A live music venue filled with music, light and breeze. A place where adults can talk and music overflows.

The aim was to create a live house with a relaxed atmosphere

Although the image of the goal was solidified, there were two big hurdles to overcome before the project could begin. The first was to obtain the internal consensus of Sapporo Real Estate Development to remove the second floor to attract Blue Note. The second was to conduct a technical verification to see whether it was actually possible to remove the second floor, and if so, to what extent. To achieve the internal consensus, Kishi and Sugita went around the company to persuade others.

"Of course, there was some opposition within the company, since we would be removing a large amount of floor space and reducing the floor space. But when asked if there was anything that could replace Blue Note, no one could come up with anything that could surpass it. That's how great the brand is. As we discussed it, the internal flow naturally shifted in the direction of moving forward with the project. So we asked Blue Note to open a store under the name 'Blue Note.'" (Kishi)

Blue Note Japan's stores use different names depending on the type of business, but President Ito readily accepted the offer.

"We don't use the Blue Note name in cafes or restaurants. But here we can combine live music with food. If we can create the worldview of Blue Note, we thought it would be okay to use the name," says Ito.

The architectural firm that designed Yebisu Garden Place was asked to investigate the technical feasibility of removing the floor. It was found to be technically possible, and construction began immediately.

"Because we had to cut the beams, it was quite a monumental job. But we were going to reinforce it, so there were no structural problems. I was amazed when the floor gave way. I had an idea from the blueprints, but a large atrium appeared right in the middle," says Kosaka.

From there, NOMURA team worked on design, layout to create the worldview of Blue Note. Hayato Takahashi (NOMURA AND Room Chief Designer) and others on the team worked on turning Blue Note's ideas into a concrete form.

"President Ito always told us not to go overboard with concept design. He said we shouldn't concept design in an overly bold way and show it off. So we went back to basics as much as possible, and tried to create a sense of openness, such as good ventilation and a sense of light. The original brick structure had a lot of atmosphere, so we tried to make use of the original materials as much as possible and combined new materials such as fireproof old wood to retain the character of the building itself," says Takahashi.

The biggest factor in creating this "open feeling" is the large atrium structure in the middle. This creates a sense of unity between the first and second floors, and depending on the usage scenario, the second floor seats overlooking the stage can become special seats. However, Takahashi says that the initial plan did not call for a space with such a high ceiling.

"The ceiling on the second floor had been removed for renovation. A bare ceiling wasn't possible due to the ducts and sprinklers, so we had planned to put up a new ceiling. However, everyone involved in the renovation unanimously commented that the ceiling was very high and felt great. So we decided to do something about it. We put up plaster-finished boards to make it look like a bare ceiling, and increased the height to the very limit. In the end, we were able to raise it nearly 2m higher than the original plan, and the ceiling height is just under 10m."

Another highlight of the restaurant's open atmosphere is the live kitchen, which takes up an entire wall of the dining area. When viewed from the dining area, the chefs briskly moving about in the kitchen looks like a scene from a movie.

"From the beginning, we wanted to have an open kitchen. However, there was always the issue of noise; the sounds of people clattering around in the kitchen would get in the way of the live performance. So we put in fixed clear glass between the kitchen and the audience seats, so that the scene could be seen and there was a clear line of sight, but the sound couldn't get out. We also devised a way to improve visibility, making the opening quite long and narrow so that it wasn't too visible." (Takahashi)

Transforming into a popular area for women in their 30s

The stage, which is the core of the live music venue, was a topic of much discussion among those involved, with the placement and height of the stage being the focus of the venue. Matsuuchi of Blue Note Japan said that in the end, they considered a placement that would be comfortable for both artists and customers, while still keeping in mind the basics of a restaurant.

"We basically thought about the flow of people as if they were in a restaurant. Within that, we thought about the layout so that it would be easy to see the live performances. Furthermore, we didn't want the venue to feel lonely or desolate even when there were no live performances. We discussed this at length with everyone. There was also an idea to make the stage height flat, without any steps. This gives us more freedom to arrange it however we like. But live performances really look better with a stage."

After much discussion, they decided to set up a stage 15cm high. Kosaka explains the aim of this:

"The 15cm stage is quite low, but it's a height that ensures the stage looks good, and when there are no live performances, it feels natural to place tables on the stage and use it as seating for the audience. We also placed it by the windows so that the stage is easily visible from outside. 15cm is also a good height to connect with the outdoor terrace. Coming from the entrance of the restaurant, the seating floor is 15cm lower, so the 15cm difference in height gives the entire floor a three-dimensional feel. I think it looks natural." (Kosaka)

Once the overall framework was decided, NOMURA team focused on subtly incorporating musical motifs into the interior design of the store. For example, the lighting fixtures concept design concept design Strings from disused musical instruments, guitar pegs and shield jacks were used as parts, creating a mechanism that would delight music fans who noticed.

As a final touch, the acoustics, which is the lifeblood of a live music venue, were meticulously adjusted.

"We had an acoustic consultant come in and make adjustments. We could make some assumptions based on the floor plan, so we only had to wait until the building was completed before we could make any adjustments. We carried out numerous tests to see how much sound would escape to the outside and whether it would reverberate to other tenants," says Matsuuchi.

Particular attention was paid to whether the sound would be disruptive to neighbouring tenants.

"There is a shared office directly below the building. We spoke to them from the very early stages of planning, and they were actually very welcoming of Blue Note opening a store there. However, we couldn't cause any inconvenience with noise, so we took thorough measures to prevent it. Thanks to that, we haven't had a single complaint about noise since we opened." (Sugita)

December 2022. BLUE NOTE PLACE opened as a new symbol of Yebisu Garden Place. Mr. Ito, president of Blue Note Japan, feels that it has successfully differentiated itself from Blue Note Tokyo in Aoyama.

"You can eat, talk and listen to music. This is the place where you can have all three. At Blue Note Tokyo, we get complaints if you talk during a live performance. The emphasis is on the music. But here, especially in the second floor seats, you can listen to music while having a conversation. We were able to create the scene we wanted to create. That's how I felt."

Matsuuchi says that the customer base he is targeting is quite different from that of his Aoyama store.

"Of course, we'd like to have Blue Note Tokyo customers come, but we'd also like to attract young people who haven't yet ventured to Aoyama, or people whose musical tastes have been a little different up until now. We want new people to get to know us first. We're doing live shows on a trial basis with young artists, so most of our customers are in their 20s and 30s. We'd like people who feel that Blue Note is intimidating to come. We also have a lot of customers who are local residents, and they can just drop in without a reservation, especially on weekends."

Sapporo Real Estate Development says it has also noticed a shift to a new customer base.

"The customers at BLUE NOTE PLACE are clearly different from the customers at the old Yebisu Garden Place. The impression is that the customers have changed overall, due to a synergistic effect of the replacement of the large tenants in the facility. I had the impression that there were a lot of older customers, but with the change in content, I think the customers have also changed significantly." (Kishi)

Kosaka says he enjoys seeing local people chatting at BLUE NOTE PLACE.

"President Ito said this from the beginning, but housewives who live around here can come in with their mommy friends during the day, pushing strollers. We created it with that in mind, hoping to create a comfortable space like that. And when we opened, mommy friends actually came in with their strollers. It made us really happy."

(Interviewed in September 2023. Titles in the article are those at the time of the interview.)

Interview and text by Tsuyoshi Nose (former editor-in-chief of Nikkei Trendy)
Photo = ©Satoshi Nagare