Stylish cocktail bars
Open 11am-10:30pm daily.
Enjoy chic cocktails in a bamboo grove high in the sky at the Park Hyatt's internationally famous bar and lounge. They also serve afternoon tea, desserts and light snacks. Cocktails start at around...
Open 11am-10:30pm daily.
Open 5pm-midnight (Thu-Sat -1am) daily.
Perched on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt hotel, the New York Bar makes good on its promise to offer the best view of Tokyo. The interior is a sleek haven of glass and dark wood enlivened by two...
Open 5pm-midnight (Thu-Sat -1am) daily.
Open 6pm-2am daily.
This elegant, very relaxed bar features gigantic fishtanks filled with exotic tropical fish from Okinawa and environs. The menu includes tasty original cocktails and light food items. There's a...
Open 6pm-2am daily.
Open 11:30am-2am daily.
Attached to the Two Rooms Grill, the bar and lounge area offers cocktails and a wide choice of wines from around the world in a lovely setting, with a big outdoor terrace looking out over Harajuku...
Open 11:30am-2am daily.
Open 6pm-1am. Closed Sundays, Mondays.
If the walls of Radio Bar could talk, they'd sing like Chet Baker and laugh like Marlene Dietrich. The indigo interior combines elements of traditional Japanese design with Art Deco ornamentation,...
Open 6pm-1am. Closed Sundays, Mondays.
Open 6pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
This stylishly retro watering hole in Shibuya serves original cocktails crafted with precision and panache. Bartender Shinobu Ishigaki has a winning way with unusual flavor combinations and mixes...
Open 6pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
Open 6pm-2am daily.
Trench offers an intriguing menu of signature cocktails and "twisted classics," and they also stock a huge assortment of liquor and liqueurs if you want to branch out on your own. The interior space...
Open 6pm-2am daily.
Bar Rage - Bar: Nishi-Azabu
Open 6pm-midnight daily.
Fancy fresh-fruit martinis are all the rage here, and owner Tomoyuki Kitazoe makes his own herbal and fruit syrups to use in them. The bar itself, located at the Nishi-Azabu end of Kotto-dori, is...
Open 6pm-midnight daily.
Open 6pm-1am. Closed Sundays.
Adventurous cocktails are the draw at this stylish basement bar in Nishi-Azabu, accompanied by a decent menu of Thai-inspired snacks. Mellow sixties-era jazz plays on the sound system, the lighting...
Open 6pm-1am. Closed Sundays.
Open 2:30pm-midnight daily.
Nestled in overstuffed chairs with pillows covered in candy-colored pastel silk, visitors can enjoy spectacular views while listening to live Bossa Nova from 2:30-midnight. Arrive on the early side...
Open 2:30pm-midnight daily.
Open 11am-3, 5-10pm (LO) daily.
New York's Union Square Cafe has been a popular gourmet hot spot since the mid-1980s, and the Tokyo sister shop captures much of the energy and excitement of the original. The food is typical...
Open 11am-3, 5-10pm (LO) daily.
Open 6pm-2am (Sat 5-11). Closed Sundays.
Codename Mixology serves inventive, wonderfully oddball drinks, and just might be our favorite cocktail bar in Tokyo. The bartenders make use of fresh herbs, seasonal fruits and vegetables, artisanal...
Open 6pm-2am (Sat 5-11). Closed Sundays.
Open 9am-midnight daily.
Located in the lobby of the Conrad Hotel, TwentyEight is an oasis of muted monochromes with discrete edges. Dusk is arguably the best time to visit; calm settles over the space as the sunlight fades...
Open 9am-midnight daily.
Open 5pm-midnight daily.
Patrons lounge on pod-shaped seats beneath polished chrome trees, while ambient electronic music mingles with the soft glow of lavender neon from behind the black marble bar. Friendly service and...
Open 5pm-midnight daily.
High Five - Bar: Ginza
Open 6pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
Artisanal cocktails made from fresh seasonal fruits are a specialty at this ambitious bar, and their pina coladas and Singapore slings are quite impressive, although perhaps a bit pricier than...
Open 6pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
Open 11:30am-midnight daily.
Sumptuous is the word for the Mandarin Bar at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Nihonbashi. The interior by Ryu Kosaka, with richly tactile accents by textile designer Reiko Sudo, is chic and inviting,...
Open 11:30am-midnight daily.
Open 8am-midnight. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays.
Japanese and Norwegian craft beers and artisanal cocktails are served at this very stylish Norwegian bar - the main branch is in Oslo. During the day they offer serious espresso beverages and tea,...
