If you are looking for a quiet canoodle or a lounge to chat over delicious cocktails, Majestic Bar in Nishi-azabu is where you should head over.

“It’s the kind of place where you want to take your relationship to the next level,” chuckled a Tokyo gal pal of mine. I giggled, too, and wondered what kind of place it would be like.

The words sultry and sexy popped into my head instantly with its gothic candles and black velvet drapes. It was like a 21st century dungeon where you wonder what would await you in its curious lair.

There are private nooks where a tiny couch (good for snuggling) and a translucent black curtain are great for some privacy. I don’t think you could go “all the way” but it’s a great prelude to something more.

It’s not something I would mention in a review but another unusual aspect of Majestic is its labyrinth-like layout. You could get lost on your way to the loo and what greets you is a huge red gothic light display that’s a little scary. But Majestic has a lot of character and it’s quite a conversation-starter.

The drinks are skillfully made with care and our group sampled the margarita, pina colada, whiskey, and mimosa. But be warned that it’s pricey — a cocktail can set you back 1,200JPY to 1800JPY. It’s perfect for a special occasion or if you tire of izakayas and noisy bars.

Address: B1F, 1-14-17 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku.
Nearest station: Nogizaka
Tel: 03-5770-3182
Opening hours: 6pm-6am daily

Last weekend I have been to the great SuperDeluxe club to attend the evening session of Pecha Kucha University Vol.1, a cooperation between the regular Pecha Kucha Night (organised by Klein Dytham Architecture) and Temple University. It was a very interesting night with so much input that I needed some time to get things in my brain in order to write about it. The overall topic of this first Pecha Kucha University was “Youth and Imaginative Labour: East Asia and Beyond”. There were in the fashion of the Pecha Kucha Night several speakers and every one of them had the time of 20 slides à 20 seconds (6min40sec) to present their idea, paper, research, whatever in connection to that topic. Most talked about various efforts to earn money with the internet, some were representing their favourite niche of youthculture and I didn’t really see the connection to the term “labour” all the time. But who cares, most of the prestentations were quite interesting and some very entertaining – like the one by a guy who was costumed as Goku from Dragonball. He came with a dancing crew of mostly male (!) cosplayers dressed in “moe” style who performed their dance two times – because of the great response from the audience… But there were also informative and rather academic lectures, all held by students from abroad (mostly Korea and HongKong). I wonder why there were no Japanese speakers?! Because the speech had to be hold in English, I guess.. the old problem.
After those presentations followed the screening of the fantastic movie Avalon, introduced by THE guru in the field of Japanese cinema, Donald Richie.
And as if all that wasn’t input enough there was a HipHop afterparty hosted by Zulu Nation Japan, with a Spoken Word performance by Marcellus Nealy and live painting by Rinpa Eshidan. I strongly recommend to have a look at their website – their work is amazing and they are something like “youtube celebrities” with one of their videos been watched more than 2 MILLION times.

As I said, this was Pecha Kucha University, not the regular Pecha Kucha Night, which is about architecture and design. If you are interested in that, going to SuperDeluxe club should be your plan for tonight, when young designers, architects and so on meet there again for another round of Pecha Kucha. And for all those of you who are not in Tokyo: Pecha Kucha Night has spread all over the world and you can attend it in more than 80 cities! All of upcoming events are listed on their website.

RIMG0063

Originally uploaded by lhuga.

I went for drink with my colleagues to Izakaya(Japanese pub).
Usually, they provide warm towels and chopsticks with paper cover.
One of our colleagues started “Origami” with that towels and paper.
This picturte is the result of that. 17 towels for 9 people…strange.

会社の同僚と居酒屋で飲み会でした。
中の一人が、割り箸袋で鳥の形の箸置を作り始め、さらにおしぼりで
なんだかよくわかんない鳥を作り始めました。
10人くらいで飲んでいたはずなのに、おしぼり鳥はそれ以上います。不思議。

Absolut Icebar Tokyo is one of a place I am planning to go during summer. A little expensive (admission 3500 yen including one vodka based drink, served by ice glass.) but it is experience.
Reservation is required. You can find pictures from flickr

ABSOLUT ICEBAR TOKYO is the first permanent icebar in Japan located in Nishiazabu. Experience the extreme – the ABSOLUT ICEBAR is kept at minus 5 degrees Celsius year around and everything inside is made out of crystal clear ice transported down from the Torne River in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden. Step into an environment where the walls, bar, tables, and even your own personal glass with a vodka cocktail is made out of ice. The ABSOLUT ICEBAR is operated in 45 minute time slots and you will be given a cape to keep you warm during your visit.

