Tommy Tomita walked past the red awning, down three concrete stairs, opened a gray door covered in duct tape and entered the jazz dive.
Closely followed by five Japanese tourists, Mr. Tomita marched through the narrow passageway and sat at the head of two tables next to the bandstand. His entourage sat, too. The tables, at St. Nick's Jazz Pub in Harlem's Sugar Hill, were reserved for him, as they have been on Friday evenings for about three years.
Likely the most famous Japanese man in Harlem, Mr. Tomita, 71, has been a fixture on the local jazz scene since he moved into the neighborhood in 1987. For nearly as long, he has been a tour guide for his compatriots.
“I want them to see typical Harlem with local people, Mr. Tomita said. “I want them to feel the real atmosphere, not prepared for tourists."
At St. Nick's, the crowd was eclectic: college students and people in their 60s, men in cardigans and fedoras, women in tight minidresses.
Closely followed by five Japanese tourists, Mr. Tomita marched through the narrow passageway and sat at the head of two tables next to the bandstand. His entourage sat, too. The tables, at St. Nick's Jazz Pub in Harlem's Sugar Hill, were reserved for him, as they have been on Friday evenings for about three years.
Likely the most famous Japanese man in Harlem, Mr. Tomita, 71, has been a fixture on the local jazz scene since he moved into the neighborhood in 1987. For nearly as long, he has been a tour guide for his compatriots.
“I want them to see typical Harlem with local people, Mr. Tomita said. “I want them to feel the real atmosphere, not prepared for tourists."
At St. Nick's, the crowd was eclectic: college students and people in their 60s, men in cardigans and fedoras, women in tight minidresses.
