The Best Bars in Tokyo

The Old Imperial Bar is an old-school Tokyo bar favored by some of Japan’s political and financial elite, who come for its demure and consistent service. The popular bar snack kaki pi—spicy rice crackers and peanuts—originated here and is still being served. Soak in the nods to Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed the original hotel: the Hopi-inspired carpet design, the terra-cotta grillwork, and the polychrome and gold-leaf fresco on the wall in the back of the room. Classic cocktails reign, such as a gin and tonic made with the Kyoto-distilled gin Ki no Bi, with notes of yuzu, green tea, and ginger.

Hiroyasu Kayama is both scientist and bartender at this bar on the ninth floor of an office building. Kayama has a collection of dried herbs, spices, and even bugs on the shelves behind the bar. The best seats are at the counter, where you can watch as Kayama creates from scratch a Campari using cochineal insects. To witness the red color come to life gets your mouth wet for the drink that awaits. The absinthe made with wormwood should also be on your radar. Best to tell Kayama what cocktails you like and let him recommend something for you.

The bartenders at Ben Fiddich don’t complicate your experience with a menu. Tell them your mood and sit back while they craft something according to their whim. Say, a whiskey drinks filled with burnt herbs whose smoke steams your glass or a homemade Campari Negroni.

And there’s the cocktails. Utterly unique (e.g., the South Americano, made of Gran Classico, Antica Formula and aged Cachaça) and based on recipes of a bygone era, they are the centerpiece of this teatro de alcohol and are blended using small-batch craft spirits such as Monkey 47 gin and a plethora of handmade bitters. But the real magic comes from the sage barkeeps (which is sort of like calling Einstein a mere “scientist”), whose encyclopedic knowledge of alcohol will keep your ears as entertained as your mouth and mind. But the Bar Trench experience goes way beyond the cocktails. There’s also the chocolate-covered anise and coriander seed bar snacks, antique pewter absinthe spoons, a fountain used to serve several varieties of distilled wormwood, and the well-coiffed staffers. Bar Trench is a treat for the taste buds as well as the eyes.