There’s only one way to find out.Orchard is a seventh-floor hideaway in Ginza with salmon-toned walls, comfy white chairs, and glassware chilling in a refrigerated cabinet. Some of our favorite Nagumo drinks have included the White Tomato Fizz (basil gin with centrifuged tomato water and olive oil) and the Sansho Gin and Tonic (flavored with tongue-tingling Japanese pepper), but the Apple Matsutake (sour apple, pine-mushroom gin, miso powder) is an eyebrow-raising combination that works.Whatever your drink, the city will not leave you high and dry.Our most popular newsletter for destination inspiration, travel tips, trip itineraries, and everything else you need to be an expert traveler in this beautiful world 'The Master' mixes up his signature Tokyo Station cocktails from 5pm every day – best be there on time for the chance to grab a counter seat and watch Sugimoto work his magic up close.A mixture of shochu, club soda and lemon juice, the humble lemon sour (the Japanese kind, not the cocktail base) isn't the kind of drink you would think merits a specialist bar. A trip to Zoetrope is a learning experience. Bars and pubs Award-winning mixologist Michito Kaneko creates sublime cocktails based on classics like the Old Fashioned. Offering a smallish but comfy stage for sipping both house brews and guest beers from Japan and beyond – there are 20 taps in total – it’s a wonderful addition to an offbeat neighbourhood where sex shops co-exist with stylish restaurants and even a Shinto shrine.Partially opening up onto the street, the ground floor is where to enjoy a drink on your feet and always gets crowded once the sun goes down, while tables are found in the quiet space upstairs. Craft beer pubs
Bars and pubs Head barman Kentaro Wada glides around with grace, mixing innovative cocktails like the Flower of Delight (chamomile-infused gin, flower syrup, elderflower cordial, lemon juice, and egg white).Nikka’s whiskies have been killing it at international competitions since 2001, and you can experience the taste of victories past and present at Nikka Blender's Bar, which features the largest selection of the distillery’s drams in Tokyo. It’s a perfectly balanced mix of gin, pineapple, lemon and egg white – and to match the bar’s old-world vibe – garnished with a glacé cherry.Some of the city’s bartending greats once worked at this basement drinking den, such as Yuichi Hoshi, who has gone on to open eight outlets throughout Japan, and Fumiyasu Mimitsuka, who now has his own bar in Ginza. Bars and pubs Bars and pubs And if you’re looking for the best places to eat before ordering a round of drinks, here are the The SG Club knows how to have fun with cocktails while still maintaining the level of professionalism that has come to exemplify Tokyo's cocktail scene. You'll change your mind, however, after a visit to The Open Book at Shinjuku's 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. Lines of fervent (and frequently bearded) natural wine fanatics begin forming in the late afternoon, before Ahiru Store opens at 6 p.m.Star Bar is a small but beautiful gin joint in the basement of a narrow building in Ginza. Update: Feb 14, 2020 +1 1. They excel at classics with a light, modern touch, employing liquid nitrogen or a carbonation machine from time to time.The second branch of mad scientist Shuzo Nagumo’s temple of liquid delights, Code Name Mixology Akasaka, has everything we’re looking for in a grown-up bar: elegant décor, flatteringly dim lights, and expertly mixed cocktails. Nishi-Shinjuku
As the name suggests, fresh fruit cocktails are the specialty here, and husband-and-wife bartending team Takuo and Sumire Miyanohara will present you with a basket laden with seasonal fruits in lieu of a menu. One thing you should definitely try in Tokyo is visiting a themed bar.
Bars and pubs Meanwhile, the kitchen serves up some superior bistro fare, running from sister Wakako's excellent rustic breads to generous salads to housemade sausages and pates. Bars and pubs It is the only place within the iconic Imperial Hotel which still retains art deco traces of its former 1923 building designed by the famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright.While the quality at most bars can be directly linked to the skills of an individual bartender, at Old Imperial Bar every mixologist is equally adept at creating an impeccable cocktail. This narrow, standing-only bar hidden away on the second floor on a side street off Dogenzaka is a little gem for those looking to immerse themselves in the wonderful world of sake. Read our guide to the best bars and nightlife in Tokyo, as recommended by Telegraph Travel. The best Tokyo bars: 10 essential Ginza bars. Just try not to look like you’re having too much fun.Although it’s been open for 25 years, Little Smith still pops up in conversions about the top bars in Ginza. The latter is, uniquely, a hot sake specialist, and watching him warm up the drinks to their precise temperature can be rather hypnotic.The concept of this gastrobar is to find the right sake to match the dish you’d like to eat, or vice versa.