Tokyo is awash with wine these days. Any restaurant that wants to be taken seriously -- and, more importantly, has high overheads to cover -- must boast a well-stocked cellar, preferably glass-fronted, carefully illuminated and strategically placed in full view of the dining room.
Some would say this is a measure of Tokyo's sophistication, but we'd beg to differ. A far better indication that the city has come of age, in wine terms at least, is the growing spread of simple, unpretentious wine bars in areas formerly known for cheap shochu spirits and happoshu ersatz beer.
To see what we mean, just take yourself down to Fujiya Honten. Not long ago this was a nondescript sake shop catering to a shrinking retail trade in the shabby quadrant southwest of Shibuya JR Station. Alert to the winds of change, the owners decided that there was better business to be had by turning it into a wine bar -- not a suave sommelier lounge but, staying true to their roots, a cheerful down-market tachinomi (standing-only) joint.