Music on high-end sound systems takes centre stage in these Japanese-inspired spaces for audiophiles

Paul Noble was working as a radio producer and sound engineer when his frequent travels to Tokyo sparked the idea for a change of career.

“In Japan, there’s an amazing tradition of listening bars, where they have a deep, beautiful, reverential approach to listening to music,” he says. “It’s nothing to do with club culture. It could be a tiny bar, with six seats in it, and you’ll just sit and listen to music, usually in silence.