Osaka’s One Shot Bar Keith owner and bartender Teruhiko Yamamoto offers an extensive selection of Japanese whiskies with some rare and unique bottlings. PHOTOGRAPH BY RAYMOND PATRICK
It’s not only Japanese whisky that’s exploding in popularity. Tourism to Japan is too, thanks to a vibrant culture, unparalleled hospitality, and a historically weak yen. With $20 cocktails quickly becoming the norm in the U.S., the favorable exchange rate also means some of the best whisky bar deals on the planet are happening right now in Japan.
A couple of things to bear in mind: Bars can be hard to find and located in the basements of buildings, table charges are normal (this is Japan, and space is at a premium) but usually include little snacks, one dram typically measures 30 ml (around one ounce), and bars can’t sell bottles because they usually aren’t licensed for it. The bar spaces are often smaller than you might imagine. While Japan has cracked down on indoor smoking, lighting up is still permitted at some bars, whether cigars or cigarettes. But at others, like Aloha Whisky in Tokyo and One Shot Bar Keith in Osaka, smoking is a no-no.
Whether you seek a rare Japanese malt or an expertly crafted cocktail, you’ll find it if you choose the right place. Here’s our list of 10 top-flight whisky bars, from Hokkaido in the far north to Fukuoka in the far south, and all the wonderful stops in between. For those of you who might be homesick, we also include an incredible vintage American whiskey bar, as well as one specializing in Irish whiskey. Kanpai!
HOKKAIDO
Bar Hatta
A SHRINE TO NIKKA WHISKIES
1-8-18 Hanazono, Otaru, Hokkaido 047-0024
No website
At Nikka’s Yoichi Distillery on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, there are 28 maturation warehouses. In the nearby city of Otaru, 30 minutes from the distillery, is Bar Hatta, which considers itself the 29th warehouse, even going so far as to emblazon that number on the bar’s signage.
Inside, it’s a Nikka lover’s paradise. Proprietor Yasuhiro Hatta stocks his bar with the best whiskies from Nikka’s two distilleries, Yoichi and Miyagikyo. Try limited bottlings like Yoichi Aromatic Yeast and Miyagikyo Peated, savor sips of Yoichi 10 year old single cask, and drink distillery-only releases like Tsuru. Experience Japanese whisky history with vintage bottles of Nikka Super. Indulge in luxe expressions like The Nikka Nine Decades. Pours are fairly priced. For example, sample Taketsuru 21 year old for 1,980 yen ($13). Or enjoy a half-pour flight of Taketsuru that includes Pure Malt NAS, 17 year old, and 21 year old for the same price.
Bar Hatta also pours Nikka rival Yamazaki, as well as the latest offerings from newer Hokkaido distillery Akkeshi, including its limited 24-seasons expressions, or glasses of local Otaru beer. Bar Hatta is non-smoking, and an English menu is available. With a total of 12 seats, Bar Hatta opens at 6:30 p.m. and closes at 1 a.m., Monday through Saturday.
TOKYO
Aloha Whisky
AN ARCHIVE OF JAPAN’S BEST
3-29-11 Nishi-Ikebukuro, Toshima
alohawhisky.jp
David Tsujimoto moved to Japan in 2013 to teach English and fell in love with Japanese whisky, and has a massive collection to prove it. “I had too many bottles and couldn’t justify opening them all for myself,” says Tsujimoto. “Opening a bar allowed me to taste all the whisky and make a living.” And in September 2019, the Hawaiian-born Tsujimoto did just that. His bar, Aloha Whisky, is already among the best in the country, winning awards and loyal fans.
Aloha Whisky has 700 open bottles—40% of which are Japanese—and another 1,000 unopened bottles are waiting their turn. Amid the Chichibu and Kanosuke single malts, you can find rarities like the debut Yamazaki single malt release from 1984 (Suntory didn’t even call it a single malt then; the label reads “Pure Malt”) as well as the first Yamazaki 12 releases from later that decade, making Aloha Whisky one of the few places in the world to compare vintage Yamazaki single malts with modern ones. But these antique releases aren’t even the rarest expressions that Tsujimoto stocks. That honor goes to the second release of Yamazaki Age Unknown, a 1990s bottling of Suntory’s best whisky reserves that are said to be at least 25 years old.
Here, half-pours (5 ml/1/2 oz.) are the default so patrons can sample his rarities (for example, the 1984 release Yamazaki malt is ¥7,200/$46). Tsujimoto designs personalized flights based on guests’ preferences and budgets. The cover charge is a reasonable 500 yen/$3 (particularly for Tokyo!) and includes cashews for snacking. Aloha Whisky is open from 6 to 11:30 p.m. Reservations are accepted, but walk-ins are welcome—this is a 12-seat bar, so maybe call ahead. English is spoken and the space is non-smoking.
