Music & Nightlife All night long

Bar Jazz

Audiophiles from all around Japan make pilgrimages to this Shinsaibashi record bar. Opened in 2003, Bar Jazz stocks a collection of some 2,000 titles from Brazilian beats and jazz to mellow hip-hop. Owner and bartender Keiji Maki picks every track himself, playing songs to match the moment, all while conversing smoothly with patrons seated at the counter. Watching him work is all the entertainment you’ll need here.

The bar is well stocked with spirits and liquors, but we’d be remiss not to recommend Jazz’s house wine – a perfect companion to the laid-back tunes – made from grapes harvested by Keiji Maki himself at his vineyard in the south of Osaka.

à New Columbus Bldg 1F, 1-17-27 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo (Shinsaibashi Station).06 6251 5886. 4pm-12midnight (last orders 11.30pm), Thu 6pm-12midnight (11.30pm), closed Wed.

Unique

drinking dens, steamy clubs and music bars

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here’s how to enjoy Osaka’s vibrant nightlife to the fullest. By the Time Out Osaka editors

OSAKA GETS PLENTY OF MENTION as Japan’s best nightlife city, and for good reason: the locals love to party hard. The energetic clubbing scene is mainly split between the Umeda and Dotonbori areas, though alternative and underground venues can be found across the city. Furthermore, cocktail and music bars are plentiful, with many staying open until the wee hours. Here are six venues to get you started on your Osaka night crawl.

Shinka

A five-minute walk from Tanimachi 6-chome Station takes you to this unique bar at the end of a narrow alley. Shinka was built to resemble a submarine, complete with steel and steampunk elements covering the front door, interior and even the bathroom. Besides U-boat aficionados, the cosy boozer seems to attract both members and fans of the Maritime Self-Defense Forces. Lean back with a gin and tonic and appreciate the otherworldly atmosphere.

Leach Bar

The venerable Rihga Royal Hotel on Nakanoshima boasts more than eight decades of history and has welcomed many a celebrity and head of state over the years, including some actual royals. Hidden away on the hotel’s ground floor is the Leach Bar, opened in 1965 and

Club Daphnia

Hidden away among factories and warehouses in the industrial wilderness of Kitakagaya, some ten minutes on foot from the metro station, is one of Osaka’s premier temples of deep beats and all-night parties. Daphnia is a labour of love built by its duo of owners, whose attention to every detail from acoustics to lighting has made their club one of the city’s most in-demand venues for both Japanese and international artists. Best of all, the uncompromising programming is complemented by reasonable pricing.

à 5-5-1 Kitakagaya, Suminoe (Kitakagaya Station). club-daphnia.com. Opening hours vary.

SALVIS WINE & RECORDS

A wine and record shop complete with its own secret bar, this Temma gem is the kind of place we’d love to live next door to. Entrance to the bar is through a hefty bookshelf in the back, which serves as a hidden door to a cosy lounge.

Owner and sommelier Kazutomo Noguchi pays equal attention to the quality of the wine and the crispness of the tunes. The former is mainly of the natural variety, including around seven options available by the glass (from ¥900). Food is available only if you make a reservation for the pairing course (¥11,550 plus ¥1,000 cover charge).

The music encompasses mainly jazz, soul and Brazilian tunes from the 1960s to the ’80s, with a bit of J-pop mixed in here and there. Closing time is 11pm, so bar-hoppers might want to make Salvis the starting point on their night out.

à 3-3-18 Temma, Kita (Temmabashi Station). 06 6356 7072. salvis. theshop.jp. 6.30pm-11pm (last orders 9pm; wine and record shop 12noon-8pm), closed Wed.

named after the British potter Bernard Leach, who lived in Japan for more than a decade. Leach’s layout design for the bar was turned into reality by architect Isoya Yoshida.

Functioning as a shrine of sorts to Leach and related artists such as Kanjiro Kawai, Shoji Hamada and Shiko Munakata,

Joule

Having originally occupied a building next to Sankaku Koen (Triangle Park) in Shinsaibashi’s Amerikamura, this enduringly popular club moved to its current location in 2009 and received a comprehensive facelift in 2016. The three-storey space centres on a dancefloor that can accommodate about 800 people, with a mezzanine above it and a VIP floor and rooftop terrace up top.

The programming is eclectic: hip-hop and reggae nights alternate with house and techno events, complemented by the occasional party dedicated entirely to anime music. Major international artists who have performed at Joule include Steve Aoki, Calvin Harris, Fatboy Slim, Paul Oakenfold and the Avalanches.

à Minami-Sumiyacho Bldg 2-4F, 2-11-7 Nishi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo (Shinsaibashi, Yotsubashi stations). 06 6214 1223. club-joule.com. From 10pm, irregular hols.

whose art is displayed throughout the space, Leach Bar is an impeccably classy drinking den. Be sure to order the gin and tonic, served in a copper mug, as has been customary here since the ’60s.

à Rihga Royal Hotel Osaka West Wing 1F, 5-3-68 Nakanoshima, Kita (Nakanoshima Station). 06 6441 0983. rihga.com/osaka. 4pm-12midnight (last orders 11.45pm), closed Tue.