Tag - bars

 
 

BARS

Bartender and raconteur Shingo Gokan wants his new Tokyo bar, Sangai, to tell the story of Japan's terroir.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Sep 23, 2025
With new Tokyo bar, Shingo Gokan's bartending journey comes full circle
After a nomadic career, a charismatic bartender now finds home to be a vibrant source of tippling inspiration.
Fukagawa Distillery's bar offers a view of the distillation still behind its walls.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Aug 10, 2025
In a coffee-mad neighborhood, a gin distillery is a clear alternative
Located in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, Fukagawa Distillery wants residents to “think of gin as their local drink."
At the Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 awards ceremony, 20 new entries were added to the list, reflecting the increasing diversity and creativity of Asia's bar scene.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jul 17, 2025
Tokyo nabs four spots on Asia’s 50 Best Bars list
Two of the city’s bars, Bar Benfiddich and Virtu, drop ranks while this year’s list showcases a wider diversity with several new entries from places like Jakarta and Bengaluru.
Many stab wounds have been found on the upper bodies, including backs, of two women who were killed at a girls bar in Shizuoka Prefecture on Sunday, investigative sources have said.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 8, 2025
Many wounds found on women killed in Hamamatsu girls bar, police say
In the incident, the 27-year-old manager of the bar and a 26-year-old employee died after being stabbed repeatedly at around 1 a.m. Sunday.
Police officers stand near the site where two women working at a girls bar were fatally stabbed in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on Sunday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jul 7, 2025
Customer allegedly stabs girls bar manager and employee to death in Shizuoka
The customer had visited the bar several times before the incident, according to police.
Tokyo police investigators carry items seized from a girls bar in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on Saturday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Jun 29, 2025
Kabukicho girls bar owner first to be arrested under strengthened regulations
Entities operating such businesses without permission could face penalties up to ¥300 million ($2 million) and prison sentences of up to five years.
Canes & Tales' Art Deco-inspired interior is designed by renowned architect Andre Fu.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Jun 15, 2025
Osaka’s Canes & Tales raises a glass to bygone charms
With its creative cocktails and classy air of a gentlemen’s club, Canes & Tales is a sophisticated addition to the city’s thriving drinks scene.
Police have arrested a senior official of Nippon Kakekomidera, a nonprofit organization that helps vulnerable people in Tokyo’s Kabukicho district, for cocaine possession.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 20, 2025
Youth support group official arrested for cocaine possession
A senior official of a group that helps youth in Tokyo's red-light district was arrested along with a woman in her 20s who is believed to have sought help from the nonprofit.
At Japan's top cocktail bars, ice is as important an ingredient as any bottle you'll see on the shelf.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 30, 2025
The cold complexity of 'pure' Japanese cocktail ice
To some Japanese bartenders, the secret to a great cocktail lies not just in the mixologist's skills but also the quality of the ice.
Officials of the National Public Safety Commission inspect the Kabukicho area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, in June 2024, as crimes committed by unscrupulous host clubs have surfaced.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Mar 24, 2025
Crimes by 'tokuryu' anonymous groups pose serious issue in Japan
Police have made capturing the ringleaders a top priority but are struggling in their investigations, largely due to the criminals' use of highly encrypted communication apps.
One pub in Tokyo's Shimbashi district received more than 60 warnings from law enforcement for setting up tables on the street, blocking the way for traffic.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 17, 2025
Tokyo pub hit with first-ever closure order for illegal street tables
The pub repeatedly placed tables on the street between April 2023 and October 2024, despite receiving more than 60 warnings from law enforcement.
The illuminated advertising board of a host club in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district. The bill approved by the government on Friday aims to ban hosts from emotionally manipulating customers into making excessive purchases — a common tactic in the industry.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2025
Japan looks to crack down on host club exploitation with tighter regulations
Police received 2,776 consultations nationwide related to host clubs last year, with many involving women coerced into sex work to cover unpaid bills.
Billboard advertisements for host clubs in the Kabukicho area of Tokyo.
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2025
Tokyo police step up crackdown on sex worker scout group
The group is believed to have earned about ¥7 billion over five years by dispatching women to the sexual service businesses that offered the best pay.
Brian Hutto runs Craft Sake Shoten, a Yokohama shop he calls a hangout for 'real sake enthusiasts.'
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Feb 2, 2025
Sipping down the rabbit hole at Craft Sake Shoten
A chance encounter with sake evangelist John Gauntner led Brian Hutto to reinvent himself with sake as his new focus.
New Yorker Kenny Colvin opened Sanita, an Italian American-style cocktail bar, in Tokyo’s Hatagaya neighborhood in 2020.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Jan 24, 2025
Kenny Colvin: ‘Work hard, drink hard, eat hard … relax hard’
The owner of Sanita, a cozy cocktail bar in Hatagaya, shares his journey and inspirations.
It's taken Takuma Watanabe little time to establish himself as one of New York's hottest bartenders.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 16, 2025
From Tokyo to Manhattan, Takuma Watanabe stirs up a stiff drink
Tokyo native Takuma Watanabe offers a formidable addition to New York’s pantheon of cocktail bars.
Economic uncertainty has left some U.S. drinkers looking for ways to rein in their booze spending, according to three of the largest U.S. spirits distributors.
BUSINESS
Dec 24, 2024
Shrinking U.S. bar tabs signal little festive cheer for liquor makers
Some drinkers are switching to cheaper liquor brands and venues or reducing the amount of out-of-home celebrations they attend.
The streets of Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment district in 2020. Consultations over matters relating to host clubs have been increasing every year at police stations nationwide, according to the National Police Agency.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 19, 2024
National Police Agency panel calls for stricter rules against host clubs
The expert panel recommends targeting malicious practices, rather than specific establishments, to cover more ground.
The Kabukicho district in Tokyo, where the daughter of a woman in her 60s fell deeply into the host club culture.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 19, 2024
Mother hopes for reunion with daughter ensnared by Tokyo host clubs
After the daughter visited a Kabukicho host club for the first time five years ago, the outing spiraled into something much darker.
Gucci’s newest boutique bar is moody, chic and delightfully louche.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Kanpai Culture
Dec 15, 2024
From Florence to Osaka, Gucci’s newest concept bar oozes style
Gucci Giardino Osaka carves out its own identity through a fusion of Italian and Japanese influences set against the backdrop of the city’s fast-paced, urban landscape.

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