TOKYO JAZZ JOINTS

No patricide in this episode happily, just two killer joints on opposite sides of the country – after a false start in the Nagano mountains.

An avian-themed day as we leave Akita behind and head for the slightly chillier climes of Niigata and a game of two halves

Squeaking our way through northern climes one joint at a time. Three belters – two legends and one serendipitous discovery – for our night in Akita City.

Joe R Pass by Philip Arneill & James Catchpole

A serene soba and jazz lunch gives way – via some scripture and coffee with very old friends – to an inexplicably previously unexplored joint right in the heart of Aomori.

In this episode we take a trip down a nearly-ten-year memory lane for just two classic joints up north: one just about still open but at risk of closing, and the other closed, but still open (we hope)…

Day 2, Hirosaki. Philip flies solo in northern climes with three joints, and perhaps one of the greatest of all time.

June 2026. A nineteen day epic journey commences as Philip returns to his adopted homeland and the quest for joints continues. On this episode, heated debate about needle-based crafts ensues before we take shelter in Yokohama.

Philip finally renders James speechless, as we reach the end of the 'Tokyo Jazz Joints Top Ten Countdown' and reveal our number ones, united in passion but not necessarily in choice. What a rollercoaster! Clip from Paul Hardcastle's 'The Wizard' (1986). No copyright infringement intended.

This week we are in lockstep, as we enter the truest temple of jazz.

Two joints very far away from each other on the map, but very close in passion, dedication and sheer wonder. The countdown continues with our Number 3 picks!

Try turning it off and turn it on again... Two old skool Kyushu and Shikoku joints that just will. not. lie down. secure the Number 4 spot as our countdown continues!

Legends duking it out as we keep it in the jazz family with two unparalleled northern joints.

Two saxophone colossi dominate this episode as we hit a couple of epic Kyushu joints.

More craic than intellectualism as our Top 10 countdown continues north of the wall.

Our Top 10 countdown continues in two very different apartment buildings.

We continue our 'Ten Year Tokyo Jazz Joints Top of the Pops Top 10' countdown in style at opposite ends of the country and with the mandatory mention of the magically replenishing horse oil.

We begin our 'Ten Year Tokyo Jazz Joints Top of the Pops Top 10' countdown in style with two joints linked by an underdog.

Philip chats all things jazz kissa with Stephen McAuley in his 'JUJU' pop-up as part of the 2025 'Sound of Belfast' festival. Originally broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster on November 21st 2025.

*TW: Intense ASMR-style chewing at the beginning of the episode* A milestone that no one expected to see! Least of all us… We finally reach the 100th episode of the podcast, and where else to mark the occasion than the project’s spiritual home, Kamata’s inimitable Chokuritsu Enjin (Pithecanthropus Erectus).

A double tap on the new and improved Incus and the usual chasm of James’s pop culture knowledge, followed by a few old and familiar friends, as our May 2025 adventures come to an end.

Philip's map-reading skills desert him before an awkward intro at Eagle. We also discuss two incredible Okinawa joints as the project finally expands to the fifth of Japan's major islands.

Mostly talk about bananas, with a jazz kissa soundtrack.

In Episode 96, after a subterranean trip to Japan's bubble-economy yeatrs, we survive our very own Squid Game on the way to see an old friend – and all the mixed emotions that stirs up.

Good stories told badly as we take bickering to the level of an Olympic sport, and get deep into the true nature of crockery with the truly ying and yang of Kyoto jazz joints.