The Best Hotel Bars in Tokyo
Tokyo makes it easy for your dream itinerary to come true. Enjoy a peaceful morning in a verdant park, then embark on a vintage shopping spree in the impossibly hip Shimokitazawa. Dine on a bucket list-worthy meal in the world’s most Michelin-starred city, then treat yourself to a dessert from an omnipresent konbini (convenience store). Party the night away in neon-drenched Shinjuku and pray that your hangover goes away at a historic temple the following morning. Whether you prefer soaking in Tokyo skyline views or a steamy onsen bath, Japan’s capital offers infinite ways to guarantee satisfaction for every type of traveler.
If you’re an opulence-seeking jet-setter, a serious cocktail connoisseur, or both, you’ll find your happy place at the hotel bar. Of course, the world’s most populous city is home to a sea of world-class hotels, and while you won’t need a room key to visit their on-site bars, you’ll likely need a reservation. Care to experience strong pours and the height of omotenashi (the art of Japanese hospitality) from the 39th floor of an Art Deco-bedecked haunt? How does sipping elegant cocktails in a sleek drinking den alongside the occasional celebrity sound to you? Want more options? Don’t get swept up Googling drinking destinations, because we’ve rounded up Tokyo’s standout hotel bars below. Kanpai!
Gold Bar at The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon
- 4-1-1 Toranomon, Minato Ku, Tokyo, Japan, 105-0001
The Tokyo Edition, Toranomon is home to several food and beverage venues including the tranquil, slate-hued Lobby Bar and the sumptuous all-day eatery known as The Blue Room. Both 31st-floor spots are bright and airy, filled with dramatic greenery and boast stunning skyline views of the city that will leave you picking up your jaw from the floor. But discerning cocktail drinkers will feel most at home at Gold Bar, tucked away near the hotel’s ground floor entrance. Follow fashionable Tokyoites inside the black-walled, gold-accented boîte, where tattooed bartenders artfully mix cocktails from behind a marble-topped bar. Sexy black leather couches, a focal fireplace made of Nero Marquina and a cathedral-high, white barrel-vaulted ceiling make this ornate bar among the megalopolis’s most moody settings for a drink. Try the Japanese whisky and rum-based “Yaki Tokyo Banana,” made with banana, kogashi butter, citrus, egg white and chipotle salt from the seasonally-dependent cocktail menu. For a wildly inventive tipple with big umami undertones, go for the “Cumin & Mango Nigiri,” featuring Woodford Reserve bourbon, mango tea, spices, sushi vinegar, bonito flakes, cream, citrus and egg white. Hungry? Nibble on izakaya-style small plates like a wagyu beef cutlet sandwich.
Just don’t expect to enter this intimate hideaway without a reservation on weekends. That’s when Tokyo’s best-dressed locals, hotel guests and the occasional in-town pop star come to party while DJs grace the decks. You can always try your luck at newcomer The Tokyo Edition, Ginza and swing by the Punch Room, the Tokyo outpost of Edition’s punch-focused bar concept that evokes 19th-century London private clubs, or The Roof, Ginza’s first natural wine bar.
Trunk Lounge at Trunk Hotel Cat Street
- 5 Chome-31 Jingumae, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan
Open since 2009 and perfectly placed between Shibuya and Harajuku, most things have stayed the same at the eternally hip Trunk Hotel Cat Street. Step into the 15-room boutique hotel’s palm-fringed open-concept lounge—decked out with earth-toned hues and eclectic upcycled furnishings—and you’ll find it humming with energy at any time of day. Every custom-made sofa and seat is perpetually occupied by creative types who look like they’ve been plucked from a Heaven by Marc Jacobs campaign. It’s more than a hotel lounge: it’s a people-watching heaven. During the day, these supremely stylish types sip lattes, take advantage of the reliable wi-fi, and tap away on their MacBooks at the communal table before transitioning to cocktails at night when the lights are dimmed and the music is turned up.
Consider giving your go-to drink a break and order a craft cocktail from the master mixologists such as Trunk’s take on the Penicillin, with mezcal instead of whiskey, plus shiso and plum liqueur. Stick around this convivial space for daily programming like art exhibitions, pop-up shops and dance parties as a result of lively soundtracks from top-notch DJs. Don’t leave before asking a staff member about the discreet, designated smoking section. It’s worth stopping by even for non-smokers to get an Instagram photo of a quirky mural depicting a bleary-eyed Jesus and his apostles with cigarettes hanging from their lips. (The Last Smoke?) Plus, the leafy nook makes for another opportunity to rub elbows with an effortlessly cool crowd.
