A Drinker’s Guide to Drinking in Tokyo

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My attempts to live a sober and virtuous life are thwarted on an almost daily basis by the curse of a near-constant, and close-to-unquenchable, thirst. Upon waking I find that thorough and repeated dousing of my esophagus with strong black coffee provides temporary alleviation, but by too many a mid-afternoon I am forced to accept, that only ice-cold lager beer, ideally served frothy in a glass of undisclosed capacity, is capable of providing the relief I seek.

And so, once again abandoning my healthy ambitions, and with all my faulty connections buzzing, I take to the streets of Tokyo to seek succor amidst the 847 square miles of the world’s biggest and most bewildering metropolitan booze-up.

A Note on Food and Drink

Depending on where (and when) in the world you come from, you may find the Japanese notion that (alcoholic) drink and (actual, cooked) food go together, to be as straightforwardly sensible as the national insistence that clean floors and dirty shoes do not (a belief that was wholeheartedly shared by my mum, and, in all likelihood, yours).

Initially baffling to this British survivor of the pre-gastropub era, the near-ubiquitous pastime of drinking and eating semi-simultaneously, has shaped the culture and hospitality landscape of Japan. Lines between what may be regarded as a pub or restaurant, café or bar, are often, appropriately enough, quite fluid, but, like its author, this article will remain focused on drink and where (next) to obtain it.

Below is a far-from-complete list of some of the most common options, with a few examples of establishments where I have personally helped to empty the barrels and would gladly do it again.

Where to Drink

From bars and izakaya to British pubs, Tokyo offers a wide variety of drinking spots. As mentioned, I’ve personally tried most of them. Here are my recommendations.

Izakaya

From Showa-era relics with greasy chipboard counters, luminous flashcard menus and crate-based seating plans, to modern pleasure-palaces where subdued lighting and polished wood twinkle in time to tastefully jazzy BGM, the izakaya is the nonpareil drinking venue for the folks of this great drinking (and eating) nation.

Pairing comprehensive, but usually unpretentious, drinks selections, with shareable plates that range from comfort-food simplicity to fancier fusion experiments (depending on the place), the izakaya, in its lantern-lit loveliness, is the answer to the question “where shall we go?”

What to Know 

Izakaya offer small servings of food to share as you drink and relax. Customers are free to order both food and drink as they choose, but most izakaya will expect a minimum order of one drink and one dish per person. It is very common to be charged a small table-fee (usually between 300 yen to 500 yen per person), for which the customer will receive an otoshi — a small introductory bowl or plate of food.

Where to Go

The side-streets between Yurakucho and Shinbashi offer an embarrassment of lively places to eat, drink and be merry. Beneath the elevated railway, one particularly convivial tunnel echoes with the sound of laughter and chat from both sides of the tracks, as patrons unwind at facing izakaya, Motsuyaki Fuji and Motsuyaki Ton Ton.

These period-piece boozers, which are perhaps not for everybody, offer a rough and ready, raucous and smoky taste of a less buttoned-up Tokyo life, which seems, sadly, to be fading somewhat as the mid-21st century approaches. Similarly rowdy and retro enclaves can be found in Koenji, Ueno, Asakusa, and dotted across other less glossy corners of the city.

Chain izakaya of every kind can be found located on almost any Tokyo street, with yakitori barons Torikizoku offering a particularly affordable experience at over 150 of their identikit hostelries.

British And Irish Pubs

Although none provide the jukebox singalongs and closing-time punch-ups that a cheerfully wasted youth in the UK of the 90s had led me to see as standard (pitching-happily-in with the former and running a mile from the latter), Tokyo offers a selection of British and Irish pubs that vary wildly in both quality and verisimilitude. The better, usually independently-run, efforts, can provide the weary western drinker with a timely reminder of homely hospitality, while larger chains (as well as a few oddball independents, you’ll know them if you find them!) offer a fun-if-you-want-it-to-be experience that is about as authentic as a Dolex timepiece.

What to Know

Prices for beer are usually around the 1,000 yen a pint mark, with some places charging considerably higher. Many offer Happy Hours, and almost uniquely, there is no danger (in my fairly extensive experience) of a table-fee. Most will offer versions of old classics like fish and chips or sausages and mash.

