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Bar Budokan is on the corner near some other tiny tiny bars near the Shimokitazawa Town Hall, just up the road from the Shimo Disc Union. Somewhat smaller than the actual Budokan, the bar has 3 seats at the bar, and another 3 or 4 chairs out on the footpath. Very intimate.
Godz, just around the corner from Mother Rock Bar, is purely, evilly, Heavy Metal Only! This bar is spacious compared to most of the bars featured here, but still on the small side, also in a basement, somewhat better lit, and an incomparable selection of Heavy Metal of all kinds! Requests are also welcome, the louder the better! Also a good place to go to try and catch up with touring heavy metal acts who drop in, and leave signed shikishi (square pieces of paperboard) which Godz has a nice collection of.
A recent discovery of mine, also up the road from Godz, still in Kabukicho, Shinjuku, the Neon Genesis Evangelion Bar. A bar dedicated to the ground-breaking anime series, full of eva toys, posters, soundtracks, and ephemera, the tv plays episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion. And the final kicker (as if that wasn't enough), the staff will shout 'Service Service' when you depart (which fans of the show will understand and appreciate). It is also right next door to the One-Piece bar, which was closed at the time I wanted to grab a picture. Ah well...next time.
The Ayanami Rei side of the toy collection at the Eva bar, Shinjuku. Outrageous!
The Dhali Curry Bar, a bit further into Kabukicho, has drinks and food, and an exterior and interior decorated with tastefully arranged masses of thrown away techno-trash. It's like drinking inside a computer! Dhali, the owner, also runs Funk-time, a Psy Trance club, not far away.
Of course, when we are talking about tiny bars and Shinjuku, no visit is complete without trying one or 5 of the ultra-tiny bars in Golden Gai, a series of narrow alleyways crammed with over 200 stupidly small bars. Anything goes, theme-wise here. There was a bar dedicated to the Pink Floyd album Atom Heart Mother (that's specialised!), which I couldn't find this time around, so I'm not sure if it's still there or not. But there's still plenty of choice. This one is Bar Albatross (which also has another, equally tiny bar in Omoide Yokocho or Memory Lane near Shinjuku station) which attracts Japanese, local ex-pats and tourists alike. The one in Golden Gai has 3 stories (well, 2 and a half), and is seriously cramped, but gorgeously decked out.
A shot of the corner of Bar Albatross, Golden Gai
Over to Roppongi quickly, a stupid all-nighter in Roppongi is likely to start out at Bar Mistral, also known as the Train Bar. The exterior (shown here) looks like a train carriage that crashed into the wall and was converted into a bar. The interior is, you guessed it, cramped, and decked out like a train carriage.
Back to Kabukicho, and another loud request bar, bar Psy (which, as far as I can tell, has no Psy, but lots of heavy metal, and not heavy metal), just across the road and up a few floors from Mother Rock Bar.
In Kichijoji, Harmony Ka Yokocho has around 100 shops, crammed in to a small sprawl, and the beer flows. It's a great little area to photograph, and drink in.
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