Tokyo excels at all things nocturnal. As the sun disappears behind the skyscrapers and office workers pour into the streets, the futuristic urban landscape lights up in a show of neon – and another side of the city swings into focus. Perhaps best of all? The eclectic array of after-dark experiences on offer – from super sleek cocktail bars at the apex of skyscrapers and high-end mixologists right down to the tiny backstreet local bars with just a handful of beer crates as chairs.
For further Tokyo inspiration, see our guides to the city's best hotels, restaurants, budget restaurants, shopping, things to do and things to do for free.
Find a bar by area
Azabu-Juban
Gen Yamamoto
Japan’s culinary creativity is not confined to food, as is reflected by the contents of Gen Yamamoto’s cocktail glasses at his eponymously named bar. This intimate space – it seats only eight people around a counter – showcases one of Tokyo’s most respected new generation cocktail craftsmen performing the modern-day cocktail equivalent of a tea ceremony. Yamamoto offers a bespoke and ever-changing cocktail tasting menu of four or six drinks, which, in keeping with many traditional Japanese arts, reflects shiki, the seasons. And so ingredients might range from edamame beans from mountainous Niigata to pineapples from sun-kissed Okinawa.
Contact: genyamamoto.jp
Price: £££
Getting in: Reservations recommended
Roppongi
The Ritz-Carlton Lobby Lounge & Bar
Any trip to Tokyo should involve at least one perfectly formed cocktail consumed in a skyscraper bar while watching the sparkling night views over an endlessly sprawling Tokyo. There are few loftier locations than the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo, which occupies the top floors of one of the city's tallest skyscrapers. Settle in at the extremely plush 45th-floor Lobby Lounge & Bar. It serves one of the world’s most expensive cocktails – the decadent two million yen (£13,564) Diamond is Forever Martini, complete with a one-carat diamond submerged in vodka and a splash of lime juice. Those with slightly less deep pockets can cheer themselves up with an array of original cocktails, including Akane Royale, a heady mix of Japanese mugwort-infused vanilla vodka, Champagne, blueberry and raspberry liquor. A sake tasting set is also on offer, served in traditional hand-cut Edo-Kiriko glasses.
Contact: ritzcarlton.com
Price: £££
Getting in: Reservations recommended. Dress code casual elegance
Toranomon
Rooftop Bar, Andaz Tokyo
Fancy a cocktail with a view? The Rooftop Bar at the Andaz Tokyo is a good spot to indulge. The 52nd-floor bar has a terrace area beneath a high-vaulted glass ceiling and views across a nocturnal metropolis. Try to reserve a sofa seat near the window. It has an expansive list of Japanese-inspired cocktails, many using seasonal fruits, teas and sake. Highlights include the Personal Collins (with green tea matcha alongside Chivas Regal 12). To make an evening of it, book a sushi meal in its serene tearoom-like space.
Contact: tokyo.andaz.hyatt.com
Price: £££
Getting in: Reservations recommended
Tomigaya
Fuglen
Hidden on a quiet backstreet not far from Yoyogi Park is the Tokyo outpost of cult Norwegian coffee shop and cocktail bar Fuglen. The interior is filled with rich woods and mid-century vintage Norwegian design pieces, from the retro-style seating and hanging glass lighting down to the ceramics and spoons. Luckily for visitors, you can buy most the products on display (yes, even the tables and sofas). A popular craft coffee spot by day, Fuglen transforms into hipster cocktail heaven after dark, courtesy of a menu devised by cult Oslo mixologist Halvor Digernes. A favourite? The elegantly warming Ginger Daiquiri.
Contact: fuglen.no
Price: ££
Getting in: No reservations
Ginza
Bar High Five
One standout cocktail bar among the dozens of tiny hidden old school gems in the Ginza district is Bar High Five. It's run by Hidetsugu Ueno, a legendary cocktail maestro, whose Singapore Slings and classic dry martinis are the stuff of legend. It’s home to an expansive whisky selection as well as a long list of both classic and contemporary Japanese cocktails, from Full Bloom (with J’s Whisky, Midori and green tea liqueur) to Bamboo Cocktail (sherry, dry vermouth and orange bitters). Drinks are complemented by one of the few food items on the menu: a homemade Japanese jamon.
Contact: barhighfive.com
Price: ££
Getting in: No reservations
PUNCH ROOM at The Tokyo EDITION
For a taste of decadence, head to the Kengo Kuma-designed Tokyo EDITION in Ginza – waft past the diaphanous entry curtains, up the contemporary white scissor staircase and get settled in the PUNCH ROOM. Here, in an intimately designed space, which hovers somewhere between vintage gentleman’s club and hipster hangout (picture lattice wood panelling, super-long Chesterfields, electric blue sofas and lantern-style lighting) take your pick from a deliciously imaginative medley of punches, all served in silver bowls with traditional ladles. A recent highlight from the colourful menu? The Kappa & Yuzu punch, a heady mix of Doburoku, tequila, cucumber, vanilla tea and wood.
Contact: editionhotels.com/tokyo-ginza
Price: £££
Getting in: Reservations recommended
Omotesando
Montoak
Surrounded by architect-designed fashion flagships on Omotesando, an elegant Zelkova tree-lined boulevard and luxury shopping hub, is Montoak. Providing the perfect place to stop and refuel after indulging in some local retail therapy, Montoak spans three dimly lit contemporary floors, one of which leads out on to a terrace overlooking Omotesando – a good spot for some after-dark people watching over a nightcap. Highlights on its drinks menu include its Montoak Champagne Cocktail range plus its fruity Raspberry mojito. An expansive and fairly reasonably priced dinner menu (from sea urchin pizza to loster bisque) is also available.
