For a younger crowd, one of the most appealing aspects of city living in Japan is the all night nature of the bars and clubs. Whether you go on a Tuesday night or a Saturday, the nightclubs are guaranteed to pull in a decent crowd. Muse nightclub is one of the places where any night of the week you can guarantee yourself a good time. Whether you’re a drinker, a dancer or a darts player, this multi story club offers entertainment on a variety of levels. Full of nooks, crannies and caves, you’re never left dry for somewhere to drink, sit and admire the crowd.

4-1-1 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo
+81 (0)3 5467 1188
Google map: bit.ly/U6OUpK

* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

On the top floor of the cerulean tower lies a cafe-by-day, bar-by-night space ideal for a first date, an indulgent coffee, or a moment alone with a cocktail and your thoughts. Here you are at once secluded from the city and it’s enchanted voyeur as it sprawls below you like a miniature model village.
The live evening jazz at the weekend is so soothing as to seduce you into a sweet sleep, with the soft lights of the city the only thing discernible against an impenetrably back sky.
The drinks from this dazzling vantage point overlooking Shibuya and Shinjuku don’t come cheap, so save this place as an inspired pre or post dinner drinks location for a date you want to impress.

26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, 150-8512
+81 33476 3398
Google map: bit.ly/S6FoTO

* Hollie is our Been there local for Tokyo. You can check out her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/tokyo-local-hollie-mantle.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/HollieMantle

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The two XEX bars in Tokyo are wonderful insider secrets. The first, situated in the Atago Green Hills Mori Tower, is ten minutes from Roppongi and has spectacular views of the Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower. The second, located in Daikanyama, is irrefutably the city’s best bar for spring/summer; it features the city’s trendiest folk and also serves very stylish teppanyaki.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

If it’s total oblivion you’re after, Yellow and A-Life are marvellous clubs. The former is a cavernous, multi-floor maze with twenty-somethings going completely overboard to the unmistakeable sound of Japanese techno till after you’re back at work; not for the faint-hearted. Perhaps better for the average business traveller looking to let his or her hair down is A-Life. The staff speak English, there are expats to chat and party with, champagne is the predominant drink of choice, and the music is mercifully more tame.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Upon arrival in Tokyo Narita International airport (or just before you leave!), don't just rush headlong into the city... If you have come long-haul and are tired, there's nothing better than to get your head down at one of the airport hotels for a few hours, and then use Narita as a gentle introduction to Japan/Tokyo. It is a nice small town, which is very walkable, and has many little gems including a temple, local restaurants, shops and backstreet pubs. Prices for food, hotels et al will be much cheaper that Tokyo city, and it allows you to acclimatise in a much less hectic/congested atmosphere. I have always found it a perfect way to take a breather before business in Japan and/or exploring the country on vacation.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Bill Murray's portrayal of a man navigating through the maze that is Japanese business and etiquette was critically acclaimed. Central to the movie was the hotel bar which is frequented. Why not treat yourself to sky-high views with cocktails to match (including the obligatory 'Lost in Translation' cocktail). Situated off Shinjuku, the bar is at the top of the ever so grand, Grand Hyatt - Tokyo.

tokyo.grand.hyatt.com/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Japanese bar with fantastic view and great cocktails.

http://r.gnavi.co.jp/fl/en/g002231/

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Part bar, part puppet show, this one-man-cabaret of a dining experience is for anyone who likes to eat out in truly surreal fashion.

It's the choicest blend of beer, bar snacks, party games and singing lavatory available in Tokyo, though definitely not recommended for the overly self-conscious.

Hanasada Bldg. B1F 5-12, Shinbashi 2 -Chome, Minato-Ku, Tokyo.

homepage: www1.ocn.ne.jp/~kagayayy/index_e.html

review: metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/448/bars.asp

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Karaoke – Japanese style – is the ultimate cultural experience. Forget everything you know about karaoke at home in smoky pubs on a Thursday night. In Japan it’s a finely-tuned experience. Rent a soundproof lounge room with your mates or colleagues, close the door and go crazy choosing from a massive selection of songs (in English) on the wireless system. It’s mad, it’s hilarious and it’s a fantastic insight into the culture of the Japanese. The whole stiff, formal everyday ending in a no-holds barred explosion of sillyness where you get to laugh at each other.

In Tokyo try the insanely kitsch and colourful Shidax Village Club in Shibuya. This massive complex has 130 private rooms spread over six floors of fun. Prices start at 544 yen for 30 minutes but forget that as soon as you read it. Order the 2 hour, all-you-can-drink version for 4200 yen per person. You get to pick up the phone, dial 11, and order the beers. They show up within five minutes. Best with a group, as you might expect.
Your only regret? Missing out on my powerful, soulful renditions of Surfin’ USA, Roxanne and my piéce de la resistance: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. You'll just have to learn to live with that.

