Yokohama's Jazz Hub

As a jazz lover and a HUGE fan of "hideouts," I must post Tomoko Otake's (Japan Times) story on Yokohama and the roots of the city's jazz scene. Yokohama will celebrate its 150-year anniversary this summer. With 79,000 people of overseas origin, including Chinese, Koreans, Filipinos, Brazilians and Americans, it truly is an international city. As pointed out in the story, Yokohama is a "place where people of different ethnic backgrounds have mixed. And it's the music that connects them, because it knows no language barriers! What are your favorite jazz clubs?

As one of Japan's longest-standing maritime gateways to the world, Yokohama has absorbed many cultures from the West over the last 150 years — not least its abiding love of jazz.Indeed, many residents of this metropolis — known in Japan and worldwide for its friendly attitude toward anything foreign or new — take pride in the fact that Yokohama is truly the birthplace of jazz in Japan. Click here to read more.