Bar Ao at Hotel K5
- 3-5 Nihonbashikabutocho, Chuo City, Tokyo 103-0026, Japan
Tokyo is full of opulent hotels that occupy the top floors of shiny skyscrapers, but Hotel K5, which opened in 2020, is one of a kind. Set in a refurbished bank building that dates back to the 1920s, the design-forward 20-room boutique is nestled on a quiet street in Tokyo’s former financial district of Nihonbashi Kabutochō. Once known as the “Wall Street of Japan,” today the neighborhood is a hub of cool, teeming with trendy cafes and boozy hotspots. Expect to mingle with in-the-know city dwellers, not salarymen, at K5’s atmospheric and very red Bar Ao. Nearly every inch of the velvet-upholstered watering hole is covered in a striking crimson—from the low ceiling and walls to the carpeting and seating. Fun fact: The small, suave haunt pays homage to Eiichi Shibusawa, a 19th-century businessman and banker who had a penchant for tea and books, all of which will make perfect sense when you look around the library-inspired space while nursing an Earl Grey whiskey sour.
New York Bar at Park Hyatt Tokyo
- 3-7-1-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 163-1055
You’ll have to wait a while for your Lost in Translation moment: the ‘90s-born Park Hyatt Tokyo—the main filming location of Sofia Coppola’s cult classic film—has closed its doors until fall 2025 for a property-wide renovation. Here’s hoping that the much-loved New York Bar is left untouched. Floating majestically above glittering Shinjuku on the 52nd floor of the five-star hotel, there’s no better place for classic cocktails, live music and memorable evenings than this sophisticated legend, which also boasts the largest collection of American wines in Japan. Think: soaring ceilings, beyond-vibrant artwork and nightly jazz performances paired with flawless service and martinis that will knock your socks off. Mount Fuji hypnotizes in the distance on cloudless days and Blade Runner-esque views abound at night via the floor-to-ceiling windows. In short, it’s the hotel bar to end all hotel bars. 2025 couldn’t come soon enough.
The Bulgari Bar at Bulgari Hotel Tokyo
- 2 Chome-2-1 Yaesu, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0028, Japan
Any Bulgari Hotel is the place to see and be seen, especially when it comes to the Tokyo outpost. Take, for instance, their glitzy opening gala last spring which featured star-studded appearances from Bulgari ambassador Anne Hathaway and the Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike. Inhabiting the top five floors of the 45-story Midtown Yaesu ultra-skyscraper, the high-end Italian jewelry brand’s debut Japan hotel has 98 cloud-brushing rooms and suites, a heavenly spa and multiple dining options including Sushi Hōseki, helmed by lauded Michelin-starred chef Kenji Gyoten. Crowning the hotel’s rooftop is Tokyo’s hottest hotspot, The Bulgari Bar, accessible via a private elevator that leads to a world where Italian and Japanese design sensibilities magnificently intermix. With walls of windows showcasing mesmeric skyline vistas and a scene-stealing custom-made glass mosaic wall of birds and citrus trees behind a half-oval bar counter, this Venetian terrazzo-floored stomping ground for the fashion set is as glamorous as it comes. Here, you’ll always find well-heeled patrons seated in cushy sofas while enjoying beautifully crafted cocktails, glasses of wine and small Italian plates, or perhaps partaking in the indulgent afternoon tea. Take advantage of sunny days at the rooftop bar’s two sprawling terraces and savor the feel-fabulous vibes and endless slices of la dolce vita amid jasmine and lemon trees.
Virtù at Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi
- 1 Chome-2-1 Ōtemachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan
Hotel guests will have trouble leaving their cloudlike, hibernation-friendly beds at this gleaming retreat in the city skies, which opened in 2020. But Virtù, the über-luxe hotel’s Art Deco-inspired cocktail bar, is not to be missed. Located on the 39th floor, the dimly lit drinking den transports patrons into a bygone era of glamour. The space is outfitted with a Gatsby-like flair complete with a head-turning monochrome tiled bar, and the expert bartenders are outfitted in ties and Merlot-red waistcoats. The only things missing are flapper dresses and clouds of cigar smoke.
As for the menu? There’s wine, beer, snacks and desserts—like wagyu beef jerky, burrata topped with caviar and chocolate bonbons—and a Tokyo-meets-Paris specialty cocktail menu. You can’t go wrong ordering the “Virtù Martini,” which uses Japanese gin and vodka, French vermouth and hinoki bitters, and is served in exquisite Kimura glassware. Prepare to be surrounded by gorgeous vistas of the Imperial Palace Gardens, a wealth of omotenashi and a bon vivant spirit. Expect a grand old time because of it.