Hibiya Bar Whisky-S
A SUNTORY WHISKY PARADISE
3-3-9 Ginza, Chuo Ward
hibiya-bar.com/whisky-s
If you’re a Yamazaki whisky fan, Hibiya Bar Whisky-S, a collaboration with the Yamazaki Distillery, is the place for you. The bar excels at stocking age-statement expressions from Suntory. Pours of Yamazaki 18 or Hakushu 18 year old are 7,600 yen ($48), while Yamazaki 25 or Hakushu 25 year old are 42,000 yen ($267). Hibiki is priced the same, with the 21 year old going for 7,600 yen and the 30 year old one commanding 42,000 yen.
But perhaps you want to experience the best of Suntory’s Japanese whisky without the hefty price tag. Try the Japanese flight (Yamazaki NAS single malt, Hakushu NAS single malt, and Hibiki Japanese Harmony) for 2,500 yen/$16, or the takumi, or artisan flight (Yamazaki 18, Hakushu 18, and Hibiki 21 year olds) for 11,400 yen/$72.
Hibiya Bar Whisky-S is open Monday through Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. (last call is at 10:30). There is an 880 yen/$5.60 table charge, plus an English menu, and reservations are accepted.
Star Bar Ginza
LEGENDARY COCKTAIL CREATOR
Sankosha Bldg. B1, 1-5-13 Ginza, Chuo Ward
starbar.jp/en
This is Star Bar, so do try the cocktails, because that’s how owner and mixologist Hisashi Kishi made his reputation. Whether it’s Kishi or his proteges mixing your drink, Star Bar aims for world-class cocktails. As an archetypical Ginza bar, there is no menu. Sure, the classics, especially the Sidecar and the Manhattan, are masterful, but bartenders can make recommendations based on your preferences. The fruit-based seasonal drinks are highlights: When Star Bar takes delivery of super-luxe Miyazaki mangos, the cocktail wizards craft sips of tropical heaven.
Whether it’s a Yamazaki sherry cask or a Yoichi 10 single cask, Star Bar’s whisky selection is also great, and so is the general ambiance: a Victorian-style ceiling, tasteful lighting, and dark wood. Star Bar doesn’t offer whisky flights, but will serve half pours if you want to try a particular bottle. It also sources ice, which is crystal clear to the point of being almost invisible, and melts slowly— the perfect whisky ice.
There is a 1,100 yen/$7 table charge per person. No food is served, smoking is prohibited, and English-speaking staff is on hand. Star Bar doesn’t take reservations for the nine seats at the bar, nor for the two tables for four and a table for two. Upstairs on the ground floor is a reservations-only sister establishment, Star Bar Namiki.
NAGOYA
Bar Barns
WHERE MIXOLOGY RULES
Amano Bldg. B1, 2−3−32, Sakae, Naka Ward, Nagoya
bar-barns.jp
Between Tokyo and Osaka is Nagoya, home of Toyota. The city’s coffee shops are world class, and the miso is delicious. And what else is terrific here? Bar Barns, of course. This is, without a doubt, the best bar in the city and for many miles beyond. Owner and bartender Toru Hirai serves up wonderful cocktails, and the bar is stocked with rarities like a 20 year old Yamazaki owner’s cask aged in Mizunara for Bar Barns, and 9 year old Chichibu single malt aged in a second-fill bourbon barrel, also bottled for the bar. Bar Barns has likewise offered scotch releases with anime labels, including Beserk, Tetsujin 28, and Ghost in the Shell.
The table charge is on the pricier side (1,300 yen/$8.25 with a snack). Bar Barns has a number of rules, including no smoking, no mobile phones, no flash photography or pictures of the staff. Photos of your drinks are permitted. Also, Bar Barns aims for a quiet atmosphere, where the focus is the cocktails, so speaking is kept to a hush.
KYOTO
Bar Cordon Noir
RARITIES GALORE
Matsushimaya Bldg. 3F, 121
Ishiyacho, Nakagyo Ward
ameblo.jp/bar-cordon-noir
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, the bartender at Cordon Noir will pull out a rarity like Yamazaki 1999 The Owner’s Cask bottled for Mampei Hotel, and you’re left wondering how the heck they even have it. The place is packed with other such rarities, with a grand total clocking in at over a thousand, including expressions from Scotland, Ireland, the United States, Canada, and, yes, Japan. Rare and interesting are what Bar Cordon Noir is all about, and it serves excellent cocktails. Located in the hub of Kyoto’s nightlife, Bar Cordon Noir is a true whisky lover’s dream. Order a dram of Mars Komagatake, Akkeshi single malt, or 21 year old Nikka Taketsuru.
There are a total of 36 seats, which is large for Japan, but Bar Cordon Noir is popular, so it gets busy. But even then, the place feels relaxing. A small bites menu is offered, and if you smoke, Bar Cordon Noir can pair your whisky with a Davidoff or Montecristo—this place is a cigar lover’s haunt. English menus are available and English-speaking staff are on hand.