Open 8am-midnight. Closed Mondays, Tuesdays.
Open 7am-11pm daily.
Located on the third floor of the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, Arriviamo is a very pleasant place to stop in for a cocktail or two. The decor is stylish (the building was designed by architect Kengo...
Open 7am-11pm daily.
Comfortable hangouts
Open 11:30am-2:30, 5pm-4am (LO) daily.
This simple but stylish Italian cafe-restaurant turns into a relaxed late-night neighborhood bar after 11pm (Tuesday through Saturday nights), with reasonably priced wines and cocktails. Budget...
Open 11:30am-2:30, 5pm-4am (LO) daily.
Open 8pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
A quiet neighborhood spot with an impressive collection of jazz and soul music on vinyl, for your listening pleasure. There's a Y500 cover charge.
Open 8pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
Open 5pm-midnight. Closed Sundays and holidays.
Our favorite dive bar in Asakusabashi, Choi Standing Bar has cheap drinks, cheap snacks, and a very local crowd of regulars - people who actually live in this area. Beers start at Y300, wines are...
Open 5pm-midnight. Closed Sundays and holidays.
Open 2pm-5am daily.
The decor here is all earth tones, raw concrete and slabs of wood, with a big tree sitting right in the middle of the floor. Music ranges from reggae to laid-back rock, and the atmosphere is totally...
Open 2pm-5am daily.
Open 6:30pm-3am daily.
A casual bar/ cafe/ restaurant with a very varied but always appealing izakaya-style menu, with dishes like beef cheeks stewed in beer, Vietnamese spring rolls, and a lavishly constructed Salad...
Open 6:30pm-3am daily.
Open 7pm-1am. Closed Tuesdays.
While gumbo, jazz, and soul music make likely partners in certain parts of the world - namely, New Orleans - the combination seems somewhat bizarre in Tokyo. Oddly enough, the bar's okra-thickened...
Open 7pm-1am. Closed Tuesdays.
Unique Tokyo spots
Open 11am-11pm daily.
This unusual cafe-bar sits in the courtyard of a very bohemian art-gallery space called Tokyo Design Festa. There's a small indoor section where you stand around overturned barrel-tables, and an...
Open 11am-11pm daily.
Open 8pm-1am. Closed Sundays.
This comfortable sofa-furnished lounge attracts a Japanese hipster crowd and features jazzy DJs and occasional live performances; there's also a tiny art gallery and chill space upstairs. The hidden...
Open 8pm-1am. Closed Sundays.
Open 8pm-4am. Closed Mondays, some Sunday.
If you're thirsty for a cachaca cocktail in the wee hours of the night, follow the circle-stamped road past Mark City to Blen Blen Blen. This bone fide Brazilian bar, tucked into a faded white...
Open 8pm-4am. Closed Mondays, some Sunday.
Open 11:30am-2am daily.
Located in a charmingly old-fashioned wooden building, Quien Quiera is a cafe until 6pm and a well-stocked cocktail bar after that. In addition to the cozy bar area there are semi-private booths...
Open 11:30am-2am daily.
Open 4pm-midnight daily.
Innovative, thoughtfully designed original cocktails are the hallmark of the Mixology group of bars, and this tiny branch in the stylish Hibiya Okuroji corridor is no exception. The folks at...
Open 4pm-midnight daily.
Open 6pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
It's like a party in a chemistry lab every night at Science Bar Incubator. Drinks are served in beakers and erlenmeyer flasks, food is heated on wire-mesh stands over alcohol lamps, and customers...
Open 6pm-2am. Closed Sundays.
Open 7pm-midnight. Closed Sundays.
This tiny second-floor bar has a Buddhist theme - the name in Japanese is "bouzu", or Buddhist priest - with a little shrine in one corner and bartenders dressed in appropriate priestly garb. Drinks...
Open 7pm-midnight. Closed Sundays.
Open 11:30am-2:30, 5pm-12:30am (LO) daily.
Probably best known in Tokyo for their popular Y6,600 "Champagne Brunch" on Sundays, featuring all the sparkling wine you can drink, Trader Vic's is also has a decent selection of rum at the bar. ...
Open 11:30am-2:30, 5pm-12:30am (LO) daily.
Open 2-11pm daily.
Low Non Bar is a fancy mocktail bar that serves original, very inventive cocktails containing either no booze or very little - hence the name. Despite the absence of alcohol, these are serious Tokyo...
