Imagine returning to your hotel after a long day exploring Tokyo, pouring yourself a cup of Japanese sake and heading upstairs to an open-air footbath overlooking Tokyo Skytree. At SAKE Bar Hotel Asakusa, that experience is part of the accommodation. This small boutique hotel in Tokyo’s historic Asakusa district takes a different approach to hospitality. … Read more
Tokyo has no shortage of places to enjoy Japanese beer, from tiny standing bars beneath railway tracks to traditional drinking halls where office workers gather after work. But a new venue in Ginza is taking a different approach. YEBISU BEER HALL TOKYO, scheduled to open on 27 October 2026, brings together more than a century … Read more
A few minutes from the noise and neon of central Shibuya, an ordinary-looking door opens into a very different kind of Tokyo nightlife experience. Behind it is Onn. Good Track Lounge, a stylish music-focused bar where vintage speakers, vinyl records, inventive cocktails and a substantial wine collection take centre stage. Opened in June 2026, ONN … Read more
Ordering drinks in Japan is much easier than it can seem before your first visit. You don’t need to speak fluent Japanese or memorise complicated sentences. In most bars, restaurants and izakayas, a few simple phrases — combined with pointing at the menu when needed — are enough to order confidently. If you only learn … Read more
Tokyo has a reputation for expensive cocktails and tiny bars with mysterious cover charges, but drinking in the city doesn’t have to be expensive. Some of the easiest ways to find cheap drinks in Tokyo are surprisingly simple: standing bars, casual izakaya chains, yakitori restaurants, early-evening drinking spots and neighbourhoods where you can combine inexpensive … Read more
Tokyo doesn’t shut down when the last trains leave. The city certainly becomes quieter after midnight, and plenty of bars close before 2am. But in the major nightlife districts, particularly Shinjuku, Shibuya and Roppongi, there are still places serving drinks well into the early morning. The important part is knowing where to go. After 2am … Read more
Tokyo looks completely different after dark. From street level, the city can feel almost overwhelming, with crowded crossings, narrow restaurant streets and railway lines disappearing between enormous buildings. Travel a few dozen floors above it, however, and those same streets become part of an extraordinary landscape of lights. A drink overlooking Tokyo Tower is a … Read more
Tokyo does luxury drinking differently. In Ginza, some of the world’s most respected bartenders work behind understated counters, preparing cocktails with a level of care usually associated with fine dining. Elsewhere, five-star hotels offer spectacular views, rare spirits and beautifully designed rooms where the setting is as memorable as the drinks. The most expensive bar … Read more
Tokyo has no shortage of excellent bars. What makes the city particularly interesting, though, is how different one drinking experience can be from the next. You could order a cocktail inspired by your favourite film, settle into a historic Ginza bar once frequented by Japanese writers, or spend an evening listening to carefully selected vinyl … Read more
Tokyo has one of the world’s most fascinating jazz scenes, but discovering it isn’t always as straightforward as finding a bar with a saxophone on the sign. Some of the city’s finest performances happen in small basement rooms where the musicians are only a few feet from the audience. Elsewhere, internationally celebrated artists play elegant … Read more