Hi guys
I’m leaving for Tokyo in November and since I’m going alone, I’m making up a list of bars that could be fun to go to by myself. As in, the music is good and there is a possibility to strike up a conversation with other people (in English but not necessarily with other tourists/foreigners).
These are bars that I’ve found in other topics that might meet those criteria. Most of them are rock bars since I like rock/metal/jazz and people from those scenes are often pretty social.
* Rock Bar Mother (heard great things about the music but might be too loud to meet people)
* GODZ
* PSY
* Meguro Rockmaykan
* Shimokitazawa Basement Bar
* Rockaholic Shibuya
* From dusk till dawn Shinjuku
* Bar Half Moon
* Bonjour Tokyo Bar (French bar with French owner)
* Garage pub
If there are any that I am missing, please tell me! They don’t have to be rock bars but I’m not really looking for ‘clubs’ or places to get totally wasted. I also know there are places like the Irish pubs and The Hub but they seem to have high concentrations of tourists, which I’m not really looking for.
I’ve also excluded the more ‘speakeasy’ bars (such as Sg, Bar Trench, Bar Tram, Mixology Salon, memento mori, … ) since I assume they offer less in terms of social contact and music. These might be worth visiting on my own if I just want to enjoy a good cocktail though. Unless I am mistaken and there are good jazz bars that I definitely should include?
I haven’t had the time to delve into the Kyoto scene so any advice on that front would also be very handy!
Cheers
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4 comments
Nokishita711 in Kyoto is run by a hilarious and talented dude with a real passion for gin. Every evening I’ve gone has been fun, with a good mix of locals and foreigners.
I was so going to say rock bar mother. It’s hard to find but worth it
So I live in Tokyo, people criticize the hub but actually I think the reputation has gone too far, to the point where it’s inaccurate. Even the ones around Shibuya are usually filled with majority Japanese customers whenever I go. The popular rock bars like godz on the other hand are actually full of tourists.
Also day of the week really matters. My American friend is visiting Shibuya where I live, I was trying to show him around some bars last night (Tuesday around 8 pm) and they were all dead. Same bars on a Friday night would be standing room only and full of Japanese office workers drinking after work. Obviously on quieter days places will have a higher % of tourists since their going out schedule doesn’t have to match weekday + weekend.
Places like bar trench, it’s not impossible to socialize with people (I’ve actually made drinking buddies at even nicer cocktail bars like Star Bar in Ginza) as long as there’s bar counter seating that’s conducive to conversation. If you get seated at a table, it’ll be tough since these aren’t places where you can easily mingle with people at other tables.
Beatlemomo kyoto is a bar run by a sweet married couple. Momo has over 6,000 vinyls in his collection to pick and choose from. He takes requests and the drinks are very reasonably priced. Small place with a great atmosphere.