10 best secret bars in Tokyo

Behind a nondescript door on the second floor of an old office building in Shibuya is one of the  city’s greatest izakayas specialising in lemon sour cocktails. These aren’t your classic izakaya lemon sours, mind you. A sister establishment of our beloved SG Club, the menu of SG Low is more of a playful modern take on familiar favourites. Like your standard izakaya, SG Low serves up an otooshi (welcome appetiser) included with the table charge, but instead of chilled tofu or a bowl of edamame, the opening menu item here is a seasonal welcome martini. 

As for the food, think sharing-style izakaya staples with a fresh twist. Deep fried nankotsu (chicken cartilage) is tossed in fiery red buffalo-wing sauce while the potato salad is dressed up like a mini bowl of ramen. Dishes you can’t leave without trying include the irresistibly gooey mentaiko mac 'n' cheese and the mazemen noodles with uni and a side of bone marrow. 

Everything is made to pair perfectly with a crisp lemon sour, and the bar has endless variations of them. There are versions that range from the Sauna Sour with a twist of salt to one that actually alters your taste buds for a span of 30 minutes, but the staff recommend starting off with the ‘normal lemon sour’ (¥700) and working your way down the list.

By now, every cocktail connoisseur in Tokyo is well acquainted with Bar Trench, the whimsical absinthe bar in the backstreets of Ebisu. But few know about the bar’s secret pop-up, the Trench Annex. A bar within a bar, the annex’s entrance is via Bar Trench’s sister establishment, Bar Triad, where a door inside the bar reveals a secret staircase leading to the floor above. 

Despite being an extension of another bar, the annex is notably larger and more spacious than Trench’s main venue, with sofa seats and a rather romantic balcony space overlooking the dimly lit street below. On the menu are all of Bar Trench’s signature tipples, including the Mezcal Milk Punch (¥1,650) scented with cardamom bitters, the Trench 75 (¥1,540) with Nikka Coffey Gin and a dash of honey lemon, as well as a few original cocktails that bar co-owner Rogerio Igarashi Vaz has concocted since setting up this outpost.

The Annex is only open a few times a month, so be sure to double check Bar Trench's Instagram account for details before you go. 

You'll find the ground-floor entrance to Wall Aoyama hidden in plain sight. Situated in the same building as the Facetasm flagship store, Wall's entrance differentiates itself from its immediate neighbour in the subtlest way. Instead of a prominent entrance, search for an obscure rectangular door, handle-less amidst an unmarked wall. Push through and you'll discover the intimate realm of Wall.

The interior is a stark contrast to its inconspicuous facade. The walls are adorned with art pieces and there's a flourishing vertical garden masterfully designed by botanist Patrick Blanc. This verdant oasis set against minimalist concrete countertops encapsulates Aoyama's chic and trendy vibe. By day, the establishment welcomes patrons for tea and light fare such as salads and flatbreads. As night falls, it morphs into a stylish speakeasy for seasonal fruit cocktails and a refined wine selection.

Behind a small, discreet wooden door that blends into the street of Golden Gai’s Fifth Avenue is undoubtedly one of the most charming nooks in all of Tokyo. While most closed doors in Golden Gai indicate a members-only rule, The Open Book is a happy exception. This quiet standing bar is run by the grandson of award-winning Japanese novelist Komimasa Tanaka and is usually full of book lovers. 

One side of the bar is dedicated to its signature lemon sours, with jars of homemade lemon syrup and special double-chamber filters stationed behind the rustic counter, while the other side is its iconic open bookcase of wooden shelves stacked with prized novels that guests can freely browse. Besides serving some of the best lemon sours in the city, the bar also offers up a delightfully moreish curry toast for anyone craving a hot snack to go with their booze.

Around the corner from two-Michelin-star restaurant Florilège, a few minutes walk from Gaienmae Station, is a small but edgy wine shop with an impressive variety of vino. The term ‘avant-garde’ comes to mind when one steps into the industrial interior, where bottles of natural wine are stacked in brightly coloured wire mesh racks that juxtapose the otherwise bare concrete walls. 

Just as farm-to-table restaurants want diners to know where their produce comes from, No. 501 wants its patrons to get acquainted with the people who produce the wines stocked here. As a result, every bottle in the shop has a special story, whether it’s the fruity Pastafarian from the Unico Zelo microbrewery in Australia, or the creamy Chard à Canon chardonnay by the French artisanal winemaker Nicolas Arnou.

