Tokyo is one of the world's great cocktail cities, built on precision, hand-cut ice and quiet basement counters. Bar High Five in Ginza is Hidetsugu Ueno's basement counter where drinks are built to your taste, and Star Bar Ginza is Hisashi Kishi's pressed-tin temple of classic technique. The range stretches to the experimental, from SG Club in Jinnan to Gen Yamamoto in Azabu-Juban, whose eight seats serve only a seasonal cocktail tasting flight.
22 cocktail bar places in Tokyo we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Tokyo · Cocktail Bar across every city.
Drink Custom-made spec to your preference
Bar High Five in Tokyo's Ginza is Hidetsugu Ueno's basement cocktail counter, World's 50 Best Bars 2011-2023.
Drink Sidecar with hand-cut Ninja ice
Star Bar Ginza in Tokyo's Ginza is Hisashi Kishi's pressed-tin temple of classic cocktail technique since 2000.
Drink Aquavit-based cocktails by Halvor Digernes
Fuglen Tokyo in Tomigaya turns into a Scandinavian cocktail bar after 19:00.
Drink Highball and yakitori sticks
Omoide Yokocho in Tokyo's Shinjuku is the post-war yakitori alley north of the west exit, 70 tiny eateries seating six to eight.
Drink Whatever the master pours
Shinjuku Golden Gai in Tokyo's Kabukicho is six narrow alleys of 200 themed bars, each seating four to ten guests.
Drink Showa-era cocktails on the two floors
SG Club in Tokyo's Jinnan is Shingo Gokan's two-floor cocktail bar, Asia's 50 Best No.
Drink Absinthe-led classic cocktails
Bar Trench in Tokyo's Ebisu-Nishi is the absinthe and classic-cocktail counter Rogerio Igarashi Vaz opened in 2010.
Drink Seasonal tasting flight of cocktails
Gen Yamamoto in Tokyo's Azabu-Juban serves an eight-seat seasonal cocktail tasting flight only.
Drink Avant-garde cocktails in tasting format
The Aviary Tokyo in Tokyo's Nishi-Shinjuku is the Tokyo outpost of Chicago's Alinea Group.
Drink Single-malt and Japanese whisky
Tokyo Whisky Library in Tokyo's Aoyama holds 1,200 whiskies, the largest English-friendly whisky bar in the city.
Drink Japanese whisky vertical flight
Zoetrope in Tokyo's Nishi-Shinjuku is Atsushi Horigami's whisky bar specializing in Japanese spirits.
Drink Absinthe-based and herb-led cocktails
Bar Tram in Tokyo's Ebisu-Nishi is the sister bar to Bar Trench, on the same back alley.
Drink Herbal cocktails infused at the counter
Bar BenFiddich in Tokyo's Nishi-Shinjuku is Hiroyasu Kayama's apothecary-style cocktail bar.
Drink Aged rum tasting flights
Bar Sunface in Tokyo's Yotsuya is master Yamamoto Manabu's rum-focused bar.
Drink Mai Tai and Polynesian tiki
Trader Vic's Tokyo at Hotel New Otani is the only surviving Asian outpost of the Trader Vic's tiki chain.
Drink Seasonal fruit cocktails
Bar Orchard Ginza in Tokyo is Takuo Miyanohara's fresh-fruit-only cocktail bar.
Drink Classic and contemporary cocktails
Bar Leopard in Tokyo Andaz Toranomon is the 51st-floor cocktail bar with skyline views and a 200-label spirits shelf.
Drink Classic cocktails with live jazz
New York Bar Park Hyatt in Tokyo Shinjuku is the 52nd-floor jazz bar from Lost in Translation.
Drink Modern classics with Asian flavours
Peter Bar at Peninsula Tokyo is the 24th-floor cocktail bar overlooking the Imperial Palace gardens.
Drink Cocktail-kaiseki tasting menu
The Bellwood in Shibuya is Atsushi Suzuki's Taisho-era cafe-themed cocktail bar in Tokyo, kaiseki-as-cocktail menu, hidden 12-piece omakase counter at back.
Drink Cinema-inspired modern cocktails
Memento Mori in Tokyo's Shimokitazawa is the cinema-inspired cocktail bar with a projector running silent movies.
Drink Modern Martini variation
Gold Bar at Tokyo EDITION Toranomon is a Golden Age cocktail room above the city, classic Martini and Manhattan rebuilds, Japanese spirits as the base notes.
