Tournez La Page: Inside Japan’s Concert Hall Jazz Kissa – Exit to Vintage Street

It’s no secret that Japan is one hot tourist destination, and has been since the COVID-19 pandemic fizzled out more than three years ago and the Instagrammers descended. As a regular visitor to Japan, one of my biggest challenges has been escaping the hordes of international tourists (avoiding Shibuya and its famous scramble crossing, for example) whenever I can.

Spending a weekend earlier this month in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, with Mrs. Audiolove allowed us to visit a “destination kissa” that had long been on my wish list. We also visited Hamamatsu Castle, watched the sunset at Benten-jima (Benten Island), and indulged in two local delicacies—unagi and gyoza—all while seeing nary a Western tourist for two whole days.

Discovering Tournez La Page in Hamamatsu

I’ve followed Tournez La Page on Instagram for a few years and marvelled at its speaker setup and concert hall-like atmosphere. I’d intended to make the trek on my last two trips to Japan, but somehow got sidetracked by other spots and activities closer to “home” in Yokohama. This time around, the missus suggested we make an overnight trip of it, and so it finally happened.

Tournez La Page is just a few minutes’ walk from Hamamatsu Shinkansen (bullet train) Station, roughly 90 minutes from Tokyo. For anyone travelling from Tokyo to popular tourist destinations like Kyoto or Osaka, it’s well worth stopping along the way for a meal and an audiophile musical interlude.

We took a late-morning Shinkansen from Shin-Yokohama, timed to arrive in Hamamatsu at lunchtime. After dropping our luggage off at the hotel, we made a beeline back to the station area for a gyoza lunch at Ishimatsu.

Hamamatsu gyoza are pan-fried and served in a circular arrangement, allowing more dumplings to fit on the plate without stacking them, with a mound of bean sprouts in the centre. Gyoza can be quite heavy and filling, but the dumplings here were surprisingly light. It was nice to leave without feeling overly stuffed or needing a long nap to recover.

Inside Tournez La Page: Coffee, Jazz, and Giant Horn Speakers

After lunch, we made our way to our main destination, which opens at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and closes at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday, and 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (closed Mondays and Tuesdays).

Tournez La Page is gorgeous, both visually and sonically, with a layout and sound system that are hard to match. The space is divided into two sections: a traditional coffee shop area near the entrance, where music plays in the background and conversation is welcome, and a dedicated listening area where talking is discouraged and visitors can fully immerse themselves in the music. Presiding over it all are Buster Keaton and other silent film stars, projected onto a large screen high above and behind the speakers.

Conversation isn’t really an option in the cavernous listening space, which features just 16 generously spaced chairs, each with its own small table for coffee and other refreshments. It’s a setting designed for serious listening rather than socializing.

Hamamatsu is officially recognized as Japan’s City of Music and has been a member of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in the field of music since 2014. The city is home to the headquarters of some of the world’s most famous musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturers, including Yamaha, Kawai, and Roland. Hamamatsu also boasts two major concert venues: SALA Music Hall and the multi-hall ACT City Hamamatsu, which hosts the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition and the Mt. Fuji International Opera Competition of Shizuoka.

Our visit coincided with Hamamatsu Jazz Week, with numerous live performances and themed evenings scheduled at Tournez La Page and other local jazz venues. Tournez La Page celebrated the festival’s opening weekend with a Ray Brown theme on Saturday and Sonny Rollins on Sunday, with the order reversed the following weekend.

Tournez La Page opened in 2005. Owner Yuri Yano spent time in the U.S. attending university, then worked for several years in the film industry in Vancouver, Canada, before returning to Japan to create a venue combining gourmet coffee, music, and silent movies.

Word is that substantial modifications were made to the building to accommodate the main listening space. The foundation and floor were reinforced to support the weight of the audio equipment and reduce vibrations from the bass bins, while part of the second floor was removed to create the high ceilings of the expansive listening area.

The imposing “TRIO + 6 BASSHORN” system from Germany’s Avantgarde Acoustic combines six fully active Basshorn bass modules with the Trio’s large-aperture, three-way spherical horn loudspeakers. The Trio speakers are driven by Accuphase electronics, including a C-2800 preamplifier and A-60 power amplifier, with an AVID Acutus turntable and Esoteric UX-1 universal disc player serving as sources.

The coffee here is superb, brewed by hand from beans sourced directly from overseas coffee farms and roasted in-house. You can order by the cup or pot; we chose pots to keep us going through a proper listening session. I’m usually a milk-in-coffee guy, but I enjoyed mine black, feeling that I might be committing a faux pas by adulterating the brew with the white stuff. Have to say, I didn’t miss it!

