Holiday in Tokyo, recommendations and drinks?

[Ilkless]

My partner and I will be on holiday in Tokyo in the last 2 weeks of May. We like our booze, and we like craft too. Anyone have any recommendations?

Also, if any ASR users happen to be there during the same period, let's do a meal or drinks. Cheers!

 

[EERecordist]

I have not been for years, I would suggest looking into listening bars. Kyoto is a major craft center, it was once the imperial capital. The NTT Intercommunication Center may have audio programs in their anechoic chamber https://www.ntticc.or.jp/en/archive/works/anechoic-room/ if it is still there, otherwise they are known for AV art. TeamLab is known for light and projection installations, including in Tokyo, and Singapore.

 

[fcracer]

My partner and I will be on holiday in Tokyo in the last 2 weeks of May. We like our booze, and we like craft too. Anyone have any recommendations?

Also, if any ASR users happen to be there during the same period, let's do a meal or drinks. Cheers!

Was just there. Some recommendations:
Drinks: https://fcracer.com/shinjuku-tokyo-japan/
Food: https://fcracer.com/shibuya-tokyo-japan/

 

[amirm]

We like our booze, and we like craft too.

What kind of craft? I suggest making a trip to Kyoto. There are some nice craft stores there. It is a magnificent city as far as temples/shrines/outdoors. Tokyo is great for food and general culture but not for much sightseeing.

 

[Ilkless]

What kind of craft? I suggest making a trip to Kyoto. There are some nice craft stores there. It is a magnificent city as far as temples/shrines/outdoors. Tokyo is great for food and general culture but not for much sightseeing.

S/O went to Kyoto with her parents only a few months back, so we are passing on that unfortunately.

Homewares, leathercraft, metalwork/jewelry, textiles, lacquerware, woodworking. As well as foodstuffs I guess. Small workshops and factories of the like.

We are doing a fair bit of booze and mid-range eateries but less fine dining as S/O is a light eater and even lunch set menus are a bit too much for her, let alone dinner degustation menus

 

[fcracer]

S/O went to Kyoto with her parents only a few months back, so we are passing on that unfortunately.

Homewares, leathercraft, metalwork/jewelry, textiles, lacquerware, woodworking. As well as foodstuffs I guess. Small workshops and factories of the like.

We are doing a fair bit of booze and mid-range eateries but less fine dining as S/O is a light eater and even lunch set menus are a bit too much for her, let alone dinner degustation menus

Check out Sot for leather goods. I bought a bag from there 10 years ago, used it everyday and it still looks and smells new. https://maps.app.goo.gl/D2ChHfSvAQgYLsMg9?g_st=ic

Also recommend Herz for leather products: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cSr1L53nJpnBX69LA?g_st=ic

If you’re into jeans, check out Levi’s harajuku where they will customize the made in Japan jeans for you with cool patches. The staff there take jeans very seriously and will spend the time with you to get it right. There’s also Blue Jeans and Momotaro jeans nearby for even more local experiences.

 

[EERecordist]

My friend recommends bartender Rogerio at (the tiny) Bar Trench in Ebisu, and bookshop bar Tsutaya in Daikanyama. I always enjoyed the hardware stores like Tokyu Hands with several locations.

My last trip was a work trip with a colleague who was also a traveler. Their tactic was to get off 2 stops before the destination on the train in Tokyo and navigate by foot to the destination.

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[Ilkless]

My friend recommends bartender Rogerio at (the tiny) Bar Trench in Ebisu, and bookshop bar Tsutaya in Daikanyama. I always enjoyed the hardware stores like Tokyu Hands with several locations.

My last trip was a work trip with a colleague who was also a traveler. Their tactic was to get off 2 stops before the destination on the train in Tokyo and navigate by foot to the destination.

​

I've heard multiple recommendations for Trench, and always prefaced with how popular it is!

Thanks for the Tsutaya tip.

Check out Sot for leather goods. I bought a bag from there 10 years ago, used it everyday and it still looks and smells new. https://maps.app.goo.gl/D2ChHfSvAQgYLsMg9?g_st=ic

Also recommend Herz for leather products: https://maps.app.goo.gl/cSr1L53nJpnBX69LA?g_st=ic

If you’re into jeans, check out Levi’s harajuku where they will customize the made in Japan jeans for you with cool patches. The staff there take jeans very seriously and will spend the time with you to get it right. There’s also Blue Jeans and Momotaro jeans nearby for even more local experiences.

