The is a jazz club in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The original opened in 1965 and was forced by demolition to close in 1992. It re-opened at a different site in Shinjuku later that year. DownBeat wrote in 2019 that the Pit Inn "is almost universally regarded as Japan's most important jazz club".

First Shinjuku Pit Inn The first Pit Inn was located in Shinjuku 3-chōme. It was named by its owner, Yoshitake Sato, who was a car enthusiast. The first manager was Goro Sakai, who had experience of running jazz clubs. The Pit Inn opened on 24 December 1965, as a jazz coffee shop.Atkins, Everett Taylor (1997) This Is Our Music. (Doctoral thesis). p. 223. By March of the following year, it was hosting live jazz every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and on other days was being let out to theatre groups and for happenings. Two years later, it became even more focused on jazz and was in the style of a Greenwich Village hangout.

From its early days, both domestic and international musicians played at the Pit Inn. In 1968, for instance, The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra played there.Lash, Max E. (14 July 1968) "Big Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Band Packed with Power". The Japan Times. p. 5. Other activities also took place: a photography exhibition in 1968 was an early example.Pearce, Jean (31 August 1968) "Readers' Exchange". The Japan Times. p. 5. Some of the most prominent Japanese jazz musicians played at the club early in their careers. Many continue to play there regularly, including Terumasa Hino, Sadao Watanabe and Yōsuke Yamashita. Trumpeter Hino played there in 1969.Lash, Max E. (29 December 1968) "Jazz, Groups Sounds on New Year's Eve". The Japan Times. p. 5. In 1970, the standard entrance charges were 450 Yen for the 2pm show and 500 Yen for the 7pm one, with one drink included.Lash, Max E. (19 April 1970) "Mamoru & Charles... New Record Stars??". The Japan Times. p. 6. It was described as "A comfortably dingy, often smoke-filled niche for the serious jazz fan [...] over the years it had been home to performances and recordings by some of the world's greatest jazz musicians". In January 1992, it was forced to close, as the building it was part of was being demolished.

Second Shinjuku Pit Inn The Pit Inn reopened on 5 July 1992, at a new location at the edge of Shinjuku 2-chōme.Moses, Marc (25 July 1992) "Pillar of Japan Jazz Stands Once More". The Japan Times. p. 17. It continued to offer an afternoon and an evening performance, with the former being for less-well-established musicians."Listening Post" (20 January 2006). The Japan Times. p. 20. The fortieth anniversary celebrations featured performances by Hino, Watanabe, Yamashita, Keiko Lee, Otomo Yoshihide, John Zorn and others, playing in a nearby rented hall, as the club was too small to accommodate all the fans.

Other Pit Inns There have been other jazz clubs with the same name in other parts of Tokyo and Japan. The Roppongi Pit Inn was open from at least 1978,"What's Happening in Town" (11 April 1978). The Japan Times. p. 9. and was at Shimei Building B1, Roppongi 3-17-7.Brand, Jude (1993) Tokyo Night City. Charles E. Tuttle. In 2003, it contained wooden pews and chairs, and "ceiling-high speakers angle[d] in to cover the entire audience space with crisp sound resolution and exceptional clarity".Pronko, Michael (9 March 2003) "All of It... Why Not Hear All of It?". The Japan Times. p. 13. It closed on 26 July 2004."Roppongi Pit Inn". Facebook. Retrieved 18 August 2017.

Concert recordings An asterisk (*) indicates that the album was recorded at the Roppongi Pit Inn.

Year recordedLeader/BandTitleLabel1974At "Pit Inn" CBS/Sony1974Pit Inn East Wind1978*It's A Poppin' TimeRCA Records1979*Grey, Hilarie (March 1, 2000) "Steps Ahead: Smokin' in the Pit". JazzTimes.Barakan, Pete (12 December 1980) "Rock 'n' Roll". The Japan Times. p. 9.Smokin' in the Pit Nippon Columbia1979*KYLYN LiveBetter Days1979*"Phillip Walker – Blues Show Live at Pit Inn". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 August 2017.Blues Show Live at Pit Inn Yupiteru1980*Leggett, Steve "Lowell Fulson – The Blues Show! Live at Pit Inn 1980". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 August 2017.The Blues Show! Live at Pit Inn 1980 1984Elvin Jones Jazz Machine Live at Pit Inn Polydor1985 and Yōsuke YamashitaPiano Duo Live at Pit Inn Village1986Live at Pit Inn King1986Music For Unknown Five Musicians King1988Cosmo Omnibus Imagiable Illusion DIW1989*JoyMoon Records1990 (released)*Hale, James (13 August 1991) "Kondo Creates a Unique Blend of Blues and Soul". The Japan Times. p. 15.Heart of Stone BMG Victor1990 (released)*Hale, James (31 July 1993) "Blues-Lovers Assembled for Tribute". The Japan Times. p. 15.Go Back to de Basic Thing BMG Victor1991 (released)*Unchained Rhythm BMG Victor1992 (released)*My Innocent Time BMG Victor1992Live in Japan Jimco1992Tribute to John Coltrane "A Love Supreme" Columbia1994So What Venus1994The Sound of Nature Universal1996DIMENSIONSix Dimension "LIVE"B-Gram Records2001 and TOYLive at Pit Inn Q-Train2005Explosion P-Jazz2005Live!! Libra2005Live – Shapes in SoundVideo Arts2007Shinjuku Crawl Smalltown Superjazzz2007Shinjuku Growl Smalltown Superjazzz2009Live at Pit Inn Marshmallow2009Cut the Rope Libra2010, Heinz Geisser, Shiro OnumaDancing the Body of Time Cadence Jazz2010, Keiji Haino, Jim O'RourkeTwo City Blues 1 Trost2010, Keiji Haino, Jim O'RourkeTwo City Blues 2 Trost2011Live at Pit Inn Erato2012 and Paal Nilssen-LoveExtended Duos Audiographic2012 (Akira Sakata)Made in Japan Doubtmusic2013 and Paal Nilssen-LoveSpring SnowPNL2014Straight EdgePit Inn2014Live at Shinjuku Pit Inn Pit Inn2014This Is NewPit Inn

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