Thinking about gigging in Japan?
We help international musicians work out whether a Japan tour makes sense, then help build the right route, venues, promotion, collaborations and professional support around it.
Built from the live-music side of Japan.
Gigging in Japan comes from the team behind Takato Jazz & Blues Festival in Nagano. We work with musicians, venues and music professionals here in Japan, so the advice starts with what actually works on the ground.
Japan can be a brilliant place to play. It can also be hard to read from outside.
Which venues suit your music? How many dates make sense? Should you bring your own band or work with musicians here? What does the immigration side require? How do you reach an audience before you arrive?
Before we talk about gigs, we start with the more useful question: does the project actually make sense?
A Japan tour is more than a string of bookings.
The right support depends on the artist, the music, the scale of the project and what you want the tour to achieve.
Tour planning & routing
Build a realistic project around your dates, music, ensemble and budget.
Venues & opportunities
Identify venues, festivals and other opportunities that make sense for the artist.
Promotion
Plan the Japan-side story, publicity and audience development around the tour.
Local collaboration
Explore Japanese musicians, cultural projects, education and community opportunities where they genuinely add something.
Immigration support
Help structure the project correctly and coordinate with qualified immigration professionals when an entertainment visa is required.
On-the-ground advice
Practical recommendations for travel, accommodation and working in Japan without commissions influencing the advice.
Start with the artist, not a package.
See whether Japan fits
We look at the music, audience, dates, ensemble, budget and what you actually want from the trip.
Build the right project
That might mean club dates, festivals, Japanese collaborators, workshops, cultural programmes or a much smaller tour than you first imagined.
Put the support around it
Routing, promotion, local contacts, professional immigration support and practical advice are added where the project needs them.
Our client is the artist.
We don’t take commission from venues, hotels, travel companies or the professionals we recommend. That means a recommendation can be based on what suits your project rather than what pays us the most.
If Japan isn’t a sensible fit for the tour you’re proposing, we’ll tell you that too.
Performing in Japan means getting the structure right.
International musicians performing professionally in Japan may need an appropriate status of residence or entertainment visa structure. We don’t prepare immigration applications ourselves. Where specialist work is required, we coordinate with qualified professionals and help make sure the touring project around the application is properly organised.
Planning from outside Japan? Start here.
Do musicians need an entertainment visa to perform in Japan?
How live music venues in Japan work
Planning a Japan tour: venues, routing and realistic expectations
Thinking about playing Japan?
Tell us what you play, where you’re based and what kind of project you have in mind. The first step is simply working out whether Japan makes sense for you.