This cosy café lounge is located on the second floor of the Yamaha Ginza building. Here you can sample food and drink inspired by famous musicians, such as Chopin's favourite tarte flambee (¥1,300), Mozart’s Viennese-style pork schnitzel (¥2,500), and the Dummy Daisy mocktail (¥1,000), a combination of homemade lingonberry syrup and alcohol-free gin, inspired by Brahms’s favourite lingonberry jam.
Enjoy these edible compositions while leafing through 700 music-related books neatly displayed in large shelves covering the walls. No need to worry, English editions are available as well.
The highlight of Notes by Yamaha, however, is the small stage equipped with a piano, bass and drum set, where live performances are reproduced virtually via Yamaha’s Real Sound Viewing system. Every 30 minutes (every hour after 2pm) you can enjoy a live performance of pre-recorded songs reproduced by the instruments themselves, which are synchronised to videos of the actual performers.
Even with no musicians on stage, it still feels like a real concert and you’ll find yourself applauding at the end of the show. The current lineup includes pieces by Japanese artists Kento Tsubosaka Trio, Fox Capture Plan, Ai Kuwabara the Project and others. See the full schedule on the official website.
Make sure to check out the small exhibition corner as well, which features creative prototype musical accessories by Yamaha designers. The lineup changes about every six months. Ginza is a popular destination on weekends, so we recommend reserving seats in advance here.