Figure 1: Emiko Voice’s Carta Trio with Koichi Sato (piano) and Keita Okada (drums) at Sweet Rain in October 2018
Sweet Rain offers a great room for great jazz, a small but comfortable space with enough room for jazz trios and small combos. The space is neat, cozy, and clean. The atmosphere offers the relaxing feeling of a familiar hideaway where the stimulation of exciting jazz brushes off the daily grind like sweet rain washing out the dirty grime.
Figure 2: Kaito Nakamura (drums) Quartet with Koichi Hirata (guitar), Otohiko Fuse (piano), and Riku Takahashi (bass) at Sweet Rain in April 2024
The dim lighting and muted colors enhance the otherwordly atmosphere, further elevated by the charming back walls of Sweet Rain that are adorned with comic renditions of local musicians and featured performances. Some of this art also finds its way into a cute desk calendar produced by Sweet Rain and available to bar customers, when available.
Figure 3: Kaito Nakamura (drums) Quartet with Koichi Hirata (guitar), Otohiko Fuse (piano), and Riku Takahashi (bass) at Sweet Rain in April 2024
Billed as a “Nakano jazz dining bar” (Nakano is a station and district in Tokyo), the menu features a variety of tasty home-cooked meals that lure jazz fans and neighborhood locals to this spot for jazz and grub.
Figure 4: Yudo Matsuo (guitar) Bosco Trio with Kosuke Ochiai (bass) and Ko Omura (drums) at Sweet Rain in April 2024
Figure 5: Art on walls at Sweet Rain
Figure 6: Sweet Rain business card
Figure 7: Art on walls at Sweet Rain
Figure 8: Stage area and front row at Sweet Rain
Figure 9: Stage area at Sweet Rain
Figure 10: Sweet Rain before a performance
Figure 11: Sweet Rain 2024 calendar
Figure 12: Sweet Rain 2024 calendar pages
Figure 13: Sweet Rain Spanish-style omelette
Figure 14: Welcome to Sweet Rain