Jude Brand - The Japan Times

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Apr 6, 2003

Belgium is a relatively small country and yet it boasts more specialist and boutique breweries than any other nation on earth. Tokyoites have, for more than a decade, been enjoying Belgium's finest at a handful of Belgian beer bars, like the original Brussels and more recent Belgo chains -- though, without exception, these bars are more personalized than the word "chain" suggests.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Mar 23, 2003

The secret life of Marc Romance

Marc Romance is my favorite alias for the master of Pousse Cafe, a stylish wine bar hidden away in Jiyugaoka. He has used many names, including Mac, Kota and the unlikely Alien J. Perkins -- most adopted for the convenience of his foreign friends but some, like the latter, as a nom de plume for writing music. But he was born Kotaro Honda, the son of a Japanese literature professor tenured at a Shikoku university. (And yes, this has earned him the nickname "Professor.")

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Mar 9, 2003

Women of all types get the golden touch

Gold Finger is a fantasy party for women -- and women only. The event remains faithful to the formula that the organizer, Chiga, first encountered 15 years ago at the Fridge in London.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Feb 23, 2003

Try to score a pint here

Sports bars and pubs were big business during the 2002 World Cup Soccer finals cohosted by Japan and South Korea. Many opened in Tokyo just in time to milk the influx of fans. But for the three partners who teamed up to create the Clubhouse in Shinjuku, the soccer was simply a bonus. Their target had been the kick-off of the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Feb 9, 2003

Turning the heat waaaay up in Roppongi

If you've had enough chilling this winter and you could use a little heat, why not get down to La Rumba, Roppongi's latest Latin hangout? And you don't have to wait for the weekend. La Rumba offers dance classes most evenings till 9 p.m. -- an excellent way to warm up.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Jan 26, 2003

One trip to Never Never Land, and you're hooked

Hiroshi Matsusaki is not a big Disney-film fan. His imagination was captured, however, when he read a Japanese translation of "Peter Pan" -- understandable for a child whose life's adventures began in the lush natural reaches of Kyushu, before his family moved on to Saitama.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Jan 12, 2003

Legato's sky lounge serves up its cocktails from on high

In a musical score, the term "legato" indicates a passage that should be performed in a smooth and connected manner. As such, it is an excellent choice for the name of a sumptuous new restaurant and bar. Legato is every bit as "smooth" and "connected" as an orchestra under the guidance of a great maestro.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Dec 15, 2002

Close encounter with a UFO navigator

By the time you read this, Raphael Sebbag will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of his arrival in Japan. He will not only be able to reflect on how much he's seen change in that time, but he will also be able to take responsibility for having engineered some of those changes as a DJ in Tokyo's club scene.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Nov 24, 2002

Sweet remedy for the ills of a metropolis

Mishiku, to Shibuya's west, offers a variety of interesting little bars along the meandering network of back streets between Ikejiri and Sangenjaya. If one knows where to look, it is possible to find everything from chic little wine bars secreted behind unmarked doors to full-on, in-yer-face rock dives buried in the basements of commercial buildings.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Oct 27, 2002

Shake a leg down to Yotsuya for imported carnivale

Saci Perere is a remarkable little Brazilian nightspot -- not only for having survived for more than a quarter of a century, but also for having done so with never-diminishing energy. I think of the bar, which takes its name from a mischievous one-legged ghost in Brazilian folklore, as one continuous samba line, shaking and snaking its way through the underbelly of the city.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Oct 20, 2002

Put on your party hat and escape to Oz

At the mini five-ways down the hill behind Almond in Roppongi, one will find a pleasant second-floor bar in a building on one corner. Though small, it takes full advantage of the building's glass exterior walls, with every seat at the bar offering a view of the street. It feels spacious and safe from the rabble below.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Oct 13, 2002

Crowd aside, Department-H parties are never a drag

Gogh Imaizumi, a skilled cartoonist, left his hometown, Sapporo, at age 20 with the dream of becoming an illustrator. He took with him these words of advice from his mother: "Whatever you do, don't be a nuisance to anyone."

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Oct 6, 2002

Into the night at Meguro's Saka Bar

When a friend took me on a tour of his favorite bars in Nakameguro, Saka Bar was the scheduled last stop. It scored this slot on the tour because of its notoriety in the area as a late-night hangout. On that first visit we arrived at 5 a.m. to find all stools at the bar taken -- though in an eight-seater establishment, this is often the case.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Sep 29, 2002

Father, son mix it up in Yokohama

Yokohama was once the undisputed headquarters for foreigners in the Kanto region. Its wide accommodating port facilities were the destination for postwar U.S. fleets arriving to establish their presence in Japan. And, as with any port town, many bars and restaurants sprang up to cater to the ebb and flow of customers arriving with the tide.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Sep 22, 2002

The true soul of Roppongi

Most of what passes for entertainment in Roppongi is only skin-deep. And while the area itself may appear to be a dense maze of bars stretching for miles, it is only a facade, barely extending more than one block off the strip. The 4-chome area, in particular, which fills the blocks behind the bank at Roppongi Crossing, is one of the quietest patches on the grid.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Sep 15, 2002

In the realm of the senses and spirits

Tantra is a fabulously atmospheric retreat from the mundane. Here -- in a darkened corner illuminated only by candlelight -- one may ponder and explore the spiritual aspects of corporal desire. The name itself refers to one in a series of Hindu texts collectively known as the Kama Sutra; the Tantric passages explore the possibilities of reaching enlightenment through sex.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Sep 8, 2002

Tsukasa sings the blues, etc.

Word of mouth is still the best way to find cool new bars. The downside, though, is that such tips are usually accompanied by verbal directions. A customer at Gosse (reviewed last week) told me about a hip-hop bar called Tina near Meguro Station. It sounded easy enough to find, but after scanning every signboard on every building in the vicinity, I could find no Tina.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Sep 1, 2002

An oasis in the Meguro desert

Naka-Meguro and Meguro proper are worlds apart. The former is a boomtown of cool little bars and the latter a backwater of pachinko parlors and karaoke snacks. And while the two areas may sound geographically close, they are not. It takes almost an hour to walk between the two along the darkened stretch of Yamate-dori that separates them.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Aug 25, 2002

Far from the tanning crowd

The beaches between Zushi and Enoshima were buzzing with activity as my friends and I sped southbound along the strip. They were not only crowded with sunbathers, but also choked with oversize beach bars, lined up cheek to jowl along the foreshore. Some of these bars are extravagant multistory structures that look like they've been imported wholesale from Thailand.

LIFE / Food & Drink / BEST BAR NONE

Aug 18, 2002

A good place to keep cool

It really is too hot to wander far from home -- unless, of course, you're heading for a beach. Even the government recognizes this fact, with the official four-day summer O-bon holiday being one of three officially sanctioned and nationally observed annual vacation periods (the other two being New Year and Golden Week). During the break, the cities become ghost towns as their populations flee in favor of cooler climes in the mountains and along the coast.

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