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Maduro
Make a dramatic entrance into Maduro from the 6th floor over the bridge and pond inside the labyrinthine Grand Hyatt Tokyo. Swanky and sleek, this is a chic spot to start your evening. There's live music nightly, but get here before to avoid the cover charge.
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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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Milk
One of Tokyo's best small live clubs, Milk features international and local punk, rock and underground. This is a cool space, with three underground levels and a crowd of wonderfully weird local characters. Check out the out-of-commission kitchen - a great place to chat and sip a vodka tonic between sets.
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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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Motown House 1 & 2
The crass may call it 'ho town', but on the pick-up front it's no worse (or better?) than its neighbours, and since it expanded to two venues, it can actually be quite relaxed. Drinks start at around ¥800 . Funk, soul, R&B and hip-hop dominate here, of course.
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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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National Film Centre
The third arm of the National Museum of Modern Art, this centre shows tremendous film series on everything from the history of Japanese animation to the masterpieces of Cuba's film tradition. The centre also houses a library and a gallery that includes a permanent collection of antique cinematic equipment.
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National Nō Theatre
The National Nō Theatre stages its own nō (classical Japanese musical dramas) performances on weekends only, for which it provides printed English synopses, but it also hosts privately-sponsored performances. Exit Sendagaya Station in the direction of Shinjuku on the left and follow the road that hugs the railway tracks; the theatre will be on the left.
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National Theatre
Otherwise known as Kokuritsu Gekijō, this theatre features astonishingly lifelike bunraku puppets half to two-thirds life-size and each operated by three hooded, visible puppeteers. A single narrator, standing on a dais to one side, intones the story using a different voice for each character. Performances take place in Tokyo in February, May, September and December.
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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.
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New National Theatre
This is a main venue for opera in Tokyo, with Fujiwara Opera, Nihon Opera Kyokai and Nikkai Opera performing here. Part of the New National Theatre's arts complex, the Playhouse and the Pit are performance venues for modern dance, with the latter hosting just about every international dance luminary who passes through. A web resource is www.operajaponica.org.
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New York Bar
Located in the stratosphere, both physically and socially, the New York Bar towers over the city on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt Tokyo in west Shinjuku. With magnificent views, strong drinks and live jazz, this is a swank lounge for that special date.
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New York Grill And Bar
You may not be lodging at the Park Hyatt, but that doesn't mean you can't ascend to the 52nd floor to swoon over stunning views of Mt Fuji and the city. There's a cover charge of around ¥2000 after .
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O-West
Another outpost in the 'O' empire of Shibuya TV, O-West is just across the street from its eastern counterpart and tends more towards punk rock and J-pop. As with its sister club, reserve your tickets in advance.
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Ōedo Onsen Monogatari
This onsen is set up like an Edo-era town and pipes in natural mineral water from 1400m beneath Tokyo Bay. Though the setup might seem cheesy, the onsen is attractively designed, with old-fashioned restaurants and souvenir shops for a post-bath bite and browse. Admission fees cover the rental of yukata (cotton kimonos) and towels. Fees vary between morning and night, so check the website for full details.
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Pasela
Pasela boasts decor that is a cut above the other yodelling parlours. With six floors of karaoke rooms including swanky VIP suites, this branch of the chain is right in the heart of Roppongi. There's an extensive selection of Western songs, wine, champagne and sweets on the menu and a decent Mexican bar-restaurant in the basement. From to it's karaoke happy hour - around ¥400 yen including one drink.
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Pink Cow
With its animal-print décor, rotating display of local artwork and terrific all-you-can-eat buffet (around ¥2600 ) every Friday and Saturday, the Pink Cow is a funky, friendly place to hang out. Also host to stitch-and-bitch evenings, writers' salons and indie film screenings, it's a good bet if you seek some artistic stimulation.
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Pit Inn
Shinjuku Pit Inn is one of the more well-established jazz clubs in Tokyo, showcasing the talents of both foreign and local jazz musicians. The jazz could be generally classified as classically mainstream. Phone ahead for reservations. The cover includes one drink.
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Propaganda
A shot bar calling itself Propaganda couldn't possibly take itself too seriously, and it doesn't. Happy hour ( to ) specials cost around ¥500 , and it's sort of a pick-up scene if this is on your agenda.
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Ruby Room
This cool, sparkly gem of a cocktail lounge is on a hill behind the Shibuya 109 building. With both DJ'd and live music, the Ruby Room is an appealing spot for older kids hanging in Shibuya. The cover includes one drink, but if you dine downstairs at Sonoma, admission is free.
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Salsa Caribe
The narrow bar Salsa Caribe has long been a gathering place for an internationally diverse crowd that usually arrives at midnight and leaves in the early hours of the morning - only after every man has danced with almost every woman in the room.
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Salsa Sudada
Tokyo's sizable population of Peruvian and Colombian workers, many of whom grind away at factories in Kawasaki and Yokohama, come here to salsa and merengue, as do many salsa-mad locals. If you don't know how to dance, they'll teach you (lessons held nightly).
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Session House
Most dance aficionados consider Session House one of the best traditional, folk and modern dance spaces in the city. The small theatre seats only 100 people, which means that all performances have an intimate feel to them.
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Shibuya O-East
Shibuya O-East is the big mama of several related venues forming a compound of clubs up Love Hotel Hill. With its sheer size, this house draws bigger-name international and domestic acts.
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Shibuya-Ax
Shibuya-Ax has hosted big international names like Stereophonics, the Pogues and Cyndi Lauper as well as Japanese acts like Triceratops. It's a large, slick venue with its own line of proprietary merchandise. Look for the logo evoking the nuclear hazard symbol.
