{"id":4486,"date":"2021-02-26T14:05:25","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T05:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/hiroshimas-live-houses\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T11:34:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T02:34:07","slug":"hiroshimas-live-houses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/ja\/hiroshimas-live-houses\/","title":{"rendered":"Alive and Rocking – See Local Music at Hiroshima’s Great Live Houses"},"content":{"rendered":"

With just a cursory look at Japanese television, you would be forgiven for believing that Japan’s music industry was an endless parade of identikit Johnny’s boy bands<\/a>\u00a0or sprawling AKB-48<\/a> affiliated girl groups. Not that there is anything wrong with this homogenous J-Pop, per se, but there has to be more to it than that.<\/p>\n

And of course, there is, but you tend not to find it on TV or on the stadium tour scene. Instead, you can find up-and coming-bands, aspiring independent artists, and veteran acts plying their trade in Japan’s rich and thriving live house scene.<\/p>\n

In Japanese, the word \u30e9\u30a4\u30d6 [raibu, live] is a noun for what we might call a concert, show or gig – for example, one might say ‘I saw Tame Impala’s live yesterday,’ as opposed to ‘I saw Tame Impala’s live show, yesterday’ – and as such, a live house is similar to the club or gig circuit that artists might play in the US, UK or Australia.<\/p>\n

Hiroshima has a few fantastic venues at which to watch local bands, touring national artists, and even a fair few international acts. So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and find your new favorite artist!<\/p>\n

Organ-za<\/h2>\n

Over in Tokaichi, Organza is your first stop if you want to find wild, off-the-wall, and unique acts. Run by Gozo Izumi, considered by some to be “the queen of Hiroshima’s underground scene,” you are as likely to see a burlesque show as a jazz artist, a Latin band as you are a bamboo player.<\/p>\n

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Very much a one of a kind, you can also just pop by for a cozy bite to eat (fancy a fried pig’s ear?) or just hang out at the counter amongst the strange and quirky furniture… and customers.<\/p>\n

Where<\/strong>: 1 Chome-4-32 Tokaichimachi, Naka Ward, Hiroshima (map<\/a>)
\nWebsite<\/strong>: organ-za.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Second Crutch<\/h2>\n

While some live bars tend to have their genre and niche, Second Crutch in Naka-Ku serves up artists of all musical tastes and persuasions. One day it could be Visual Kei, the next J-hip hop, the next an idol pairing, and the next a twee folk band; you can definitely find something that you could get into.<\/p>\n

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Much bigger than the likes of Organza, it means that it can house relatively well-known artists from the Japanese circuit whilst still keeping an authentic flavor.<\/p>\n

Where<\/strong>: \u00a0Hiroshima, Naka Ward, Horikawacho, 4\u221220 4F (map<\/a>)
\nWebsite<\/strong>: secondcrutch.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Club Quattro<\/h2>\n

Coming into its 20th year, Hiroshima’s Club Quattro is part of a national chain of live houses – the others being in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka – where you are most likely to catch both local and international bands and artists of high repute, but not necessarily the stadium busters.<\/p>\n

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It’s just around the corner from Second Crutch (and okonomimura, so it’s handy to grab a bite and a beer beforehand). Although you might find that the mid-level foreign bands that frequent it often charge somewhat over the odds for entry fees, Quattro is a great venue.<\/p>\n

Where<\/strong>:\u00a0 PARCO 10-1 Hondori, Naka Ward, Hiroshima (map<\/a>)
\nWebsite<\/strong>: club-quattro.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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Image via https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CLY29UNJiuM\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Image: By Florence Nobuko Smith<\/a> via flickr.com<\/a> [CC BY 2.0<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Image: via Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

Image: By update86<\/a> via flickr.com<\/a> [CC BY 2.0<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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