Here are the best places to drink, eat, and stay.
The location was appropriate, since I felt like another drink would probably kill me.
The open second story of this former residence has been preserved down to the last knotty timber plank.
From left: Prepping ingredients at Liquid Factory, a Shibuya cocktail bar; mixologist Keita Saito arranges marigold petals on a Gardening Day, an alcoholic drink made with curry-leaf-infused spirits and elderflower.Credit:Irwin Wong
Actually, I would have preferred a bucket of cold water.
Could I switch to the nonalcoholic pairing?
I asked my server, Haruna Sugiyama.
From left: Yukino Sato mixing a blue-cheese martini at Folklore; Folklore’s blue-cheese martini.Irwin Wong
She explained that the nonalcoholic option needed to be ordered in advance.
Except thats exactly what happened, beginning with a glass of effervescent liquid far too fuchsia to be wine.
Amazake,she told me, a cloudy, subtly sweet beverage made with koji-cultured rice.
From left: The Jade Room restaurant at the Tokyo Edition, Toranomon; chef Ayaka Terai prepares a dish at Bell Sushi.Irwin Wong
Pinprick bubbles raced to the surface.
A single large ice cube clonked against the delicate glass, and suddenly, I was thirsty.
Tokyo is a drinking city.
Behind the bar at the Bellwood, a Shibuya lounge.Irwin Wong
It happens at master-class cocktail bars hiding in nondescript office buildings.
Atshochupower hours that electrify dankizakaya.
At luxury lobby bars in the clouds.
The entrance to Liquid Factory.Irwin Wong
But wherever the action takes place, lately its a drinking-with-less-alcohol city.
But it was his night off, so we werent heading there.
The evenings shenanigans aside, Saito is not wrong.
From left: The entrance to Folklore, a bar in the Hibiya neighborhood; a drink made with sweet-potato shochu, vodka, white port, and Lillet Blanc at Folklore.Irwin Wong
Alcohol consumption has been on a two-decade decline in Japan.
The pandemic only accelerated this trend, and the drop has been most precipitous among Gen Zers and millennials.
Which was not possible during successive lockdowns, when the government severely curtailed operating hours for bars and restaurants.
Fortunately, this sepia-toned lounge already had an artist in residence.
Im inspired by taking trips, talking to people, and Netflix, she said.
The burning smell wasnt the smoldering sea eel but the demise of the sushi patriarchy.
Another night, I descended into a Ginza basement to meet two more resourceful disruptors.
Tokyos bar culture is in perpetual motion.
They offer spirit-free alternatives, too.
None contained a drop of alcohol.
Lapsang souchong, she said, the ancient tea finished over a pinewood fire.
She invited me to compare it with the actual-mezcal version, but I declined.
Do you not drink alcohol?
I offered a fitting answer for this Tokyo moment: I do, and I dont.
Sugiyama has since moved on from the restaurant like I said, perpetual motion but her influence remains.
Shortly after her departure, AC House went completely nonalcoholic.