Open 2-11pm daily.
Open 11:30am-10pm. Closed Tuesdays.
Founded in 1880, this historic bar is best known as the originator of Denki Bran ("electric brandy"), a strangely compelling, rather sweet brandy-like liquor that's used in a variety of cocktails...
Open 11:30am-10pm. Closed Tuesdays.
Open 8pm-8am daily.
This tiny, ramshackle hole-in-the-wall is a late-night Shimo-Kitazawa legend, going strong since 1974. The space behind the bar is filled with mountains of CDs and shelves of vinyl (many of them 70s...
Open 8pm-8am daily.
Open 7pm-4am. Closed Sun, 1st and 3rd Mon.
It's an early-sixties swinging bachelor pad, with charmingly kitsch decor and a nice collection of vinyl R and B spun on their old-fashioned record player. Drinks are reasonable, and there's a small...
Open 7pm-4am. Closed Sun, 1st and 3rd Mon.
Casual after-work drinks
Open 11am-10:50pm (LO) daily.
This self-consciously casual drinking spot offers a wide food menu - everything from Okinawan pork stews and stir-fries to udon noodles carbonara and brown-sugar creme brulee.
Open 11am-10:50pm (LO) daily.
Open 11am-10pm (LO; Sun -9pm) daily.
This bustling dining bar is a fun destination for drinks with friends or group outings of any size. They offer freshly brewed beers, inventive original cocktails, appetizing food and friendly...
Open 11am-10pm (LO; Sun -9pm) daily.
Open 5pm-12:30am. Closed Sundays.
Perhaps this isn't the narrowest bar in Tokyo, but it's certainly the narrowest bar offering such an impressive class of craft beers, both domestic and imported. Cleverly, the tiny space is...
Open 5pm-12:30am. Closed Sundays.
Open 11am-3:15am (LO) daily.
This popular after-work drinking spot offers very affordable prices - you can enjoy a couple of drinks and snacks here for under Y2000. Deep-fried kushiage skewers start at around Y140, and you can...
Open 11am-3:15am (LO) daily.
Open 7-11:30pm (LO). Closed weekends.
The atmosphere is relaxed and the staff are friendly at this small, well-hidden drinking spot. They specialize in shochu and appropriate snacks - Kyoto-style pickles, Korean chijimi pancakes and uni...
Open 7-11:30pm (LO). Closed weekends.
Jazz bars, cafes
Open noon-midnight daily.
An old-fashioned "jazz kissa" where you can nurse your drink and nod your head to the music for hours on end. They also host live sessions on weekends, and sometimes on weeknights as well.
Open noon-midnight daily.
Open 6pm-1am daily.
Thousands of maneki neko (good-luck cat statues) fill the interior of this spacious cafe-bar, along with signed covers of jazz albums and underground theater posters. There's a counter and several...
Open 6pm-1am daily.
Open 5-11pm. Closed Sundays.
The bustling Kabukicho neighborhood may seem like a strange place for a jazz kissa, but Narcis is a great spot for listening to quiet jazz, and their stylish interior design is reminiscent of old...
Open 5-11pm. Closed Sundays.
Open 2-11pm daily.
The initials stand for Jazz Blues Soul, but the huge, 11,000-disk vinyl collection here also includes an impressive selection of old-school hiphop from the seventies through the nineties. Customers...
Open 2-11pm daily.
Open 11:30am-midnight. Closed Sundays and holidays.
Boasting a big collection of vinyl, an impressive sound system and humongous JBL speakers, Eagle has a certain old-school jazz-kissaten charm, as long as you don't mind the cigarette smoke. In the...
Open 11:30am-midnight. Closed Sundays and holidays.
Open 11am-5, 7-11pm. Closed Sun, 1st, 3rd Sat.
With its bright yellow door and sunny, brasserie-like interior, Big Boy has an atmosphere that's the complete opposite of old-fashioned jazz kissas. The management plays jazz both new and old, and...
Open 11am-5, 7-11pm. Closed Sun, 1st, 3rd Sat.
Open 3-11:30pm. Closed Sundays.
This cozy cafe bar is furnished with European and Japanese antiques and heavy-duty lights used for shooting movies; the ambience seems almost like that of a private detective's office in a Raymond...
Open 3-11:30pm. Closed Sundays.
Open 8pm-3am daily.
This tiny basement bar hosts live performances from local jazz musicians a few evenings a week, and plays a wide assortment of jazz CDs and videos the rest of the time.
Open 8pm-3am daily.
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