Tokyo
Tokyo is the second great whisky city on earth. The Japanese whisky boom has driven prices into stratospheric territory but Tokyo bars still pour rare bottles and the bartender expertise is unmatched.
Ginza · $$$$
Routinely placed in lists of the worlds best 50 bars. Hidetsugu Ueno builds whisky cocktails by feel. Reserve.
Ginza · $$$$
Hisashi Kishi runs this. Routinely in the worlds top 50. The whisky cocktails are obsessively precise. Reserve.
Roppongi · $$$$
Tiny whisky bar with around 800 bottles. James Bond themed. Reserve.
Ebisu · $$$$
Whisky specialist bar with a serious Japanese focus. The list runs to around 500 bottles. Reserve.
Shimbashi · $$$
Modern cocktail bar with a serious whisky list and rotating Japanese single malts. Reserve.
$$$$
Underground whisky specialist bar with around 300 bottles. The bartenders are knowledgeable. Reserve.
in Tokyo ›
in Tokyo ›
in Tokyo ›
in Tokyo ›
in Tokyo ›
Bar Martha is an Ebisu listening bar built around a wall of more than 6,000 records and vintage Tannoy speakers, where whisky highballs and classic cocktails are served in a hushed, low-lit room. Doors open about 7pm. Listening Bar
OMOTESANDO · $$$ · WHISKEY BARS
Tokyo Whisky Library has lined its Omotesando shelves with more than 1,300 whiskies since opening in October 2016. Guests pass through a courtyard and up black iron steps into a room of tufted sofas, chandeliers and exposed brick. Staff guide pours across domestic and imported bottles. Best for a long evening comparing drams.
Order a Yamazaki, a Hibiki, or a Nikka Yoichi. Or ask the bartender to pour a flight comparing Japanese single malts.
Routinely placed in lists of the worlds best 50 bars. Hidetsugu Ueno builds whisky cocktails by feel. Reserve.
Hisashi Kishi runs this. Routinely in the worlds top 50. The whisky cocktails are obsessively precise. Reserve.
Looking beyond Tokyo? See our guide to the best whiskey bars worldwide, or compare whiskey bars city by city.