Eigakan is a basement jazz kissa near Hakusan Station, open since 1978. The name means cinema, a nod to founder Masahiro Yoshida’s earlier work in film. Old projectors, television equipment and European film posters share the room with around 3,000 jazz records.
Yoshida built the horn speakers and tube amplification himself. The system is part of the room’s character rather than a display of expensive badges, and the collection leans heavily into free jazz. Vinyl remains central, although the current team uses CD when a busy service makes twenty-minute record changes impractical.
A group of regulars took over the kissa after Yoshida retired, preserving the equipment and the close-listening format. This is a small room for sitting with a record, not a general cafe that happens to play jazz. Keep conversation low, take the basement stairs and give the system your attention.