The Soundtrack to Tokyo’s Hidden Record Bars
From acid jazz and Mojitos to bebop and sake, a look at four of Tokyo’s most unique record bars, and the playlists that define them.
- story: Kelly Thomas
- photos: Ko Sasaki
Understanding Japanese Bartending in Five Techniques
A few idiosyncratic methods offer a window into why Japanese bartending has become an object of fascination—and fetishization.
- story: Chloe Frechette
- photos: Eric Medsker
Is Japanese Gin the Next Big Thing?
“Everybody is watching to see if they can do for gin what they did for whisky.”
- story: St. John Frizell
- photo: Lizzie Munro
How Japanese Are Japanese Bar Tools?
The tools we associate with Japanese bartending have come to symbolize the style’s dedication to precision. But they are, by and large, of Western origin.
- story: Chloe Frechette
- photo: Lizzie Munro
A Night at Tokyo’s Surreal “Little Texas” Honky-Tonk
In Japan, a small smattering of honky-tonks serve as the antithesis of traditionally quiet Japanese culture. This is what a night at Tokyo's beloved Little Texas looks like.
- story: Sarah Baird
- photos: Ko Sasaki
Modern Alchemy at Tokyo’s Most Radical Bar
At Tokyo's Ben Fiddich, Hiroyasu Kayama uses homegrown plants and a mortar and pestle to reconstruct classic liqueurs and spirits—including “Campari,” absinthe and amaro—often to order. Here, a look inside…
- story: Sarah Baird
- photo: Marie Takahashi
The Japanese Way to a Better Highball
Ice, whiskey, soda—that's all there really is to a whiskey highball, right? Not so in Japan. Hannah Kirshner on what the experience of a traditional tea ceremony taught her about…
- story: Hannah Kirshner
- photos: Lizzie Munro
Engawa’s Japanese Highball
The highball method practiced at a small sake (and whiskey) bar in Ishikawa prefecture called Washu Bar Engawa.
- story: Chloe Frechette
- photo: Lizzie Munro
Daily News: Japan Will Get Its First Gin Distillery, Rob Moose Talks His Love of Wine
Your daily dose of news and happenings from around the drink-o-sphere: - Constellation Brands Inc. is set to buy Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits for roughly $1 billion. - The…
- story: Liz Lucking
What Exactly Is a ‘Japanese-Style’ Cocktail Bar?
Americans have been enamored of the precision and ritual of Japanese bartending for decades. But what exactly defines the Japanese style? Christopher Ross on its history, evolution and relationship to…
- story: Christopher Ross
- photo: Daniel Krieger