OSAKA
One Shot Bar Keith
LASER-FOCUSED ON JAPANESE WHISKY
2-14-1 Miyahara, Yodogawa Ward
bar-keith.com
Founded in 1996, One Shot Bar Keith is one of the few Japanese whisky specialty bars in the country, with a selection of 400 expressions from Japan. That’s even more fitting because Osaka is the birthplace of Japanese whisky as the home of the country’s first whisky distillery, Yamazaki. While Japan can feel overrun by tourists, One Shot Bar Keith still has a local feel and is frequented by regulars.
Owner and bartender Teruhiko Yamamoto has long championed the country’s whisky, well before its explosion in popularity began in the early years of this century. He regularly visits distilleries to stay up to date on the latest releases, and besides the usual suspects from Suntory and Nikka, the bar has limited releases like Chichibu ume (plum) shochu cask, which isn’t available nationwide. The house whisky is a Chichibu blend. While Japanese whisky is the focus, One Shot Bar Keith also serves local beer. If you’re hungry, order the homemade fish and chips or chicken and chips.
There is an 800 yen/$5 table charge, and the bar is closed on Tuesday. It usually opens at 5 p.m., but it opens at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Reservations are possible for parties up to four, and the bar is non-smoking. English isn’t spoken, but an app is used to communicate.
Rogin’s Tavern
AMERICAN WHISKEY, OLD AND RARE
1-2-15 Honmachi, Moriguchi
No website
Sure, you can order a dram of Yamazaki 12 here, but that’s not why you go to Rogin’s Tavern. If you’re homesick for some Kentucky bourbon, this is one of the best American whiskey bars in the world. Owner Seiichiro Tatsumi is a Kentucky Colonel for good reason.
For decades, Tatsumi has collected bourbons and other whiskeys while driving around the American South, buying up old stock. He opened his three-story bar in the late 1970s. Today, Tatsumi serves up rare vintage American spirits, like Prohibition-era bottles with labels that read “A Pure Whiskey for Medicinal Use,” pre-Prohibition bottles of Old Taylor, or even older whiskies like Hannisville pure rye, believed to have been distilled during the Civil War. This is history you can taste. There’s “newer” stuff too, like Old Yellowstone and Old Crow from the 1960s and ‘70s as well as modern releases from Weller, Stagg, and the like.
(Keep your eyes peeled for very old scotch as well — stuff like Highland Park 40, Port Ellen 32, Balvenie 50 year olds, and vintage bottles of Bowmore from the mid-to-late 20th century.)
While Rogin’s Tavern might be covered in Americana, and George Strait might be playing on vinyl, this is still Japan. Hence Tatsumi doesn’t make his Old Fashioneds with sugar cubes, but rather finely powdered Japanese sugar. Rogin’s Tavern is open seven days a week, from 5 p.m to 2 a.m. Last call is at 1:30. Smoking is allowed.
KOBE
Bar Main Malt
AN IRISH OASIS IN JAPAN
1-6-2 Nakayamatedori, Chuo Ward
No website
Founded in 1993, Bar Main Malt is perhaps the best place to drink Irish whiskey in the entire country—and maybe in all of Asia. Of the bar’s 2,000 whiskies, about 500 are Irish. The backbar is wall-to-wall Teeling. Lurking in the stacks are vintage releases like Tullamore Dew from the 1970s and lots of Bushmills, including 28, 29, 30, and 32 year olds. If Irish isn’t your thing, Main Malt typically has a good showing of Glenfarclas from the 1980s and ’90s.
But you’re in Japan and maybe you want to drink Japanese whisky. Good news, because around 200 bottles are domestic. Main Malt gets new releases like Yamazaki Puncheon and Yamazaki Spanish Oak, but among the bar’s collection you can often find blasts from the past.
There is a 550 yen/$3.50 table charge; reservations aren’t offered for its 10 seats. The food menu includes small English-style sandwiches. Bar Main Malt is open Monday through Friday, 5 p.m. to midnight and 3 to 11 p.m. on weekends. English is not spoken. Cigarette smoking is permitted, not cigars.
FUKUOKA
Bar Kitchen
JAPANESE TREASURE TROVE
1-8-26 Maizuru, Chuo Ward
No website
Bar Kitchen is the best whisky bar in Fukuoka with nearly 2,500 bottles from which to pick; about 2,000 scotch, 300 bourbon, 50 Irish, and around 100 Japanese. Besides vintage scotch and bourbon, a good number of distillery exclusives from Kanosuke, the region’s new whisky superstar, can be found, along with rarities like Suntory’s President’s Choice, a vintage 1980s whisky with former Suntory president Kenzo Sanji’s choicest malt and grain whiskies.
Reservations are appreciated but not required. However, since this bar is a one-man operation, owner and bartender Tomoyuki Oka cannot accommodate groups larger than four (there is only one table for four, and another 15 seats at the counter). The name is a misnomer, as Bar Kitchen doesn’t serve food. The very reasonable 500 yen/$3 cover charge includes smoked cheese, nuts, and chocolate. Flights aren’t offered, but 15 ml/1/2 oz. pours are available. No cocktails are served, just a massive collection of whisky. Smoking is allowed.
