blue in yokohama

I have mixed feelings about Yokohama. I think parts of Minato Mirai are sterile looking, like the whole area was wiped clean and rebuilt with little trace of history.

Still, it's really pretty, with the wide paths and lights and parks. 

The Red Brick Warehouse/Akarenga is one of the anchoring landmarks of the area, and inside the old preserved building now are shops and restaurants.

Motion Blue is on the 3rd floor of Akarenga. It's a jazz club and restaurant, part of the Blue Note empire (screenshot from their webpage).

Sorry for the crap quality of my pictures; the staff busted me before I could fix my camera settings. Usually the cover charge is about 4,000 yen, but that's a little steep since I'm not a jazz connoisseur.  

But a few times a month, they offer free shows, with stuff like jazz, Brazilian music, Latin, etc. The pair above is Sonho, a Brazilian-style duo.

A glass of wine or a cocktail will set you back about a thousand yen, but it's a fancy, chill place and one of the best deals around for live music. The next one is a jazz duo on April 1st, and then another on the 7th and on the 14th.