居酒屋　でん太 (Izakaya Denta)

Well, my little sleepy town has been graced with a new drinking establishment – Rather high-class for these parts, if you ask me. Today I popped my head in as they were getting ready for another day of business. Initially, I just wanted a few pictures of the owner and the outside, but the owner’s wife, Hiromi, invited me in to take more shots of the interior. The flickr photo set is here.

Technorati Tags: food, restaurant, tokyo

Cafe do Craque Propels Tachikawa City into the Limelight – Okay, that is a blatant lie.

F1 > soccer/metric football. That’s right, futbol will always be second fiddle to the one true sport; F1. No use arguing, that’s the way it is. Now, thanks to Cafe do Craque, i’ll hopefully find others who share my love – No heckling from the peanut gallery! Anyway, Cafe do Craque gets my money on July 16th for the French Grand Prix.

Cafe do Craque: Menu Highlights:

• ペペロンチーネ :: たっぷりニンニクと唐辛子の定番パスタ
• ペンネアラビアータ :: 長時間煮込んだピリ辛ソースをペンネにからめました
• レッドカレー :: ココナッツミルクたっぷりのカレー。この辛さはやみつき。
  決め手はターメリックの香りです
• コロナ　エクストラ
• ロングアイランドアイスティー !!!!!!!!!!

The drinks menu is long.

Cafe do Craque: Schedule.

Okay, okay they show more metric football than F1, but that still doesn’t make soccer > F1. /me is in denial. Oh, and, if you live in or around Tachikawa and would like to join me on July 16th, let me know.

Technorati Tags: bars, F1, food, television

Back home now, typing this from my PC, and tired, so this’ll be the last thing I write up for the weekend (if 3am in the early morning on Monday still qualifies as the weekend). Just posting to say I finished off the evening/morning with friends at Arty Farty in Ni-Chome (who I reckon are still there talking and dancing), where (by the way) a friend gave me a great idea for a birthday present for Satori (more about that another day).

Anyway, Arty Farty is in Ni-Chome, right around the corner from Advocates Cafe, where I posted an entry from my mobile about a little earlier. Advocates closes around midnight on Sunday, so Arty Farty is always a convenient place to retreat to when they shut the doors at Advocate. I’ve heard Arty Farty has an all-you-can drink wine thing (like the beer blast at Advocates, except, well, with wine), though I’ve never been there for it.

Had some news from my friend Monty just before I headed back, of the kind that causes you remember to try to make the most that you can of the time you have with people you care about, which I guess I managed to do this weekend, and which is more than I can say of every weekend, so I guess I can rank this one as a success in that regard.

Now at Advocates, a bar in Shinjuku Ni-Chome, not too far from Yotsuya, where I started out the afternoon with Satori. I’m now with some friends, talking about some other friends who may or may not be on the way.

Shinjuku Ni-Chome, by the way, is a part of town with a lot of gay bars. Advocates is one such, though that’s not to say that it’s a place that makes non-gay people feel unwelcome or anything. I’ve always felt welcome here, at least.

Advocates is small but it opens out to a wide sidewalk, and when the weather’s nice, you’ll find dozens of people here, and “Advocates” becomes the sidewalk and even the street around the bar instead of just the physical environs of the bar itself. Particularly during the time of day (7 to 9) when they have “beer blast” going on (all the beer you can drink for 1000 yen).

Anyway, it’s a very nice place. Plan on stopping by some time — especially on a day when the weather’s clear and comfortable.

Right now I’m at a place in Gaienmae called “Office”. If you’re in Tokyo and looking for an interesting place to while away a couple of hours alone or with friend(s), you can’t go wrong stopping by here.

It has a bit of the feel of a college coffee house, except that instead of having a view out to some “quad” or whatever, it has a 5th floor view out to a neon-lit busy Tokyo intersection.

Other particulars: a full drink menu, including liquor, sake and shouchu, beer, wine, juice, tea, and coffee. Nice lighting, nice staff, usually good music. Seating for about 30 people and not usually crowded (so a good choice for impromptu gatherings). A selection of decent light food. And reasonable prices. A variety of interesting books and magazines you can borrow and enjoy along with your food and drink.

Also, a real rarity in Tokyo: outlets into which you are free to plug in your laptop’s AC adaptor and/or keitai charger.

And to top it all off: it’s open until 3am every night, including Sunday and Monday.

To find it, just ride the Ginza line to Gaienmae station, take exit 3, and you’re there. Well, almost. What you’ll see at the street level when you come up and out from the exit is a place called “Sign”. Office is in the same building, just on the 5th floor. So just go around the corner, left from the entrance to Sign, and climb the stairs (no elevator) up to Office, and enjoy.