The recession hasn’t had much of an impact on the quality of clubbing opportunities in Tokyo. The biggest names in house, trance, techno and hip-hop still stop by on a regular basis. Local legends like DJ Krush, Mike McKenna and Ken Ishii also continue to do the rounds, to the delight of area punters.

In addition to dance clubs, Tokyo also has a selection of live jazz joints. The stars play at Aoyama’s Blue Note Tokyo, Marunouchi’s Cotton Club (www.cottonclubjapan.co.jp) or Roppongi’s Billboard Live (www.billboard-live.com), but fine sets can also be heard at smaller venues like Cool Train and Birdland (3-10-3 Roppongi, 03 3478 3456).

To find schedules and information, Japanese language websites like Cyber Japan (www.cyberjapan.tv) or Clubberia (www.clubberia.com) are very switched on. For English speakers, Metropolis (www.metropolis.co.jp) publishes a bi-weekly clubbing column and also compiles an upcoming schedule of concerts, parties and DJ sets.