Having spent the best part of two decades prowling Roppongi at street level, my first visit to the Roppongi Hills Club felt like an out-of-body experience. Hovering an awesome 51 floors above the network of increasingly seedy bars below, my spirit could not help but feel elevated. The club is so far above ground, in fact, that I bumped my nose on the window when trying to spot Roppongi Crossing below.
But I wasn't alone in my appreciation of the experience. The club is busy -- despite the fact that it is a private club with the kind of membership fees that place it firmly in the "exclusive" category (i.e., a million yen down plus a half-million yen deposit and 180,000 yen per year thereafter). And these memberships are not available for corporations -- only individuals.
Yet, rather than ask oneself "Why drink 51 floors above ground?" it seems more a matter of "why not?"