s list.