At the back of the shop, you can sit at the bar where, alongside glasses of wine, you can order from a weekly food menu of seasonal dishes created to pair with the bottles from the cellar. 

The entrance of this speakeasy is hidden in plain sight, so only those who know what they’re looking for are able to access it. To the untrained eye, the set of lockers across from Ebisu Park is just another streetside storage unit. But if you try to pull open one of the boxes to store something, the whole wall swings open to reveal a set of stairs leading to the basement. 

Inspired by the 1920s-style speakeasies of New York, this suave record bar is filled with vintage vinyls ranging from jazz to R&B. A10 has a different set of music selectors each night who pick and mix different sounds for the turntable as the bartenders whip up cocktails. The bar has an endless selection of classic cocktails, but there are also house specials by head bartender and mixologist Shuzo Nagumo.

Try Nagumo’s Tropic Espresso Martini made with dry banana rum and clarified coconut milk (¥1,650) or the Pimento Batida with homemade Don Juliuo infused tea, peppered with a hint of chipotle (¥1,760). Do note that A10 charges a ¥1,100 cover per person.

Established by the crew behind electronic music festival Zipang, Débris in Daikanyama puts on a wide range of events, from club nights to art exhibitions and film screenings. The interiors and sound system were built with the help of artists and other creatives who earned their stripes at Japanese outdoor festivals, and the result is a quirky crisscross of tastes and sensibilities.

Open the door that looks like the entrance to a Prohibition-era speakeasy and you’ll soon find yourself in a flashy ‘neo-Asian’ cavern decorated with daruma dolls and neon signs. The bar serves up cocktails made with craft spirits from around the world, while the P.B. Restaurant by the entrance lets you savour aromatic Chinese tea and congee. The restaurant's shelves are stacked with rare books selected by the operators of 'mobile library' Paradise Books. All in all, Débris is the kind of spot that works just as well at lunchtime as in those feverish late-night moments before the last train.

Just your everyday coffee shop...or is it? Unlike other speakeasies on this list, accessing Janai Coffee isn’t as simple as locating a secret passageway. Getting a seat at this coffee cocktail speciality bar requires a reservation, and making a reservation requires cracking the Janai Coffee website to access the secret booking site. We don’t want to spoil all the fun, so we’ll leave you with this tip: when on the Janai Coffee website, pay special attention to the shop logo and trace clockwise. (It’s easier on your phone.)  

If you’ve successfully made a reservation, head to the coffee shop, pull up the secret website on your phone and show the barista who will guide you to the hidden doorway. If you can’t prove you’ve deciphered the riddle on the website, the barista might deny there’s a bar hidden in the venue somewhere – they’re very dedicated to this well kept secret. 

After a lengthy hiatus during the pandemic, hideaway bar and music venue Aoyama Tunnel has reopened and is ready to welcome back the city’s alternative partygoers. As its name suggests, the nightlife venue is located behind a black and yellow entry way at the head of the Aoyama Tunnel. 

The space has undergone a renovation, so it looks a bit different from the grungy DJ bar you may remember. The art on the walls has been replaced with different pieces and new sofas have been added as well. Even the sound system has been upgraded with Taguchi amps and the acoustic design has been adjusted so that people in every corner of the space will be able to hear the live music better. 

The admission fee of ¥300 will grant you access to the main floor as well as the Red Bar found on the floor above. Regular events feature DJs of all ages and backgrounds, though house music is the predominant genre here.

Don’t let the sliding shoji-style door fool you – this curious little place isn’t a conventional shop but a Prohibition era-inspired hookah lounge. You’ll have to use your head to solve the puzzle on the shop’s website, which masquerades as a tea shop website. But once you figure out how to unlock the virtual doors (pay attention to the little red arrows on the page), you’ll be granted access to this speakeasy. 

There are close to 20 types of shisha (from ¥2,500) to choose from. As for the drinks, Chakemuri stocks an excellent selection of Japanese teas like Kakegawa matcha-infused genmaichawari, which is a blend of matcha, brown rice and wakochawari roasted black tea (¥600).

If you’re after an alcoholic beverage, the shop has a weekly assortment of house-made liqueurs for fruity cocktails like strawberry and pepper sours, spiced tomato sours, and lemon sours made with shochu (¥800 each).