INTERVIEW

Jazz Café Bar DUG
Owner Hozumi Nakadaira

I’ve loved jazz since I was a student, and frequently visited jazz cafés. Back then, LP records were a luxury and one record cost a third of a new college graduate’s monthly salary. People couldn’t play music loudly at home since they lived in small boarding houses or apartments with thin walls. That’s why jazz cafés were a place where people could go to enjoy music.
　Jazz cafés back then prohibited people from talking. But since I served alcohol such as whiskey at my café, I thought it would be strange if I made my place as hushed as a library, so I decided to allow talking. This new idea was popular and attracted a lot of customers.
　Most people are introduced to the café by other customers who have been here before, but some find us on their own. Once you’ve visited, you will see why people want to come back.
　Within Shinjuku, there’s a big difference between the east and west sides. The people in each area are different, and tend to stick to their areas.
　I think there is a strong impression that Shinjuku changes a lot, but I may not be noticing the changes since I’ve been coming to my café almost every day for such a long time. In the past, the main street was Shinjuku Dori where Nakamuraya bakery is, and there were fewer people along Yasukuni Dori where the café is. Nowadays, I get the impression that Yasukuni Dori is the busier street.
　When I first moved to Tokyo, there used to be a large pond nearby where you could ride boats, but that’s hard to imagine in Shinjuku now.