Contact: montoak.com
Price: ££
Two Rooms
On balmy evenings, there is one perfect spot for an evening cocktail: the roof terrace at Two Rooms, on the fifth floor of the shiny Ao shopping complex in Aoyama. The terrace – complete with comfy sofas and views over the low-rise rooftops and lanes trailing off Omotesando – is the icing on the cake. It’s also home to a high-end grill restaurant with a sleek dark wood contemporary interior, an impressively expansive wine list and a popular brunch menu. After dark, settle into a cosy terrace seat and indulge in one of their delicious yuzu mojitos.
Contact: tworooms.jp
Price: ££
Getting in: Reservations recommended
Shibuya
Bar Piano
Forget the neon towers and packed crossings of Shibuya – another side of this lively district swings into focus on a small narrow lane just minutes from Shibuya station known as Nonbei Yokocho (loosely translated as Drunken Alley). Here, there are rows of ramshackle bars as tiny as they are atmospheric (many seating just four or five people). One of the most eye-catching is Bar Piano: behind an intricate wooden door, a near-vertical staircase leads to a jewellery-box space, decadently decorated with red velvet, chandeliers, paintings and stuffed animal heads.
Address: 1-25-10 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Contact: 00 81 3 5467 0258
Opening times: Normally daily, 8pm-2.30am/3am but can vary (best to call ahead)
Price: £
Getting in: Worth reserving in advance as it’s so tiny
Goodbeer Faucets
Tap into Tokyo’s increasingly fashionable craft-beer scene with a trip to Goodbeer Faucets, a 10-minute stroll from Shibuya station. The first-floor bar may be unremarkably modern at first glance but the beer menu more than compensates for this. There are 40-plus taps of draft, real ale and countless microbrewery beers, mainly from Japan and the US. Among its popular house beers are the fruity Monster C IPA, the dry Cream Lager and a sweet Redneck Amber Ale. One popular choice is the light and zesty GBF Yuzu Dream – infused with the Japanese citrus fruit yuzu.
Contact: goodbeerfaucets.jp
Price: £
Nakameguro
Cabin Nakameguro
Cabin is a fitting name for this small bar, located along a quiet stretch of cherry-tree-lined Meguro River in the hipster Nakameguro neighbourhood. Metal animal heads, moody lighting and expanses of wood create an ambience as edgy as its cocktail menu. Fusing cocktail craftsmanship with Japanese ingredients, the menu ranges from juleps made with whisky, mint and sugar mixed with Japanese green tea matcha powder (as used in a tea ceremony) to – a favourite – bacon Bloody Mary, a perfect fusion of Japanese tomato juice balanced with salty bacon, celery and lemon.
Contact: cabintokyo.com
Price: ££
Getting in: It’s small so reservations recommended
Yanaka
Yanaka Beer Hall
There are few more atmospheric places to enjoy an authentic Japanese craft beer than Yanaka Beer Hall. Set on a tiny lane in the eastern Yanaka district, the beer hall is located in a network of renovated wooden houses dating back to the 1930s. The ground-floor beer hall has a vintage-style interior, with poster-covered walls and a raft of craft beers on tap (including August, White and IPA). A tasting set of four beers is available, plus a range of hot and cold sakes. The tasty snack menu includes smoked cheese, beer-steamed clams and hot pots.
Contact: instagram.com/yanakabeerhall
Price: £
Reservations: No reservations
Ebisu
Buri
Both stylish and lively, Buri is a small standing bar (known as tachinomi in Japanese) on a street not far from Ebisu station. Specialising in sake from across Japan, the contemporary bar is a popular post-work spot among young Japanese office workers. Walls are lined with eye-catchingly bright glass cups filled with different types of sake (visitors can pick which one they want to sip from, all while standing of course). In addition to the impressive sake selection and the lively atmosphere, there’s also a tasty food snack menu – a highlight are the yakitori-style skewered dishes.
Contact: 00 81 3 3496 7744; instagram.com/buri_ebisu
Opening times: Mon-Sun, 5pm-3am
Price: £
Getting in: No reservations
Shinjuku
Golden Gai
Lurking in the shadows of Shinjuku’s neon-lit skyscrapers is an area that feels like it hails from another era entirely: a network of lanes of tiny low-rise post-war bars known collectively as Golden Gai. Perfect for the adventurous, the bars, with vary in design and atmosphere, are so tiny that often they can only seat several people and they almost all have a cover charge. It’s a lively, gritty place to explore after dark and it’s best simply to wander and pick a door that takes your fancy – keeping fingers crossed that there is a smiling face plus empty seats inside.
Address: 1-1-8 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku
Opening times: Daily, most bars open around 8pm-5am
Price: £
Getting in: No reservations
How we choose
Every bar, venue or experience in this curated list has been tried and tested by our destination expert, who has visited to provide you with their insider perspective. We cover a range of budgets and styles, from casual pubs to exquisite cocktail bars – to best suit every type of traveller – and consider the service, drinks, atmosphere and price in our recommendations. We update this list regularly to keep up with the latest openings and provide up to date recommendations.
About our expert
Danielle Demetriou moved from London to Japan in 2007. After 15 years in Tokyo, she now lives in the old kimono textile district of Kyoto. She writes about Japanese culture, design, architecture, hotels for newspapers, magazines and books.