Ben Fiddich is on the ninth floor of a Shinjuku building. Hiroyasu Kayama runs the bar and the cocktail programme is built around herbs and botanicals he grows on his own farm an hour outside Tokyo. The room is small and dim, with vintage glassware on display and herb bundles drying overhead.
Kayama makes his own bitters, herbal liqueurs, and even his own absinthe from his foraged ingredients. The cocktails are unique to this bar — drinks you cannot taste anywhere else. He often uses a mortar and pestle in front of you to crush fresh herbs.
The crowd is mid-thirties cocktail enthusiasts and visiting bartenders. The cocktails take time and the experience is meditative. Pair with Bar High Five for a Tokyo cocktail experience that contrasts Ginza discipline with Shinjuku ingredient innovation.