Bar Hopping in Baba
Takadanobaba that is.
Two train stations past Shinjuku on the Yamanote Line lies what may very likely be Tokyo's second most active night spot behind Roppongi but minus the higher prices, street touts and alien-like characters roaming around with menacing looks about them. With Waseda University, Gakushuin and a multitude of specialty colleges in the vicinity, Takadanobaba is quite simply a "college town." It is reminiscent of what Harajuku was 20 years ago, but a bit livelier with over 900,000 people passing through its station every day.
Much of the foreign activity buzzing in Takadanobaba centers around Ben's Cafe which has become an area landmark. Opening at 11:00 a.m., it makes for a great place to start out a day in Baba with a choice of six different bagels or pastries and some of the best espresso, latte or cappuccino in Tokyo. The pastries are baked fresh every morning and delivered from Kyle's Good Finds American bakery.
Ben takes his coffee seriously. Each espresso is extracted within 30 seconds to fully retain the flavor, which will dissipate if left exposed to the air for very long. The latte milk is closely monitored with a thermometer, so as not to exceed 170 degrees. And the result... well stop by to try a fine New-York-style cup of coffee in Tokyo. And if you come in the evening there are a variety of wines to choose from along with cheese imported from Europe, including Britain's historic Stilton blue cheese.
The proprietor of Ben's Cafe, Ben Watson, is "Mr. Baba" himself because there is no one else who promotes Takadanobaba like Ben. Forget the local Koban, just ask Ben, and if you have 15 minutes to spare Ben will tell you anything you want to know about Takadanobaba. As Ben explains it, "There are all kinds of things to do in Baba. There are dozens and dozens of ethnic restaurants. You can have Indian curry, or Pakistani curry or Bangladesh curry, Burmese food, Cambodian food" and the list went on and on. "If you're on a date; there is Waseda Shochiku movie theater which shows double features for the price of one; there is an ice skating at Citizen Plaza (near FootNiks on the other side of the street), there is bowling at Big Box; and there are three pool halls. You can see live music at The Fiddler with no cover charge, and every Friday evening between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. the Budweiser Girls are handing out a free bottle of Budweiser Premium Malt to every customer at Ben's Cafe." Call 03-3202-2445 or visit www.benscafe.com for details about art events, poetry reading, games and other events at Ben's Cafe.
Later in the afternoon a five-minute walk from Ben's Cafe will take you to Mickey House (next to Wendy's), which is a long-established English conversation lounge. Here you will find newly-arrived foreigners as well as some veterans, all conversing with internationally-minded Japanese hoping to make new friends in a variety of languages. Before 4:00 p.m. the preferred language is Japanese with English being the official language of the house after 4:00 p.m. Japanese pay Y1,500 yen for admittance while foreigners get in free!
As day rolls into night Takadanobaba comes alive with activity. A multitude of pubs and bars open for business, and the faithful gradually begin to filter their way in. On the west side of the JR station, there is FootNiks, which is a British Football pub. There you can enjoy meat pies, fish and chips and a wide selection of beers while watching soccer matches on a wall-size TV screen.
Coming back to the East side just across from Big Box there is a newly-opened Hub. This is a chain of British pubs around Tokyo, and hardly anyone beats the Hub on prices. With happy hour (4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.) cocktails at Y180 and fish and chips for Y500, the Hub has the best value menu and a spacious interior with nice decor, making it a good place to start off the evening pub crawl with friends.
Heading around the corner on to "Ben's Cafe Road" you will find a stylish restaurant/pub called Time Machine with Italian dinner menu and very friendly staff. A block further down the road is Pantomine. This is small restaurant bar in the basement with rustic decor and a Y2,000 yen all-you-can-drink special offer on the menu. Continuing down the same road past Ben's Cafe on the other side of the adjacent block is the Lone Star Cafe, which is one of the few country/western bars in Tokyo with live music on most nights from 7:30 p.m. There is usually a music charge from Y1,000 to Y2,000 depending on what band is playing.
Back onto Waseda Street and two blocks toward Meiji Street, a quick right will take you to Billy Barew's, a small hole in the wall with over 100 different beers to choose from. On Weekends, patrons begin spill out to a makeshift street cafe/bar, which makes for quite an interesting and raucous atmosphere.
On the other side of Waseda Street is Shot Bar Frayer, which is a nice little watering hole with a neon interior. Two blocks down is another cozy place, Shot Bar Outsider. Here the tight interior is wrapped around the bar with a juke box in the corner. Gate One blues and jazz club is in the basement of the same building. There is occasionally live music here. Best to call for a monthly schedule.
Yet another block up the street, lies the "King of Baba Bars" and the number one "local" in Tokyo for many expats. The Fiddler is the well spring from which Baba nightlife flows. Started in 1995, this traditional British pub came on the scene and set a new standard in Tokyo by offering nightly live music without a cover charge. On any Wednesday through Sunday evening a live band begins jamming around 9:30 p.m. to a crowd of Fiddler loyalists enjoying fish and chips, steak dinners (for only Y1,100!), and other British munchies along with a tall draught beer, Guinness, Bass Pale Ale or Old Speckled Hen. Other imported beers start from Y400.
Even when the live music is not "Blast"ing, The Fiddler is awash with parties and events. There is an International Singles party every 2nd & 4th Monday from 7:00 p.m., an International Friendship Party every 3rd Saturday from 5:00 p.m., Comedy Night every 2nd Tuesday from 8:00 p.m., Darts Night every 1st & 3rd Monday, and the English Network meets there on the last Sunday of the Month from 6:00 p.m.
It is rumored that the coproprietor, Paul Gibson (front cover), is the best bartender in Tokyo--when he is not sober--and his sidekick, Nick Ward, is the second best bartender in Tokyo--when he is sober. For newcomers just tell 'em Japan Traveler sent you and ask Paul or Nick for the VIP service.
The Fiddler is also conveniently open all night for the hard-core pub crawlers and the absent-minded who just do not manage to make it back to the last train on time. In spite of usually being Tokyo's best bartender, you will not find ham and eggs on The Fiddler menu in the morning, but Paul or Nick might take you over to nearby Denny's restaurant with the rest of the all-night faithful for a hearty breakfast in the morning.
by Jay Firestone
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