Tokyo Bars & Nightlife
Establishment
neighborhood
Gen Yamamoto
1-6-4 Azabu-Juban, Minato-ku
Gen Yamamoto is bringing serious mixology to Tokyo. Having started at Bar Totto in NYC’s Little Tokyo and then moved on to the bar at Brushstroke, he’s returned to Tokyo to open up his namesake bar. Expect an innovative cocktail tasting menu, which includes his (amazing) signature sweet tomato cocktail. Not your typical bar, there’s no music and little talking, just the sound of really well-made cocktails being shaken and stirred in the minimally decorated, handsome room, which is dominated by a long wooden bar.
Two Rooms
5F AO Building, 3-11-7 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Shibadaimon
The décor at Two Rooms Bar & Grill was put together by 8 Inc., a San Francisco-based design firm that only works on cool projects. Case in point, this rooftop Tokyo bar and restaurant, where you'll find a sleek bar and lounge area that can only be accessed by crossing a bridge over a water terrace (which is basically an infinity-pool extension of their patio space). It pulls from from Tokyo's fashion world in the evenings for cocktails overlooking the city, but the brunch menu is pretty great, too.