No country in the world has created their own distinct cocktail culture like Japan.
You can find a good drink in most cities around the world, and all good bars know how to utilize local ingredients to put their own mark on a classic cocktail. But that’s the difference between Japan and everywhere else - they don’t just leave their mark. They’ve remade the whole damn thing.
In the spring of 2024, I was lucky enough to take an extended sabbatical from work and I spent two months traveling around the country, hitting up a dozen different cities and 50+ bars in the process.
I went to spots recommended by official industry lists... and not-so official lists scrawled on the little scraps of paper ripped from bartenders’ order pads.
I enjoyed some amazing drinks, but I also walked away with new friends and a commitment to bringing a little bit of Japanese precision into my own drink making.
If you’ve never been to Japan, I hope these stories convince you to add it to your list! And if you’re already planning your next trip, I hope your journey takes you to some of these special spots. 💜
This hand-made zine includes:
- A little history about drinking in Japan
- Overview of the types of bars you’ll find in modern day Japan
- Travel stories and bar recommendations for 9 cities in Japan including Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kobe, Nara, Kumamoto, and Naha
- Google Maps links for all the cities above with +250 recs for not only bars, but restaurants, museums, and more
More details:
- This zine is 32-pages
- It measures 8.5 x 5.5 inches
- Handwritten & hand-drawn by me
- Printed on a risograph by Can Can Press in Mexico City
- Hand-bound & numbered in a batch of just 50