Bar Jam
An underground joint in Ebisu serves up beats with the booze

Photos by Kenichi Shimada

Have you ever wanted a club experience in an intimate venue where you could concentrate on what’s being played without the crowds or noise distortion? Just minutes from Ebisu station, Bar Jam is your answer. Jam is a small wonder of a basement pub, featuring a different DJ every night, with one mission and one mission only: music.

Once inside, we sank into one of the alternating red and white stools arranged candy cane style along the long dark wooden bar, and began eyeing the handwritten English menu, which hangs scroll-like, across a drape that runs the length of the room. (A more portable version is also available.)

The drinks list is exhaustive in its commitment to variety, with the focus being spirit-based cocktails. The wide selection of standard drinks all ring in between ¥700-¥900. Draft beers start at ¥700, and imported varieties like Kronenberg, Brooklyn Lager and Newcastle Brown Ale run between ¥800-¥900.

We sampled a Cuba libre (¥700), a China blue (¥800), and a “mixed special” (¥900), which the helpful bartender made with a blood-orange base. Bar Jam serves up delicious music and drinks, but the only edible entries from the food menu are mixed nuts and beef jerky (both ¥500)—so don’t come hungry.

But what this bar does much better than most is music. Dim but not dark, narrow but not cramped, Bar Jam’s long rectangular space is crafted for sound. At the boundaries of the bar are two giant Altec speakers raised off the ground (on cinderblocks) that send the sound pinballing around the room with a clarity that is hard to believe. You can hear every beat, every snatch of rhythm, every deep arrangement.

With DJs changing nightly (see the website for schedule), music tastes tend toward the eclectic, so there really is something for everyone. Drinking here is like having your own private DJ. If you hear a tune you love and want to know about the artist, just ask. As a bonus, on nights you can’t make it to Ebisu, you can log on to Bar Jam’s live streaming broadcast.

Keep in mind that as the bar doesn’t open until 10pm, things don’t really get going until late/early. At midnight, the restaurant above closes and the music gets turned up to a healthier, plate-rattling volume. Weekdays are a little less crowded and probably the best nights for just listening. On weekends, the room constricts a bit, though space remains remarkably pliable. Small pockets of dancing erupt in a tidy square in front of the DJ booth. If you get tired, try the backlit miniature couch under the “It’s Music” sign. The revelers always remain intense and interested, often reacting with glee to each successive track played. With multicolored balloons hanging from the ceiling you get the sense that a party could break out at any moment—and with music that good, you never know, it just might.

B1, 1-8-2 Ebisu Nishi, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-3462-6628. Open Mon-Sat 10pm-late, closed Sun. Nearest stn: Ebisu. http://home.j01.itscom.net/jam

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