Tokyo Jazz Joints

Documenting a vanishing world of Japanese jazz culture

Japanese jazz bars and coffee shops are insular worlds where time ceases to exist, removed from the speed and chaos of the modern urban landscape. Tokyo Jazz Joints is a visual chronicle of this unique culture that captures the transient beauty of these spaces. Established in 2015 to document Tokyo’s myriad jazu kissa, the project has gradually expanded to cover the whole of Japan. These dedicated jazz listening spaces are slowly vanishing in the face of changing trends, ageing customers and gentrification. This book preserves these living museums before they disappear forever. Tokyo Jazz Joints is a documentary photography project by Northern Irish photographer Philip Arneill, in collaboration with American broadcaster James Catchpole, both long-term residents of Japan.