The wonderful and invaluable music website Tokyo Gig Guide lists just under 700 performance venues in Tokyo, but the scene wasn't always so flush with space.
If you wanted to play rock music in Tokyo back in 1982, you basically had two places you could do it: Loft in Shinjuku or La Mama in Shibuya. However, within a few short years, there were dozens — and soon hundreds — of venues, mostly clustered around the western fringes of the city.
What drove this explosion in live music was the "band boom" of the mid-1980s. It was famous for producing classic major label rock acts such as Boøwy, Jun Sky Walker(s) and The Blue Hearts, but it was supported by a wide-ranging enthusiasm for music from thousands of energetic, ambitious young kids.