Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
SG stands for 'Sip' and 'Guzzle' but also for award-winning bartender Shingo Gokan. Ground-floor Guzzle is a social, counter space; the house drink is…
Must-see nightlife in Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Mikkel Borg Bjergsø is a pioneer 'gypsy brewer', one who dreams up wild concoctions, but outsources the actual brewing. His beers are served at world…
Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Near Yoyogi-kōen's often overlooked west gate is this small coffee shop, popular with local dog walkers and joggers. Which isn't to say that convenience…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Kyoto Jazz Massive is a DJ team that has been mixing up jazz and electronica for decades. This basement boîte, which mixes cool concrete with funky 1970s…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Circus, the Tokyo offshoot of an Osaka club, is aggressively underground: small, out of the way, in a basement (of course), with no decor to speak of and…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
This Tokyo outpost of a long-running Oslo coffee shop serves its signature light-roast coffee by day (from ¥370) and craft beer and cocktails both…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Part of a new wave of Shimo-Kitazawa spots run by the aptly named Nomouze (Let's drink) crew, chill spot Arena has a rooftop terrace and hosts the odd DJ…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Nonbei-yokochō – literally 'Drunkard's Alley' – is another of Tokyo's anomolous strips of tiny wooden shanty bars. This one in the shadow of the elevated…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
A long-time (in club years, at least) club-scene fixture, Womb is a reliable good night out on a Friday or Saturday if you want to lose yourself in the…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Several storeys under a parking garage, Contact is as much a place to see and be seen as it is to dance. Come after 1am on a Friday or Saturday night to…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
This is Shibuya's most popular karaoke spot for two reasons: it doesn't have the same dated look as the generic chains and you get the first hour free …
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Winning the award for most literal name, Shimo-Kitazawa Cage is a fenced-off cube under the Keiō Inokashira Line tracks. Get beers and snacks (from ¥400)…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Ghetto – the name comes from the characters for 'moon' (ge) and 'light' (to) – is one of the small bars inside Shimo-Kitazawa's iconic (and rickety)…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Rhythm Cafe is a fun little DJ bar secreted among the windy streets of Shibuya sub-district Udagawa-chō (known for its record shops). It's run by a record…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Your Shibuya pit stop for green-tea lattes, fresh-brewed ice teas, earthy hōjicha (roasted green tea) and more, all made from organic leaves harvested in…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Teeny-tiny Tight is always a good bet in Nonbei-yokochō, the narrow nightlife strip along the elevated JR tracks. Like the name suggests, it's a tight fit…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Lively, loud and filled with bohemian characters, Never Never Land is a long-running fixture on Shimokita's bar circuit. It's a good place to wind up when…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Pretty much everything here is chipped, frayed or torn – and none of it is artifice. This well-worn and well-loved bar, open for some 40-odd years, is…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Beat is a dive in the best sense of the word, comfortably shabby with cheap drinks (from ¥600), no cover, late hours, lipstick (blood?) red walls, random…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Oath is a tiny space covered in gilt and mirrors, dripping with chandeliers and absolutely not taking itself seriously. It's a very popular spot for pre…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
On some weekend nights, indie livehouse WWW goes into club mode, hosting appropriately indie DJs who play to the kind of fashionable Shibuya crowd that…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Mother is a classic Shimo-Kitazawa bar with a soundtrack from the ’60s and ’70s and an undulating, womb-like interior covered in mosaic tile. It does…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Bear Pond's thick syrupy 'angel stain' espresso (¥690) is considered holy grail by many. The owner only pulls a limited number before noon; lattes etc are…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
This branch of a generic national karaoke chain was immortalised as a location in the film Lost in Translation. Another draw: the rack of costumes in the…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Good Beer Faucets has 40 shiny taps and a changing line-up of beers that includes some Japanese craft brews. The interior is chrome and concrete, and not…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
This tiny, sparkly gem of a cocktail lounge hosts both DJs and live-music events, with attractively low cover charges (around ¥1500) and sometimes none at…
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Shibuya & Shimo-Kitazawa
Vision is huge – by Tokyo standards – with four dance floors and room for 1000. Each room plays something different, be it house, hip-hop, EDM or J-pop,…