Where to Go

Curious? Here are some of my favorites.

The Warrior Celt in Ueno

Situated up more flights of stairs than a man of my age would care to climb if there wasn’t a pint waiting at the top, is the delightfully well-worn and unfussy Warrior Celt, a cosy 90s survivor with an earth-toned interior and fixtures that bring to mind the humble-but-homely ambience of Van Gogh’s Potato Eaters. The staff and patrons are friendly, and there’s a wide choice of craft beers, both on-tap and in amusingly illustrated cans. There is also a fun, free and frequent roster of live music performed on what may be the capital’s smallest stage.

An Sólás in Yoyogi

Located down an unpromising Yoyogi side-street, An Sólás, is a compact urban oasis with a welcoming atmosphere and a well-earned reputation for excellence when it comes to operation of the Guinness pump. The pub’s position on the ground (first) floor, something of a rarity in space-poor Tokyo, lends the atmosphere an extra drop of authenticity, as well as presenting punters with the chance, weather permitting, to perch at the outside table and enjoy an alfresco pint. Helpfully early opening times, and live music also add to the appeal.

Tachinomiya and Stand Bars

If you don’t have time to sit while you drink, or just enjoy the camaraderie of wetting your whistle shoulder-to-shoulder with similarly parched city-dwellers, the capital offers a hard-to-pass-by selection of pop-in drinking spots.

Usually found at street level, tachinomiya serve as unseated versions of izakaya, while stand or standing bars (somewhat confusingly, not always devoid of chairs) offer a close-quarters western style drinking experience that is often more readily sociable than potentially po-faced proper bars.

What to Know

Both tachinomiya and stand bars may charge a table-fee comparable to an izakaya. Tachinomiya will usually serve izakaya-adjacent hot food, while, stand bars may offer, variously, dried snacks or fancier deli-style dishes.

Where to Go

Don’t worry, I also have some good tips for you regarding tachinomiya and stand bars.

Pilsen Alley in Ginza

To first-time visitors, Pilsen Alley’s system that allows refreshment-seekers, after studying the appropriate diagrams, the chance to select the exact volume and density of the froth atop their Czech or Japanese beer, may seem convoluted or even absurd. Perhaps there is an element of theater in the seriousness with which this possibly — never-before-considered matter is taken, but there can be no arguing with the results. I believe there is no beer more thirst-quenching, palate-pleasing or professionally poured than the ones served by the friendly and fastidious barkeep of this tiny buffet-car sized bar.

Vivo Daily Stand Throughout Tokyo

Emanating, in under two decades, from a single Nakano store, Vivo Daily Stand’s metropolitan empire now stretches to 33 locations, with one in almost every corner of the capital. Each pint-sized satellite recreates the amiable, and distinctly European atmosphere of the original, forming a citywide network of convivial local hubs where drinking, eating and easy-interaction are combined in enjoyably everyday style.

Bars

I spent a lot of my 20s, 30s, and even my early 40s, ‘discovering’ bars in Tokyo. Some of them were very good, and if I could remember where they were I would tell you. Now approaching my half-century, my still-persistent thirst is (with the exception of my recommendation below — a longterm home-from-home) more agreeably sated in the laid-back and early-to-bed environs of a local izakaya, or cheerfully familiar pub; in short, I am still a drunk, but now I am old.

For those, however, who have a bit more spark left in them than this tired dog, the capital still offers a lifetime-and-then-some supply of late nights to be spent in the upstairs, downstairs and dark-alley bars, that are waiting to cater to every taste. Some echo with the laughter of fun and friendly people, some are near-silent against a strained air of faux-luxury and single-malt boredom, and many are filled with people who just missed their last train home.

What to Know

Bars in Tokyo will almost certainly charge a table-fee, with many being considerably higher than those of izakaya. Up to around ¥1,000 is normal, but nowhere near the maximum. Beware of late-night drinking spots with suspiciously opaque pricing systems, and do not follow the street touts who wish to lead you to them.

Where to Go

Here is one of my favorite hotspots when it comes to bars in Tokyo.

