| Bar Review |
By Beau Miller |
Nakame Takkyu Lounge
This hidden ping-pong bar with a laid-back vibe is quite the find
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| Photos by Kohji Shiiki |
For nearly five years, Nakame Takkyu Lounge has
been the after-hours playground of only the most tuned-in Tokyoites.
The bar is unmarked and hidden on the second-floor of a nondescript apartment building between Nakameguro and Daikanyama. But now that the secret is all over the Japanese blogosphere, we thought we’d throw in our two cents.
A frat house this is not. Nakame Takkyu Lounge has paper-thin walls, and the staff are adamant about keeping the volume down. But just as well. The chill vibe and acoustic guitar BGM set the tone for a seriously laid-back evening—until, of course, you’re going stroke-for-stroke in a table tennis match for the ages.
The ping-pong table is the bar’s centerpiece. Around it are strewn chairs, couches and low-lying tables for plopping down on the floor. An entertainment system, looking as if it hasn’t been touched since the place opened in 2003, and a bar counter face one another from opposite ends of the large, dimly lit space.
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Over the course of several evenings at Nakame Takkyu Lounge, we have honed a routine. Roll up by 10pm, before the cover charge is raised from ¥500 to ¥800. Enter, remove shoes, grab a paddle by the door, and nab seats in the corner. Receive warm oshibori and a menu, order a round of nama (¥600) or Hoegaarden (¥800), depending on the mood. The list of umeshu and its upscale cousin umezake (¥600-¥1,500) is impressive—you could come every night for two weeks and sample a different brand each time. There are also a number of house cocktails, among them the ominous sounding NakaTaku Punch (¥750).
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Food offerings vary, and many of the items on the menu are only available in theory, or sporadically at best. But ask and ye may receive. We have in the past enjoyed a pleasant feta and olive salad.
To find Nakame Takkyu Lounge, go straight out of Nakameguro station’s ticket gates, cross Yamate Dori and wander down the street to the right of the elevated Toyoko line tracks. Cross the bridge, and make a right turn just before the convenience store. Immediately after the parking garage, make a left, and walk along the building until you see a flight of stairs. Climb up one floor, press the doorbell, and introduce yourself. With any luck, you’ll soon be sipping shochu and firing off forehands in one of Tokyo’s coolest bars.
2F Line House Nakameguro, 1-3-13 Kami-Meguro, Meguro-ku. Tel: 03-5722-3080. Open Mon-Sat 7pm-2am, Sun & hols 6pm-midnight. Cover charge: ¥500/¥800 (after 10pm). Nearest stn: Nakameguro. www.mfs11.com/nakame/nakame.html
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The title of “Shot King” is up for grabs. Propaganda (2F Yua Roppongi Bldg, 3-14-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku; 03-3423-0988; www.propaganda-tokyo.com), famous for its shooters and screwdrivers made from fresh-squeezed OJ, recently announced a competition for who can purchase—not drink—the most shots each month. The end-of-year winner will be given their very own permanent throne at the bar, nameplate and all.
Feeling blue? The staff of Shiro Usagi (3F No. 90 Tokyo Bldg, 3-5-3 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku; 03-3362-2316) are contractually obligated to cheer you up. Or so says their slogan of “nadeshiko izakaya.” Nadeshiko Yamato is the name given to the “ideal” Japanese woman—submissive, reserved, patriotic. While we find this a tad chauvinistic, the notion that the waiters and waitresses are paid to be bubbly and energetic doesn’t sound half-bad. Because Shiro Usagi (“white rabbit”) is in the student haven of ’Baba, the prices are kept low—think ¥1,500 for two hours of bottomless booze. If that doesn’t put a smile on your face, we don’t know what will.
Lastly—and we hesitate to share this one—fans of Mexican food and tequila-fuelled good times should know that Junkadelic (4-10-4 Kami-Meguro, Meguro-ku; 03-5725-5020; www.junkadelic.jp) is now an even better place to get loaded. The owner, Arima-san, just returned from a south-of-the-border sojourn, and managed to smuggle back a bunch of super rare bottles of tequila. Junkadelic already offered a killer lineup of both tequila and mescal, but agave addicts now have a few more reasons to visit this mainstay of the Tokyo dining and drinking scene. BJM
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