Grand Salon Juso

Grand Salon Juso (グランドサロン十三) is a grand cabaret located in the Juso district of Yodogawa-ku, Osaka, Japan. Founded in 1969, it is one of the few grand cabarets from Japan's Showa era that remains in operation into the 2020s. The venue is known for its heavily weathered exterior contrasting with an opulent, Showa-era interior, and it operates both as a cabaret and as a rental hall for events, performances, and film and video shoots. The cabaret was established in 1969 by Shizunaga Miyata, an entrepreneur who had come from Oita after World War II and built a broad entertainment business around Juso. At its opening it was billed as the largest cabaret in the Kansai region, with a second floor that is now inactive, and it was crowded daily. In its early years it employed around 200 hostesses and hosted live bands, entertainers, and strippers on its stage. Over the decades, as disco and then cabaret clubs displaced the grand cabaret format, the business declined, and by the 2010s most Showa-era grand cabarets across Japan had closed. Grand Salon Juso survived, and by 2012 it was reportedly the only cabaret of its kind left in the Juso area. In early 2020, Taizo Miyata, son of the founder and a former railway company employee, took over the business. His father Shizunaga died the same year. Taizo Miyata set about rebuilding the operation, treating the cabaret as a cultural facility and tourism resource, clarifying the pricing system, and carrying out major renovations during the COVID-19 pandemic closure while preserving the appearance of the original interior. From autumn 2021 the venue began operating in earnest as a rental hall, hosting events such as kickboxing shows and fan club events, and it has been used as a filming location for music videos, television recordings, and the 2025 film Kokuhō (National Treasure). In 2024, Taizo Miyata married Maria, who had been the assistant responsible for hall rental operations, and the couple now run the business together. To allow under-18 users to attend events, the hall rental business was separated into a new company, Kabushiki Kaisha Tesamu, while the cabaret business is operated by Yugen Kaisha Daito. The venue continues to operate as a cabaret from Tuesday to Saturday and as a rental hall on Sundays and holidays, and it has become a landmark of the Juso area, valued for preserving Showa-era culture and for contributing to the local district's visibility.

