Hachi Record Shop and Bar — Restaurant in Kyoto

I was in Kyoto last month on a Sunday looking for a vinyl bar on a damp Sunday night. I was disappointed to learn that Record Sakaba Beatle Momo was closed on Sunday, but made the trek to P.M.SOUNDS , only to find a long line. After waiting 30 minutes with no movement, me and two friends started walking around until we found another very crowded vinyl bar. While standing outside, I started talking with the DJ who was on a break, and asked about any other Jazz bar he could recommend and he mentioned Hachi Record . So, guided by google map we started out to find the place. After a 25 minute walk and wandering, I asked a young lady in a side street if she knew about the place. She said yes, in fact, I work there. And in we went. What a fantastic experience. I had a Japanese whisky, while my friends enjoyed the draft beers. We were introduced to some terrific jazz artists new to us, including Enji, a Mongolian jazz vocalist. Very friendly staff and a music...

On a very small side street in a non tourist neighborhood- this is like walking into a Murakami novel and trying to figure out which characters you and staff represent. Six or seven seats. The woman behind the bar is hip and charming and knows her music played from two turntables at end of the bar. Local beer! Take very narrow windy staircase to second floor small carefully curated record shop with lots of unusual reissues and Japanese only pressings. We spent a couple hours just working to talk across language and culture but talked about everything from books to sensibilities of different Japanese cities. I will always remember my time spent here. The home cured...

This is a small, well-designed gem in Kyoto that deserves more attention!

A great lover of both sake and music (jazz in particular), the friendly owner helped us decide on a try-out selection of sake brands, and gave us tips on where else to go for a good listening experience. On the second floor was a decent amount of records (we came a bit late and didn’t have time to check it out properly) and the movie ”Paris, Texas” was running in the background, adding to the cool indie vibe of the place. World Wide FM Kyoto also arranged a live event...