Gorilla Bar in Shin-Nakano

Evoking the slightly heady air of a mid-20th century tropical resort, and helmed by two of Tokyo’s kindest and most knowledgeable gents, settling into Gorilla Bar feels like turning your face toward a calming breeze. Imaginative homemade infusions, and seasonal cocktail menus that are as carefully curated as the always-excellent music (a dreamy mix that often tends toward exotica and sunshine-pop), add to the cheerfully cultured and restorative atmosphere of this longstanding Nakano institution.

Hotel Bars

Perhaps you are a distinguished exiled writer dressed in a distinctively shabby, but not inelegant, overcoat. Or a person of international mystery, tightly clutching an attaché case that bulges with highly sensitive info. Perhaps you are a tired-but-tenacious world traveler whose usually business-focused brain now buzzes with romantic notions about the city you will barely see. It’s probably very unlikely, but perhaps you are Bill Murray or Scarlett Johansson. Even if, worst luck, you are none of these glamorous figures, and Tokyo’s hotel bars are perhaps not your natural habitat, they are still fascinating, and often luxurious places to quench your thirst while watching the world as it takes a brief pause from going by.

What To Know

Many Tokyo hotels have bars that are available for the use of non-residents. Prices for drinks are generally quite high, with, depending on the venue, beers priced between ¥1,200 and ¥2,000, and cocktails that may cost as much as ¥4,000. Service charges are a near-ubiquitous feature and are not always included in the menu price. Table-charges are less common, but some places may apply them during busy periods. Unless (lucky you!) money is no object, It is highly advisable to check details before you pay a visit.

Where To Go

Wondering which of the numerous hotel bars you should try? Here’s our tip:

The Oak Door in Grand Hyatt Tokyo in Roppongi

After making your way through the nerve-steadying serenity of the Grand Hyatt Tokyo lobby and leaving the bustle of Roppongi and Azabu behind you, a short elevator trip will lead you toward the pleasantly low-key hubbub of The Oak Door restaurant and bar. Seated in a gentle golden glow around the island counter, surrounded on all sides by polished wood and intriguing bottles, and attended by staff who have the hard-to-master knack of being friendly and polite in just the right ratios, it’s easy to feel that, just for a moment, all’s right with the world. Sipping at the hotel’s playful, but perfectly-judged, alternate-takes on classic cocktails, or one of their inventive seasonal specials, time passes like a particularly comforting, but not-inexpensive, dream. Although I am more commonly found in equally charming, but somewhat less rarified, environments, I am a sucker for The Oak Door’s quietly and confidently delivered taste of luxury. I’m by no means a regular, but if Voyapon could be persuaded to up its rates, I would delight in becoming one.

Where Else

There are other places to seek refreshment of course. In intimate and homely ‘snack’ bars, customers needs are anticipated and accommodated by the benevolently authoritative administrations of an overseeing ‘Mama-san.’ Drinkers without a local connection, however, may find that they are not automatically welcomed into these charming, if outmoded and potentially insular, nightspots.

Even less recommended are ‘girls’ bars, and ‘host’ or ‘hostess’ clubs; cynical and exploitative enterprises where the genuine human need for connection (and work) is twisted into a glitzy-but-grubby cash-grab.

When all else fails, or has already succeeded and it’s time to go home, how about a nightcap from a not-too-exclusive hangout with 24 hour opening times, a perfectly-chilled drinks selection and pocket-money prices? After carefully checking local ordinance to ensure you are not in violation of any of Tokyo’s recent and rapidly-passed regulations against outside drinking (just as you can be sure I do), why not pop in to the konbini (convenience store) before cracking open a can, soaking up the stars, the streetlights, and the disapproving glances, and enjoying the people’s pub, the pub of the great outdoors. Kanpai!

Here are a few other spots that might tickle your fancy when it comes to drinking in Tokyo:

Bars: Light Factory in Higashi Nagaski.

Izakaya: Dachibin in Koenji.

Hotel Bars: Peter: The Bar in Peninsula Tokyo, Rooftop Bar at Andaz Tokyo Toranomon Hills, Nineteen Eighty Bar at Hyatt Regency Tokyo

British and Irish bars: Laser Rush in Yokohama, Abbot’s Choice in Shinjuku and Roppongi, and Man in the Moon in Shimbashi.

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