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want to meet at fmd_good The Grillery
want to meet at fmd_good Vinotheque
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Where to find a proper sidecar cocktail in Tokyo 2026
Bar High Five in Ginza is the obvious answer but everyone gives it. Try Bar Tender in Shibuya, down the side street off Dogenzaka, they do a clean sidecar with a proper cognac base and just a lemon twist. Expect around 1,800 yen, cash only, and go early because the seats fill by 8.
Second this, but skip Fridays, the tourists find it.
Their sidecar leans a touch sweet for me so I ask for less Cointreau, and the oshibori there smells faintly of yuzu.
yeah the yuzu thing is the oshibori machine, not the drink
Ask for Yamazaki base instead, changes it completely
swapping the base works but you lose the grape character a sidecar needs, i'd keep cognac & just dial the sugar back
Hibiki works better, less oak on the finish.
Hakushu makes it too floral imo
The Dogenzaka side street bit is right, but the door has no sign, just a brass plate by the stairwell up to the second floor. Ring the bell if it looks shut, they keep it locked early evenings.
That brass plate is easy to miss after dark, so bring a small torch; the bell's on the left of the frame.
best aquarium in Tokyo 2026 for locals
shinagawa is fine but try tokyo sea life park in shinagawa too, way quieter on saturdays & the jellyfish room alone is worth the 2500 yen
The jellyfish room is genuinely the best bit, though I'd skip the weekend crowds and go after 5pm when it thins out.
yeah sea life is the sleeper pick. fwiw the penguin feeding around 1pm draws a crowd so go before that or after, and weekdays the ticket desk barely has a line at all.
yep, mornings are dead quiet there
Ikebukuro Sunshine, Tuesday mornings
Sea Life's top floor terrace over the bay is the part nobody mentions, worth the ticket on its own.
good call on the quieter weekends, though i'd grab the combo ticket with the nearby mall for a few hundred yen more
honestly the combo ticket with the mall next door is the actual move, saves u a few hundred yen and you can duck out for lunch. saturdays still get busy after 11 though so go early.
Jellyfish room before noon, no crowd at all.