Eagle Tokyo in Shinjuku Ni-chome is the Brooklyn-style bear bar that opened in 2016. Behind AiSOTOPE Lounge, beer-and-shots room, mixed bear-leaning crowd, all welcome.
Tip: No cover, drinks 700-900 yen. Open until 04:00 on Fri-Sat; sister venue Eagle Tokyo Blue is on the same block.
Address: 2-12-3 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0022
Campy! Bar in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ni-chome is the loud drag-and-friends room opened in 2013 by celebrity host Bourbonne. Mixed-orientation crowd, no seating charge, cash on delivery.
Tip: No seating fee unless you book a weekend sofa (1,000 yen). Cash for each round, the queens speak some English.
Dragon Men in Shinjuku Ni-chome is one of the largest clubs in the district. Open dance floor, big stage for drag shows, all-you-can-drink set deals through the night.
Tip: Cash only. All-you-can-drink set is the standard order; the dance floor opens up after midnight Fri-Sat.
Bar Gold Finger in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ni-chome is the lesbian bar that anchors the queer-women scene. Retro decor, library corner of queer books, free popcorn at the bar.
Tip: Saturday nights are women-only; other nights mixed. No cover, drinks 700-1,000 yen, cash easiest.
Campy! Bar in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ni-chome is the loud drag-and-friends room opened in 2013 by celebrity host Bourbonne. Mixed-orientation crowd, no seating charge, cash on delivery.
Tip: No seating fee unless you book a weekend sofa (1,000 yen). Cash for each round, the queens speak some English.
Dragon Men in Shinjuku Ni-chome is one of the largest clubs in the district. Open dance floor, big stage for drag shows, all-you-can-drink set deals through the night.
Tip: Cash only. All-you-can-drink set is the standard order; the dance floor opens up after midnight Fri-Sat.
Bar Gold Finger in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ni-chome is the lesbian bar that anchors the queer-women scene. Retro decor, library corner of queer books, free popcorn at the bar.
Tip: Saturday nights are women-only; other nights mixed. No cover, drinks 700-1,000 yen, cash easiest.
Bar Martha in Tokyo's Ebisu is the canonical vinyl listening bar: 6,000-record wall played on vintage Tannoy GRF speakers. No talk, no photos, no requests, just a chair and a whisky.
Tip: Cover charge plus a whisky-led menu. Strict no-conversation rule; arrive solo or in pairs and don't ask the bartender to skip a track.
JBS in Shibuya is short for Jazz, Blues, Soul. Master Kobayashi's 10,000-record library on a second-floor counter, no cover, single-malt Scotch, open most days.
Tip: No cover charge, rare for a Tokyo listening room. Cash and drinks at the bar; ask for a Kobayashi pick if you don't know where to start.
Meikyoku Kissa Lion in Tokyo's Shibuya is the classical-music kissa founded in 1926, rebuilt 1950 after the war. Custom three-metre wooden speakers, a no-talking rule, vintage pews.
Tip: Coffee and tea menu only, no liquor. Silence enforced; choose a pew facing the speakers and stay through a movement.