Opened in the 1880s, Kamiya Bar in Tokyo, a survivor of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 that killed more than 100,000 people and the devastating firebombs of the Second World War, is said to be the oldest western-style bar in Japan.
Located in the heart of Asakusa, it is something of a legend among publishers and bookworms because some of Japan’s most famous authors drank there. Among them were Yasunari Kawabata (1899-19723), winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature, Junichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965), Kafu Nagai (1879-1959) and Yukio Mishima (1925-1970).
The bar is also famous for its retro cafeteria–like feel; and its all-important original cocktail Denki Bran, electric brandy – a brandy based cocktail that is served nowhere else in Japan. Due to Denki Bran’s unusual flavour and strength, connoisseurs recommend drinking it with a beer chaser.
The bar, which consists of three floors, is still in its original location, but has been rebuilt several times since the 1880s.
Another of Tokyo’s famous literary watering holes is Lupin, founded in 1928, where a more conventional cocktail, the Moscow Mule, is the recommended beverage. It is served in a copper mug.
Located in Ginza, Lupin is close to the former office of an important Japanese publisher, andis said to have been a popular location for Osamu Dazai (1909-1948), who has been dubbed Japan’s ultimate bad boy novelist, and his friends; as well as other authors like Ango Sakaguchi (1906-1955), and artists.
Several other bars including one at the Hill Top Hotel, a popular Tokyo hotel amongst publishers and authors, are often mentioned in the same breath by Japan’s drinking literati. However, none serve electric brandy.