Shidax is located at Jinnan 1-12-13, only a five minute walk from Shibuya Station. Take the street to the right of the huge Starbucks on the first floor over Shibuya intersection and look for the huge neon Shidax sign.
Tel: 03 3461-9356

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Basically Tokyo-on-sea, a big slab of reclaimed land in Tokyo bay where you can go and chill out, eat/drink/shop, enjoy sea breezes, even go to the (artifical) beach! There are stunning views of Tokyo (especially at night), and it's one of the few places in Tokyo where you can enjoy the great outdoors. There's a massive ferris wheel for even better views and you can even rent a dog to walk!! One of the best things about it though is the journey there - it's worth going just to enjoy the monorail ride across the enormous Rainbow Bridge.

Yuirkamone monorail from Shimbashi. A one-day ticket gives unlimited travel on the monorail all day for around £7.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Golden Gai is one city block near Shinjuku station, made up of tiny alleyways. This block has around 250 teensy bars, all of which are unique. There are ground floor ones, 1st floor ones, film ones, literary ones, ones that look like a living room or kitchen, very welcoming ones and one or two that don't really like foreigners. They pretty much all have a seating charge of around 500 yen.

Go and walk around and choose your bar. You might get the one where film directors have their own bottles displayed around the bar.

1-1-8 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku. Closest station: Shinjuku, east exit. It's next to Hanaono Shrine.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Gonpachi restaurant offers up a super dining experience. A hip, lively place where the staff shout a welcome to you while you're led to the table.

At the door you can choose between the sushi half of the place or the kushiyaki (skewers) and soba (noodles) half. The soba noodles are made from buckwheat ground daily on the premises. A massive food experience with traditional and yet modern Japanese fare. Skewers of foie gras with balsamico and strawberries? Unbelievable.
We tried the sushi half another night and were bowled over by the quality of the dishes and the æsthetic presentation.

Gonpachi is buried at the back of the G-Zone dining complex. After you enter just keep on walking down the halls. No, not that restaurant, keep going. All the way to the back. Well worth a visit.

Closest station: Kyobashi (Ginza Line). Exit 3. Or G-Zone is located under the elevated motorway across from the Seiyo Ginza hotel.
Tel: 03 5524 3641
Web: www.global-dining.com/site/restaurants/index.cfm?resID=142&page=detail&lang=EN&chainId=8

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

These alleys of shoddy two-storey buildings in Shinjuku house 200 bars, one "police box", a Shinto shrine and a motley population of mama-sans, transvestites, former prostitutes and 60s radicals.

It is vintage post-war Tokyo in all its cramped, chaotic glory. The bars - most of them big enough only for a counter and a dozen or so stools - are housed in buildings of wood and corrugated iron thrown up for hookers and pimps during the allied occupation.

Several decades have passed since Golden-gai was primarily a lure to the libido, but the narrow lanes have not entirely lost the feel of a red-light district. When business is slow and the air muggy, the silhouettes of mama-sans (some of whom are actually middle-aged men) can be seen in pink-lit doorways as they fan them selves and listen to scratchy records of Edith Piaf or experimental jazz.

In the 60s and 70s most of the brothel-keepers were replaced by counter-culture dropouts who turned the area into a hub of political conspiracy and intellectual foment. At its peak it attracted thinkers such as the author Yukio Mishima and the film-maker Nagisa Oshima.

Directors, painters and writers are still drawn to an area that refuses to make way for rampant materialism. Shadow, a bar run for more than 20 years by a communist, is decorated with items found in rubbish dumps. Jetee, owned by a former film distributor, includes Wim Wenders and Juliette Binoche among its occasional customers.

A few strides to the west are the blazing neon lights and noisy pachinko parlours of the ultra-sleazy Kabukicho sex district; behind are the futuristic 40-storey towers of the municipal government offices in Shinjuku.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

What it says on the tin, all you can eat cake for up to two hours. Very popular with dainty office ladies and frumpy old folk alike. Look out for the infinitely more practical tabehoudai (eat all you can) and the super nomihoudai (drink all you can). These also run for two hours and can really help stretch those yen if you want to start a good night in the right way.

Cake tabehoudai - less classy department stores.
Tabehoudai and nomihoudai - your local izakaya (J-style eating pub). Should all be about 2,000 yen for two hours.

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends