Music Cafe Fontana

ミュージックカフェ フォンタナ

3−18−36, Iguchi, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo. (0422)34-4661
〒181-0011 三鷹市井口3-18-36

Hours: 19:00-23:00. Closed on Monday (except for public holiday).

https://mcfontana.com/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100054622861380

Directions: Fontana is out the south exit of Musashi-Sakai Station on the Chuo Line (and the smaller Seibu Tamagawa Line). It’s a short fifteen-minute walk to the club, but a small local bus zips you right there, too.

Tokyo and Yokohama are dotted with a vast number of small clubs like Fontana. They are in essence neighborhood joints but draw in music lovers from all over the megalopolis. Fontana is one of the very nicest.

With a small menu of quite good food and a decent selection of drinks, the main draw of Fontana is its intimacy. The sound system is superb, though it isn’t really needed since you can hear clearly from anywhere in the room. Chairs are comfortable (not always the case in Tokyo’s jazz spaces), and the vibe is welcoming.

With duos and small ensembles, the club really caters to jazz fans seeking something other than the large clubs in the center of the city. The club isn’t so small it can’t fit a quintet or sextet, though, and the sound really washes over you with a larger group in the compact space. Big or small, loud or soft, the club’s acoustics are great.

Fontana also serves as a rental space for recording or practicing, offers lessons from noted musicians, and lends the venue to college and amateur groups from time to time. In that sense, it’s a neighborhood place, but in the very best sense. Every neighborhood should have such a cool place.

Luckily, I live close enough to get there by bicycle. Even if you can’t bike there, it’s a nice place to hear music close up in a delightful, new building.