Why yes, I dabble with Japanese denim. Have got specific brands I'm looking out for there, you actually reminded me. Had been lost in the flurry of planning.

 

[Ilkless]

Bump, still up for drinks/a meal with any ASRers based in Tokyo or visiting the last 2 weeks of May as well!

 

[kemmler3D]

I really liked my trip to Japan last year, the phenomenon of audiophile bars and jazz kissa is real and quite interesting. I went to a cool place Beatle Momo in Kyoto and a couple interesting spots in Tokyo, A10 has great cocktails and IIRC some B&W 802s behind the bar... but there was another place that had an absolutely huge funk / soul vinyl collection. If you are interested I can try to look it up.

 

[Ilkless]

I really liked my trip to Japan last year, the phenomenon of audiophile bars and jazz kissa is real and quite interesting. I went to a cool place Beatle Momo in Kyoto and a couple interesting spots in Tokyo, A10 has great cocktails and IIRC some B&W 802s behind the bar... but there was another place that had an absolutely huge funk / soul vinyl collection. If you are interested I can try to look it up.

Much appreciated! We love vinyl played on large-format speakers with good beverages.

 

[kemmler3D]

Much appreciated! We love vinyl played on large-format speakers with good beverages.

It was this place in Shimokitazawa: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/bars-and-pubs/little-soul-cafe - drinks were fine, but the music selection was really stratospheric, and the sound was pretty good, too. A real listening bar, the kind you don't find everywhere.

I would say there's more of a subjectivist, appreciation-of-vintage-character vibe to Japanese audio fans / bar proprietors, but the sound is always pretty good as far as it goes.

 

[Karlinamillion]

I'm assuming your into music so

Home - Tokyo Gig Guide

Guide to live music concerts and events in Tokyo, Japan in English and Japanese with information about venues, live houses, listings and tickets.

www.tokyogigguide.com

 

[Ilkless]

Well-sorted horn setup near Ikebukuro in a listening salon/cafe run by a kindly old man. Huge classical collection.

Tannoy classic coaxials and Luxman tubes in a decidedly more hip space at Nakameguro

 

[goryu]

Lived in Japan for 14 years. My number 1 recommendation is take the train from Nagoya up the Kiso valley along the Kiso River to Hida Takayama. There is a historical district there that covers about 25 or so square blocks where all the old shops, buildings, etc., have been preserved and there are no wires or electric signs, etc. It is like a set from an Edo era samurai town. Great sake breweries there where you can sample, antique shops, etc., all along a beautiful river. Stay at the ryokan Sumiyoshi on the river. Fantastic mountain town with hot springs, temples (was where the carpenters who built the temples in Kyoto came from- thus its name - little kyoto). I try to get there every time I am back in Japan.

 

[CMB]

Stay at the ryokan Sumiyoshi on the river.

Thanks - would you have any alternative recommendations ? This one is unfortunately fully booked on my stay Thanks

 

[kemmler3D]

Awesome! Hope you are having a great time. I would go back in a heartbeat, and not just because of the listening bars.

Of course you probably know this already but if you're looking for homewares (kitchen stuff) you have to check out Kappabashi, the famous street to buy knives in particular.

 

[Ilkless]

As hinted in the other thread about cool purchases, just picked out the fabric for my first ever bespoke tailored jacket, by an old Japanese master tailor that very generously worked around my travel schedule

 

[vert]

No particular recommendations from me as I was there on as family holiday, i.e., I don't take my children to bars, while they did take us to a maiden bar: a loud, but not exactly an audiophile experience. So I was there during the Easter period, and haven't stopped missing Japan. I've seen a few countries, but none has impressed me more than Japan, as a whole, on so many levels. It's an extraordinary country. Enjoy your time there !

 

[goryu]

Thanks - would you have any alternative recommendations ? This one is unfortunately fully booked on my stay.

Sorry to hear that- that's the only place I have ever stayed while there...Maybe talk to a Japan Travel person in Takayama.