J-Pop Café
Revelers young and old join in the fun at this futuristic Shibuya bar

Photos Courtesy of J-Pop Café

With a name like J-Pop Café, you’d think this bar caters only to teeny bopper fans. But we were pleasantly surprised to find that the centrally located Shibuya bar not only meets the needs of young music lovers, but also those just looking for a few good drinks as well.

Because our first visit coincided with one of the many live music nights, we were relegated to the lounge-y area at the back known as “J-Pop Living,” separated from the action by a brightly lit tunnel. Wanting to experience the complete atmosphere, we vowed to return—and did the next weekend.

Again, the bar was hosting a concert, and again we were led through the futuristic tunnel to the same area. Here, we found a huge screen showing a selection of music videos, updated twice a month to keep up with the fast pace of the industry. We were surprised at first by the lack of customers, but as the night wore on, more and more Shibuya types streamed in. We recognized them from their debut in the Hollywood blockbuster Babel, which was shot on location here.

Opening our menus, we were struck by the creativity of the drinks on offer. Many feature fresh ingredients, like the delicious Kiwi Splash (¥650), a mix of fruit, liqueur and ginger ale. Aside from these original cocktails, J-Pop Café offers an array of shochu and sake for those who prefer to sip on a fine Japanese spirit or two.

The bar also offers a selection of Asian-inspired fusion dishes, like marinated tuna with avocado, Vietnamese spring rolls and taco rice. All were inexpensive, in the ¥500-¥1,000 range—but you get what you pay for. We kept it to beverages after that.

During our second round, the “Birthday Song” came on over the beefy sound system, the waitresses appeared with large fruit parfaits (complete with sparklers), and the whole bar joined in the chorus. All patrons, young and old, were having a good time, and their enthusiasm was infectious.

Our assumption that J-Pop Café appeals mainly to a younger crowd was shattered when we saw a line of people with an average age of about 65 waiting to enter the Garden area, where an opera appeared to be taking place. The space has a planetarium feel to it, with domed glass walls and the ceiling illuminated by white lights.

Even though we weren’t huge fans of the namesake genre, we were impressed by J-Pop Café’s cool futuristic setting and creative drinks. And it’s nice to know that no matter how old we get, we’ll always have a place to party.

7F Shibuya Beam, 31-2 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-5456-5767. Open Mon-Fri 5pm-midnight, Sat-Sun noon-midnight. Nearest stn: Shibuya. www.j-popcafe.com

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