Grand Salon Juso opened in 1969 in the Juso district of Osaka. Under the entertainment laws of the time, a "cabaret" was not merely a place where hostesses drank with customers, but a large building equipped with a dance floor and a stage for bands. During Japan's high economic growth period, many lavishly decorated cabarets were built, and the largest of these with stages were called grand cabarets. Grand Salon Juso was one of these grand cabarets. The founding owner, Shizunaga Miyata, had come from Oita during the post-World War II period and ran a sushi restaurant before expanding into entertainment, operating cabarets, izakaya, finance, and adult entertainment businesses around Juso. He reportedly wanted to do everything he wished in order to build his ideal grand cabaret, and Grand Salon Juso was decorated with custom-ordered furnishings at great expense, functioning as his flagship among several smaller salons he operated. At the time of its opening, Juso was a major entertainment district attracting men involved in preparations for the 1970 Japan World Exposition in Suita and people connected to Takeda Pharmaceutical. At opening, the venue was reportedly full every day including the second floor, with queues forming. Early customers included road construction workers for the Expo. The stage hosted live bands, various entertainers, strippers, and enka singers. Around 200 hostesses were employed at that time. It was billed as the largest cabaret in the Kansai region at opening. In 1972, after the Sen-nichi Department Store fire in Osaka, awareness of fire prevention increased among cabarets and salons in Juso, and in 1981 the Juso Hostess Fire Brigade was formed. As times changed, cabarets lost popularity, and in the 2010s Showa-era cabarets closed one after another across Japan, and Grand Salon Juso's business also declined. Around the 1970s there were about ten cabarets in the Juso area capable of live jazz performances, but by 2012 only Grand Salon Juso remained. In early 2020, Taizo Miyata, the founder's son who had worked at a railway company, inherited the business. The first-generation founder Shizunaga died the same year. Taizo had worked in JR West's customer center and station staff training and had hardly ever gone out at night; he first entered Grand Salon Juso in 2019 when the succession was discussed. Interested in community contribution and town development, he aimed for locally rooted operations and set about rebuilding the business. Drawing on his railway background, he set a new policy of making the venue a destination worth taking a train to. He treated the cabaret as a cultural facility and tourism resource and sought to make it open to all ages and genders. He made the pricing system clearer and changed other rules to be more understandable to customers. When he took over, the building was extremely dilapidated, with torn sofa seats held together by duct tape, and during the closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic he carried out large-scale renovations. After restoration, the interior was made to look almost as it was at opening. Until these renovations, the restrooms were shared by men and women. During the closure, the hostesses were given financial support. From autumn 2021, the venue began operating in earnest as a rental hall. In September 2021 it rented the venue for the kickboxing event SUPER KICK S-1 with social distancing measures. In 2023 it was rented for a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu fan club event. When events are held, participants spread photos on social media, which improved its reputation. Cabaret operations were declining and the business was struggling, so from November 2023 Grand Salon Juso began hosting its own cabaret shows, including burlesque performances, on a continuing basis. As of 2023, about 35 hostesses were registered. In 2024, Taizo Miyata married Maria, the assistant who had been responsible for hall rental operations, and the couple began running the business together. Because the cabaret cannot be rented for events for minors, a specialized company, Tesamu, was created to separate hall rental operations from the cabaret, allowing high school students and younger to use Grand Salon Juso for presentations and other events. Also, led by Maria, the venue registered with the Osaka Film Council and began renting itself as a filming location for video works. As of 2025, hall rental alone generated annual revenue exceeding 10 million yen. In terms of operations, Grand Salon Juso is the only remaining cabaret in the Miyata Group, and the building is company-owned with the head office sales department above. It operates as a cabaret from Tuesday to Saturday and can be used as a rental hall on Sundays and holidays. All hostesses are treated as sole proprietors; there are few young hostesses, and the average age of working hostesses is in the 50s to 60s, with some in their 80s. Many have moved from other cabarets that have closed. Their selling points are conversation skills and approachability, and hostesses in their 60s and 70s are popular. Some customers consult older hostesses about life. The average customer age is around 60, and pension payment days are the busiest. Outside business hours, the venue can be rented for other events, including weddings, and it supports local art exhibitions. Since starting hall rental operations, it has become popular as a filming location, and more women are visiting alone on cabaret business days. Architecturally, the exterior is very dilapidated, but the interior is lavish. Entering from the entrance, the stage is at the back. The stage can host band performances, and karaoke can be sung in front of it. Seats are arranged in a fan shape around the stage and dance floor, with a curve likened to the wings of a flapping crane. The seats are covered in velvet, and tables have lamps emitting warm-colored light. Pressing a switch changes the lamp color; a red light signals an order and staff come to take it. The floor area of the first and second floors together is about 196 tsubo (approximately 648 square meters). The first floor alone has 170 seats, and the whole venue can accommodate more than 200 guests. A large chandelier, custom-made, is said to be the symbol of the venue. From the mid-2020s, Showa-era cabarets represented by Grand Salon Juso have been reevaluated as architecture amid growing interest in Showa retro. Known as a luxurious grand cabaret that flourished as an adult social venue in the Showa period and as a "time-worn grand cabaret," Grand Salon Juso is said to attract young people's interest as a place that is "too Showa retro." Its exterior in the Juso entertainment district is often called "suspicious" due to heavy deterioration, with so much rust that people hesitate to enter, and it has been noted that rebuilding may be necessary soon. The lavish interior, meanwhile, is praised as a space like time-traveling to the Showa era, and because it retains Showa culture in a luxurious building, it has been called a "first-class cultural property." For hostesses it is a comfortable place, described as a cabaret like a "giant snack bar" that customers visit for the venue itself. In the 2020s, as it has been used more for local projects and filming, it has been evaluated as contributing to the district's recognition as a local symbol. It is also rented for martial arts events, and fight fans have likened it to an "ancient colosseum." In terms of use in video works, in 2021 the metal band CROWLEY filmed a music video there for a cover of Hirata Takao and the Cellsters' "Akuma ga nikui," chosen for its Showa 40s-style atmosphere. The same year, Kansai Johnny's Jr. used it for a recording of Yomiuri TV's Best Hit Kayōsai, and a free open house held around the same time drew about 600 visitors, mainly fans of Kansai Johnny's Jr. The 2025 film Kokuhō used it for filming, shooting in one day from early morning to evening, with both the interior and logo appearing in the film.

• 2025

  The film Kokuhō is released, featuring Grand Salon Juso as a filming location.

• 2024

  Taizo Miyata marries Maria; hall rental business is transferred to new company Tesamu; venue registers with the Osaka Film Council.

• 2023

  Grand Salon Juso begins hosting its own cabaret shows, including burlesque performances.

• 2021

  The venue begins full-scale rental hall operations; hosts SUPER KICK S-1 and is used for music video and TV recordings.

• 2020

  Taizo Miyata takes over the business; founder Shizunaga Miyata dies.

• 2012

  Grand Salon Juso is reportedly the only remaining cabaret of its kind in the Juso area.

• 1981

  The Juso Hostess Fire Brigade is formed.

• 1972

  After the Sen-nichi Department Store fire, fire prevention awareness rises among Juso cabarets.

• 1970

  The Japan World Exposition is held in Suita, and Expo-related workers are among early customers.

• 1969

  Grand Salon Juso opens in Osaka's Juso district, billed as the largest cabaret in Kansai.

A rare surviving Showa-era grand cabaret positioned as a cultural facility, tourism resource, and rental event/filming venue in Osaka's Juso district.

• Cabaret entertainment

  Hostess service, stage shows, live band performances, karaoke, and burlesque performances.

• Rental hall

  Rental of the venue for live events, performances, filming, photo shoots, weddings, and local art exhibitions.

1. 1グランドサロン十三｜大阪のキャバレー＆貸会場。広さと昭和の雰囲気が特徴juso13.net
2. 2お店・運営会社のご紹介 ｜ グランドサロン十三juso13.net
3. 3Grand Salon Juso - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4グランドサロン十三 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org