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Doma Doma
This easy-to-find izakaya along Jingū-dōri serves a younger crowd than the salarymen boozing it up at its Shinjuku counterparts. Order a pitcher of nama biiru (draft beer) and a few Japanese dishes off the picture menu, but beware of the more fusion-style offerings that are less hit and more miss.
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Dubliners
The strains of an old Irish tune may meet you at the door. Live music, good beer and a warm break from Tokyo's smooth, cool rhythm have made this one of the city's most frequented international watering holes. Pub grub includes a few Irish standards in portions that are larger than normal for Tokyo. There's a second branch in Ikebukuro.
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Enjoy! House
This retro lounge is run by a free-spirited owner who will elevate your mood. The mix here runs from '80s pop to reggae, and the vibe is relaxed. Best of all, there's no cover charge. Enjoy!
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Footnik
Cold pints cost only around ¥700 , and the big-screen TVs broadcast - what else? - footy (er, soccer) for the footniks. Find this friendly pub downstairs from Good Day Books.
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GB
A welcoming, dimly-lit bar with 1980s videos on the tube and a cruise vibe. GB has friendly staff, decently generous drinks and makes for a great spot to begin the night.
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Geronimo
Geronimo is poised over Roppongi Crossing, making it a logical place to start out on a bar crawl through the neighbourhood. The place has a friendly vibe, and if you're feeling superfriendly you can bang on the drum that signals your intention to buy a round for everyone in the bar.
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Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka
If you're planning an intergalactic rendezvous, this cocktail lounge is the place. White tables on a purple carpet floating in the middle of the city create a very spacey atmosphere.
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Green Plaza Ladies Sauna
Women also have a place to wash and crash in Kabukichō. This central, 24-hour sentō (public bath) and spa for women is a calming refuge, where you can get a massage after you bathe, have a bite to eat, and then blissfully snooze away until the morning trains begin running. Best of all, there's a rooftop rotemburo (outdoor bath).
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Hanashibe
For Kyoto specialities and house-brewed sake, check out Hanashibe in the Mediage entertainment complex in Aqua City. You can try three types of sake in a tasting set (around ¥700 ), which you can match with izakaya -style small dishes.
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Hash House Harriers
Formed in 1938, this worldwide club's activities are a mix of mad dashing and serious drinking done by cheeky joggers with sobriquets such as 'Sakura Sucker'. Several planned runs meander through a variety of routes each week. Bring your best drinking shoes.
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Heartland
Named for the house beer from Kirin, Heartland is a chic, easygoing watering hole at the base of Roppongi Hills' West Tower that caters to professional expats and Japanese. It doesn't have the zoolike atmosphere of bars on Roppongi's main drag and drinks are reasonably priced.
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Hobgoblin
Far better than your average Britpub replica, Akasaka's Hobgoblin is run by an Oxfordshire brewery. It serves good pub fare, like toad in the hole, with excellent microbrews. You'll find this Hobgoblin in the basement of the building next to the clearly marked Marugen 23 building.
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Hub Pub
A generally English ambience, pub food and a decent selection of beers attract a mixed crowd of 20-somethings, especially on weekends. The Hub has branches all over the city, though this is probably the most comfortable of the lot.
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Insomnia Lounge
Insomnia Lounge is that rare Shibuya find: a bar for grown-ups. Good food, low music and a cosy, mirrored red interior make it the kind of place to come when you're in the mood for conversation. The kitchen's open late, and the oddly eyeball-esque mirrored wall behind the bar will induce insomnia if you're not already feeling it.
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Kamiya Bar
Once popular with the Tokyo literati, this smoky old place hasn't changed much since it was founded in 1880. The 1st floor is a beer hall where you pay for drinks as you enter. Its best-known offering is the brandy-based cocktail denki-bran . The restaurants upstairs serve Japanese and Western food, but that's not the reason to come here.
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Kinswomyn
This established girls-only spot is welcoming and comfortable, and is run by a lesbian activist. English is spoken here, making it a perfect stop for visitors, but it's more a spot for drinking and chatting instead of dancing.
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La Jetée
Kawai-san, the proprietor of this Golden Gai bar, knows more about film (especially that of Chris Marker) than most of us ever will. No English is spoken here, though you're more than welcome to practise your rusty Français. Unlike many Golden Gai establishments, this one is amenable to foreign visitors.
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Las Chicas
Slated to reopen in spring 2008, Las Chicas is also a restaurant and one of Harajuku's core art spaces. But that doesn't mean you can't come here just to hang out in the bar area, which is the kind of place where you want to sit and sip for hours.
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Lexington Queen
The Lex was one of Roppongi's first discos and is still one of those places where visiting celebrities turn up. The cover here starts around ¥2000 unless you've had your visage on the cover of Vogue or Rolling Stone . But, even noncelebrities get a free drink with admission.
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Lion Beer Hall
This is an almost-Bavarian beer hall smack in the middle of the otherwise ritzy, retail-crazed Ginza. Good pub food and a lovely 1930s mural on the wall only add to the atmosphere on weekend nights, which have been known to erupt into song.
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Mado Lounge
On the 52nd floor of Mori Tower, the views are indeed stunning from this very cool window lounge. To get in, you'll have to first pay admission to the Mori Museum and/or Tokyo City View, so it's only worth the additional cover if you're here anyway.
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Mickey House
An excellent place for a beer and light conversation most nights of the week, Mickey House really picks up on Friday and Saturday nights during international parties of their own.
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Mistral Blue
This lovable hole in the wall, also known as Train Bar for its resemblance to the interior of a carriage, is about as unpretentious as it gets in Roppongi. The many foreign customers who have drained cheap beers here have left their mark - every surface, even the light bulbs, is covered with signatures.
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Muse
Muse, a catacomblike underground space with intimate booths, dance floors and billiards, has an excellent mix of locals and foreigners. There's something for everyone here, if you want to dance up a storm or just feel like playing darts or Ping Pong.
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New Lex Edo
The Lex was one of Roppongi's first discos and is still the place where every visiting celebrity ends up. The cover here starts at around ¥2000 unless you've had your visage on the front of Vogue or Rolling Stone . But, even noncelebrities get a free drink with admission.