Although we weren’t stuffed from our gyoza lunch, we didn’t have room for dessert, which, judging by the look of the offerings, would have been delicious as well.

After a couple of hours listening to Ray Brown as both leader and sideman, we left with plans to return on Sunday for some Sonny Rollins. Mrs. Audiolove wanted to catch the sunset, another of Hamamatsu’s attractions. As we walked back to the station, she remarked that the music hadn’t been particularly loud. While she thought it sounded great, she would have liked a little more volume. I had to agree; it would have been wonderful to hear that impressive system really put through its paces!

Hamamatsu Beyond the Jazz Kissa

We took a local train to Benten-jima (Benten Island) on Lake Hamana, arriving about half an hour before sunset. From there, we walked along the shore to the eastern end of Seaside Park, the best spot for viewing. There were quite a few people around, though, as in the city centre, very few were international tourists.

Benten-jima is famous for its 18-meter-tall red torii gate, which stands on a small island just above the waterline. In late autumn and winter (November through January), the setting sun aligns perfectly within the frame of the gate. We were about a month too early to witness this phenomenon, but still enjoyed the peace and quiet and the fading light as the sun slipped below the horizon.

With time to kill on Sunday morning, we took a city bus to Hamamatsu Castle, about 15 minutes from the station area. We wandered around the small wooded park behind the castle for a while, enjoying the quiet and shade of the trees on a rather warm day, before heading up to explore the castle itself.

Hamamatsu Castle dates back to 1570, when Tokugawa Ieyasu began expanding an earlier fortification. It served as his home and military base before he went on to unify Japan in the early 1600s following the Battle of Sekigahara. The original castle buildings were dismantled during the Meiji era, and the present keep was reconstructed in 1958, making it a replica rather than the real thing.

After a brief look around the castle, it was back to the station area for lunch, this time for unagi (grilled freshwater eel), a local speciality thanks to the area’s long history of eel farming. Lake Hamana is considered the birthplace of Japan’s eel-farming industry, with numerous farms established around its shores. Rich in protein, unagi is traditionally eaten during the warmer months, when it’s believed to help boost energy and combat fatigue.

After lunch, we returned to Tournez La Page for a second bite of the cherry and Sonny Rollins Day. We were pleased to find that the music was playing quite a bit louder than the previous day. The listening area was also noticeably more crowded. Sonny really packed ’em in!

Tournez La Page vs. Jazz Spot Basie: Two Very Different Listening Experiences

It’s interesting to reflect on the sound at Tournez La Page after visiting Basie in Ichinoseki just a week later. The two venues sound very different. I was truly blown away by Basie’s visceral, powerful sound in a comparatively small space. Tournez La Page offers a completely different experience, with its cavernous, concert hall-like listening room lending the music more air and an ethereal quality. The bass and power are certainly there, but the overall presentation is more restrained and balanced.

The sound at Tournez La Page, much like the room’s aesthetic, is cleaner and more modern, while Basie has a more historical, gritty character.

The Sound of Time: What Makes Tournez La Page Special

I asked Yano-san about the system and its sound, and her response was interesting:

“Many audio enthusiasts spend years exploring different equipment, constantly searching for a better sound. At Tournez La Page, we have taken a different path. For 21 years, we have been listening to the same audio system, in the same room, in the same location. Our system plays for approximately ten hours a day, from preparation in the morning until closing time.”

“Imagine what 21 years of listening, playing, and aging have brought to this sound. It is something that cannot simply be purchased or recreated by assembling the same equipment. Our sound is not just the result of our equipment. It is the result of time.”

Tournez La Page has been around for a while, but it has a distinctly modern feel, very different from what I imagine when I hear the words “jazz kissa.” My image is of something several decades older, darker, and comfortably worn-in, almost antique in character, like Basie, Eigakan, or JAB. The Japanese often describe this atmosphere or aesthetic as “Shōwa,” referring to the era of Emperor Hirohito’s reign from 1926 to 1989.

But the essence of Tournez La Page is very much “kissa.” The shop’s name comes from a French expression meaning to turn the page, leave the past behind, and start anew. The hope is that every customer will come to enjoy great coffee and music, relax, forget their troubles, and leave feeling refreshed. If that isn’t a jazz kissa, I don’t know what is.

We certainly felt that way as we left after a couple of relaxing hours and made our way home. If you have the chance, this one’s well worth a visit.

Looking forward to comments and questions, here on eCoustics or at @audioloveyyc.

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