Bar Kamiya
Unlike many of Tokyo's newfangled cocktail bars—often hidden and dark—Kamiya has very few aesthetic charms. But guests don't come here for the looks or for fancy drinks. They come because it's…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
Ginza Tender
Unfailingly, the legendary Kazuo Uyeda is always behind Ginza Tender's counter, suited in his signature cream-colored jacket, not a hair out of place. Like many old guard Tokyo bars, Ginza…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
Star Bar Ginza
A small, brooding room with pressed tin ceilings and polished wood, Star Bar feels like coming upon a temple or a monastery with its hushed, low-lit atmosphere. Owner Hisashi Kishi…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
Bar Hoshi
This hidden gem is on the 8th floor of the Aoki Tower on the outskirts of Ginza. Moody and primarily candle-lit, Bar Hoshi is popular with after-dinner crowds in search of a…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
Bar Gen Yamamoto
Bar Gen Yamamoto, a tiny ground-floor space tucked in the shadows of Tokyo’s glitzy Roppongi district, has quickly become one of the city’s most buzzed-about new craft cocktail bars. But forget…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
Bar Trench
Tucked into an alleyway, this little Ebisu bar is run by bartender Rogerio Vaz, who is half-Japanese and half-Brazilian with a love for all things absinthe. An equally odd amalgam…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
Ben Fiddich
A relative newcomer to the Tokyo bar scene, Ben Fiddich combines the serene spectacle of the city's old guard with the cerebral ingredient-driven nature of newer cocktail bars like Gen Yamamoto.…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
Winestand Waltz
Yasuhiro Ooyama, also known locally as the "wine professor," proudly serves a super eclectic selection of natural wines from Europe and Japan in this pocket-sized, standing-only Ebisu bar. Ooyama-san is jovial,…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
Shonzui
Shonzui, which opened in 1993, is one of the original forbearers of the natural wine movement in Tokyo. Run by Shinsaku Katsuyama, one of Japan's most beloved wine personalities, the…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
Le Verre Volé à Tokyo
After spending six years in France—including four years at the original Le Verre Volé—Ryotaro Miyauchi returned to his native Japan to open a Tokyo outpost of the famed Parisian wine bar. The spirit…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
