Tokyo / Ginza / District

The Ginza bar streets

銀座のバー通り ぎんざのばーどおり

Where the Japanese cocktail was perfected — six seats, one bartender, ice carved by hand.

Worth itHigh-end · Late night · Food · Quiet

Ginza's back streets — Namiki-dori, Suzuran-dori and the lanes of 6-, 7- and 8-chome — hold the bars that defined the Japanese style of bartending: the hard shake, the hand-carved ice sphere, the single perfect highball. Most seat under ten, most are up a narrow staircase or lift with only a small brass plate, and most welcome a first-time visitor who arrives before nine, orders what the bartender suggests, and does not raise their voice. There is usually a seating charge; it buys the peace.

Don't miss

Map of central Tokyo Tokyo Ueno Akihabara Shinjuku Shibuya Shinagawa Ikebukuro Shimbashi Kabukiza Theatre Chuo-dori and the Sunday promenade Ginza Six Ginza Itoya Hama-rikyu Gardens The Ginza gallery walk Tsukiji Hongwanji The Ginza bar streets Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building Imperial Palace East Gardens Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum Marunouchi Naka-dori KITTE and the rooftop garden Idemitsu Museum of Arts Nihonbashi Bridge Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store The old shops of Nihonbashi Artizon Museum Fukutoku Shrine and the Coredo lanes Nihonbashi river cruise Sensoji Temple Kappabashi kitchen street Sumida river water bus The craft and coffee streets west of the temple A kimono day in Asakusa Tokyo Skytree Asakusa Shrine and Sanja Matsuri Tokyo National Museum National Museum of Western Art Ueno Park and Shinobazu Pond Yanaka Ginza and the Yanesen lanes Nezu Shrine Ameyoko market street Asakura Museum of Sculpture Akihabara Electric Town Jimbocho book town Kanda Myojin Shrine Holy Resurrection Cathedral (Nikolai-do) Kanda's old noodle houses Yushima Seido and the Confucian hall Mori Art Museum and Tokyo City View The National Art Center, Tokyo Tokyo Midtown and the Suntory Museum of Art Azabu-Juban shopping street Tokyo Tower and Zojoji Temple Roppongi after dark Nezu Museum The Omotesando architecture walk Aoyama Cemetery Meiji Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue The Aoyama and Minami-Aoyama back streets Meiji Jingu Yoyogi Park Takeshita Street and Cat Street Ota Memorial Museum of Art Togo Shrine Shibuya scramble crossing and Hachiko Shibuya Sky Nonbei Yokocho and the Shibuya alleys Udagawacho record shops and Shibuya vintage Tomigaya and Kamiyamacho Live music in Shibuya Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatories Golden Gai Omoide Yokocho The Isetan food hall Hanazono Shrine Tsukiji Outer Market Toyosu Market and the tuna auction teamLab Planets The Tsukiji-to-Ginza walk The Meguro River cherry trees Daikanyama T-Site Daikanyama's low-rise streets Ebisu Garden Place and the Ebisu restaurant streets Nakameguro's back streets Kagurazaka's stone lanes Akagi Shrine Dining in Kagurazaka Zenkokuji Bishamonten Ryogoku Kokugikan and sumo Edo-Tokyo Museum Kiyosumi Garden Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) The Kiyosumi-Shirakawa roasters The Ginza bar streets
A hand-drawn sketch for orientation — each place links to an exact map.
Tip
Go on a weeknight, one or two people, cash and a card; most bars close on Sundays.
Best time
7–9 pm on a weeknight.
Allow
90 min
Station
Ginza (Ginza / Marunouchi / Hibiya lines)
Official site — hours, prices, closures
www.ginza.jp · Map

Appears in

In this area: Ginza

Theatre Essential

Kabukiza Theatre歌舞伎座

Kabuki every day of the month, and a single act for the price of a coffee.

90 min · Higashi-Ginza (Hibiya / Asakusa lines), direct from the basement
Street Essential

Chuo-dori and the Sunday promenade中央通りと歩行者天国

A kilometre of flagships that closes to cars on weekend afternoons.

60 min · Ginza (Ginza / Marunouchi / Hibiya lines)
Shop Worth it

Ginza SixGINZA SIX

A department store with a Noh theatre in the basement and an art installation in the atrium.

60 min · Ginza (Ginza / Marunouchi / Hibiya lines)

All places — Ginza →