Experience Report: My First Time Going to BLUE NOTE TOKYO Alone

BLUE NOTE TOKYO is a jazz club located in Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo. According to their website, the address is 6-3-16 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, and it is about an 8-minute walk from Omotesando Station on the Tokyo Metro. There is no parking.

I visited for the performance by Stella Cole, who was visiting Japan for the second time.
I wore standard business casual attire.

Regarding the question many people might have,“What's it like to go alone?”the conclusion is,you can definitely enjoy it!In fact, you can focus on the performer's performance and the high-quality space and enjoy it to the fullest! (Personal opinion)
I've written down the flow of my actual solo visit, so I hope it's helpful to someone out there.

Arriving at BLUE NOTE TOKYO

The 1st stage started at 6:00 PM. Doors were said to open at 5:00 PM, but I arrived at the venue around 5:30 PM. There was no one in front of the venue. No one was going in either. Many people must have already entered the venue.

Entering BLUE NOTE TOKYO!

When you enter the building, there are stairs leading from the ground floor to the basement. When you go down those stairs, you check your coat and luggage at the cloakroom on the B1 floor and receive claim tags for each.
Then, I prepared the email screen notifying me of my seat number, which I had received in advance, and went down to the B2 floor.
I hadn't visited many basement venues in Japan, so my excitement increased even more while going down the stairs.
Then I arrived at the B2 floor, and when I showed the email screen, a staff member guided me to my seat.
くれる。

After being seated

Once seated, a staff member told me that my seat was set for smart payment. Since I had registered my credit card when purchasing the ticket, I assume the payment was processed that way. I left the venue without going through any payment procedures.

After the performance, there were also many people paying at the register.

I looked through the drink and food menu.
At the beginning of the drink menu, there was a special artist drink.
It was called “It’s Magic,” the same name as Stella Cole's latest album. Very stylish.

Since I was personally abstaining from alcohol that day, I ordered a blended coffee, and for food, I called over a staff member passing by to order something like mixed nuts.
I think the timing of my visit was a factor, but the coffee arrived about 15 minutes later (before the performance started), and the nuts arrived about 40 minutes later (after the performance started).
I don't expect quick service at live houses or jazz clubs, so it didn't bother me, but I did see people at nearby tables reconfirming their orders with the staff.
The people around me were a mix; some only had drinks and snacks, while others were having a full dinner.
You can check the food and drink menu in advance from the FOOD & DRINK section on the BLUE NOTE website.

Perhaps because she is a jazz singer who sings classic movie music like “Moon River,” and because it was the 1st stage of the day, the age group was generally on the higher side.
As for attire, some people were in suits and ties, but most were in business casual. There were also some people in quite rough casual clothes.

Performance starts

The backing musicians appeared from the direction of the venue entrance, to the back left of the stage. Then the main act appeared.
I enjoyed the performance in a dreamlike state for a while.
I think it lasted a little over an hour.
The performers left the stage following the same path they entered, guided by the staff.

Also, there were people ordering drinks and the like during the live performance.

End of the show

Wonderful times pass by in the blink of an eye.
After the show, some people pushed their way through the narrow seats in a bit of a rush to be the first to leave, while others enjoyed the lingering atmosphere and their drinks for a little while.
The checkout process also seemed smooth, so personally, I don't think there is any need to rush to leave unless you have a specific reason.
Since it is not a huge venue, the area around the venue and the station do not get crowded after the show. The space between the arena seats and the aisles around the checkout area are quite narrow, so if you try to rush out ahead of others, you might bump into people and ruin the lovely atmosphere. It is fine to take your time, but since the aisles are narrow, suddenly stopping in a flowing aisle can also be a nuisance.
I thought it would be good if everyone could behave in a way that suits the atmosphere of the venue until the very end.

After that, I picked up my luggage and coat at the cloakroom on the B1 floor and left the venue. It was a beautiful and rich experience that went beyond the realm of just listening to music.

For those of you planning to go to BLUE NOTE TOKYO, enjoy!