Live Restaurant J’Z Opens June 30th – Enjoy Live Artist Performances and Dining!
2025.06.30
Kanesa Fujiwaraya has established a 100% subsidiary, ensemble Co., Ltd., and will open “Live Restaurant J’Z” in Kokubuncho, Aoba Ward, where guests can enjoy live performances of various music genres including jazz, along with dining while listening to high-quality audio music.
Prior to the opening on Monday, June 30th, 2025, we held a press conference for “Live Restaurant J’Z” on June 18th.
Many media representatives attended, and the event concluded successfully. We sincerely thank all those who attended.
The press conference featured:
・Mr. Kentaro Oyama, Chairman and Representative Director of Iris Ohyama
・Mr. Satoshi Aoki, Representative Director of Hummingbird International
・Mr. Masamune Sato, Representative Director and President of Kanesa Fujiwaraya
Our restaurant has received donations of high-quality audio equipment from volunteers of the Sendai Economic Doyukai. As a representative, Chairman Oyama of Iris Ohyama, who serves as a lifetime executive of the association, spoke at the event.
President Aoki of Hummingbird International Inc., who will be responsible for food and beverage service at the restaurant, shared his future aspirations.
Below is a partial introduction of the press conference content:
Revitalizing Kokubuncho, Tohoku’s Largest Entertainment District, is Fujiwaraya’s Mission
[Kanesa Fujiwaraya – Sato]
We are opening “Live Restaurant J’Z” on Monday, June 30th, 2025.
Sendai City is said to have deep ties to jazz and entertainment due to the stationing of occupation forces after World War II.
In recent years, the “Jozenji Street Jazz Festival” has become well-established. At this location where the culture of Jozenji Street and Kokubuncho intersect, we want to create a cultural hub that can showcase “Music City Sendai” and contribute to regional revitalization.
Around 1966, my grandfather opened the area’s first dining building in Kokubuncho, Aoba Ward, when it was beginning to decline from its former status as an office district.
Due to this connection, revitalizing Kokubuncho, which has seen reduced foot traffic compared to the Sendai Station area after the Great East Japan Earthquake and COVID-19, is no exaggeration to call our company’s mission.
We hope this restaurant will serve as the first stop for dining, encouraging customers to then visit other establishments in Kokubuncho.
We will promote this restaurant’s appeal so that various people – locals from Sendai as well as visitors from outside the prefecture and overseas – can have the image that “J’Z offers the best music and finest dining.”
We Want to Play a Role in Nurturing Future Artists
[Kanesa Fujiwaraya – Sato]
J’Z is considering inviting musicians and bands from various genres including jazz, classical, and pop music. For artist booking, we will collaborate with various people, centered around Mr. Shun Kumagai, a jazz saxophonist from Sendai.
We also aim to provide performance opportunities not only for professionals but also for amateurs, student brass bands, and performers at local events like the “Jozenji Street Jazz Festival.”
The venue will be used not only for music but also for art exhibitions by painters and various seminars and discussion meetings.
Through these opportunities, we want J’Z to play a role in nurturing promising future artists.
High-Quality Audio Equipment That Even Audiophiles Would Appreciate
[Iris Ohyama – Chairman Oyama]
The Sendai Economic Doyukai has been putting effort into building “Music City Sendai,” focusing on classical music through the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra and the music hall to be built in the future.
For jazz, the “Jozenji Street Jazz Festival” celebrated its 31st anniversary last year, and wanting to further promote this, the idea of creating a permanent live facility on Jozenji Street emerged and has led to this.
With the desire to “let people enjoy music with the best sound quality if we’re going to do it,” we donated representative models from both UK-based “B&W” speakers and US-based “McIntosh” tube amplifiers. The selection included my personal knowledge as an audiophile, so audiophiles who see it might find it quite enviable.
I hope this restaurant will become a place where various customers, including inbound tourists, can enjoy jazz and dining.
We Want You to Enjoy Nighttime with Genre-Free Cuisine
[Hummingbird – President Aoki]
In Sendai’s business community, how to revitalize the Jozenji Street and Kokubuncho area has been a very important issue. To address this, we were asked to participate with the understanding that “we young business people should work hard on this.”
Regarding cuisine, we will offer various dishes regardless of genre. While large live events like opening performances will be exceptions, regular operations will feature menu items ranging from several hundred to several thousand yen per dish.
Bottle keeping is also available, and for second-venue use, you can enjoy drinks and appetizers starting from about 5,000 yen.
The “music charge” will vary depending on whether there’s live artist performance or background music.
Since venues where you can dine while listening to live music are rare in Sendai, we want to learn various things and operate a restaurant where local people, business travelers to Sendai, and inbound tourists can enjoy nighttime.
Opening Performance Reservations Now Being Accepted
Live Restaurant J’Z will hold opening performances for three days starting June 30th, 2025.
June 30th (Monday) features May’J, July 1st (Tuesday) features Hitomi Yaida, and July 2nd (Wednesday) features HOUND DOG.
Special menus will also be available, so please take this opportunity to spend an exciting time at J’Z.
→ ［Reserve Opening Performance］
J’Z Official Website Now Open!
For detailed information including menus and prices, please visit here.
Live Restaurant J’Z
[Access]
〒980-0803
1F Grand Pare Building, 2-15-2 Kokubuncho, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi
17-minute walk from JR Sendai Station
3-minute walk from Kotodai Park Station on the Sendai Subway Namboku Line
[Business Hours]
Weekdays and holidays: 17:00～24:00（L.O. 23:30）
Fridays, Saturdays, and days before holidays: 17:00～25:00（L.O. 24:30）
*After 22:00, only food and drinks from the bar time menu will be served.
[Closed]
Sundays
*Open on the middle day of a three-day weekend, when the restaurant is closed for private use, and when other events are held.
