Places we stopped along the way

Kamiya Bar

From: Loach hot pot and Tokyo ramen: more of Asakusa

The sign: Kamiya Bar, 1-1-1 Asakusa

Founded in 1880 and known as Japan's first bar, it began as a kakuuchi, a liquor shop where you drank at the counter. The building, completed in 1921, is a nationally registered tangible cultural property. You buy a meal ticket and sit wherever you like. The specialty is Denki Bran, and the Kamiya Bar way is to drink it with draft beer as a chaser. The snacks run from Japanese to Western. This time I paired a non-alcoholic beer with crab croquettes.

1-1-1 Asakusa, Taito, Tokyo

Sources: gltjp.com moneypost.jp

This moment in the journey

1-1-1 Asakusa

Step out of Asakusa Station and this is the first building you see. A yellow vertical sign spells out Kamiya Bar. The address is 1-1-1 Asakusa, which sounds wonderfully cool.

Founded in 1880, Kamiya Bar is known as Japan's first bar. Its building, put up in 1921, is a nationally registered tangible cultural property, and a plaque saying so is set into the tiled wall.

Denki Bran, which appears in the works of Osamu Dazai, is the house specialty. The display case was lined with amber Denki Bran, draft beer, and plenty of dishes that go perfectly with beer. You buy a meal ticket and sit wherever you like.

Watch this scene on YouTube7:20

Read this scene in the full journey