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Shinjuku Pit Inn
Shinjuku Pit Inn, which has been around for over 35 years, is not the kind of place you come to talk over the music. Aficionados come here to listen in silence to Japan's best jazz performers. Weekend matinées are half the price of evening performances.
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Sky Bar Polestar
Crisp, elegant bar built for gazing out over the city, with each seat facing the windows. Drinks start at around ¥1500 .
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Smash Hits
Watch your friends wince as you deafen them with the Sid Vicious version of 'My Way'. Smash Hits provides excruciating fun of the highest order, with 12,000 English-language songs to choose from for your 15 minutes of fame. There's no time limit, and the cover includes two drinks.
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Space Lab Yellow
Located by Nishi-Azabu crossing, Yellow spins everything from house to acid jazz, Brazilian samba to techno. Foreign DJs are sometimes spotlighted: regardless of who it is, the sound is always excellent. Look for the entrance to this inky basement space next to the coin parking-lot.
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Space Zero
This is a 550-seat, fine-art performance venue that happens to be located centrally in Shinjuku. Space Zero is host to contemporary dance performances and experimental theatre productions. You'll find it in the basement of the Zenrōsai Kaikan building.
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Sunset Beach Brewing Company
After roaming around Odaiba, put your feet up here and enjoy the expansive views with an island-brewed beer. Though there are reasonably-priced lunch and dinner buffets, the house Italian food isn't worth a lick.
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Suzunari Theatre
A good bit of Japanese would be helpful in getting the gist of these underground theatre pieces. Like most avant-garde theatre, plays here tend towards experimental explorations of contemporary issues.
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Sweet Basil 139
Sweet Basil has a large, lovely space that draws big-name domestic and international jazz acts. Performances range the gamut of the genre; check the calendar on the website for the current line-up. This classy joint is a good place to have an Italian dinner before a show; call for reservations between and Monday to Saturday.
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Takara
Those seeking to sample some sake should do themselves a favour and wander on into Takara, which has a dizzying sake selection and an English izakaya menu. This is a wonderfully unpretentious and classy spot for a sip.
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Takarazuka Gekijō
While not really traditional theatre, the all-female Takarazuka Gekijō revue, with a bloodline running back to 1914, exposes Tokyo's knack for complexity. These musicals are in Japanese, but English synopses are available. A mostly female audience swoons over actresses in drag. If you love camp, this is for you.
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Tokyo Apartment Café
This subterranean room with a view doubles as a cool daytime coffee house and eatery. At night, the atmosphere goes a shade hipper and cocktails are served until closing. This is a good place to hole up for the evening if you're out for the night on Omote-sandō.
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Tokyo Sports Café
With Kilkenny beer on tap, a pool table and a talking computerised alcohol tester, this friendly sports bar is the obvious choice for cheering on your favourite team. Sports-wise, it's more Rotherham United than Chicago Bulls, and many events here are broadcast live. By the early morning it can get quite rowdy.
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Tonerian
One of Ikebukuro's many izakaya (pub/eatery), this is a busy place with friendly staff. Turn up here to learn about good jizake (regional sake) from the master, who speaks English. He'll be glad to make recommendations on what to eat and drink. Look for all the empty sake bottles piled up outside.
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Unit
This subterranean space contains a restaurant, club and bar on each descending floor. Shows are mostly big-name Japanese DJ events, but live bands also play here. Be sure to bring ID to get in.
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Vanilla
Attracting a mostly Japanese clientele, Vanilla attracts fewer drunken gaijin kooks than nearby clubs. Three floors of dance space are filled with different beats and crowds of peeps. It's at the end of a small alley off of Roppongi-dōri, close to Roppongi crossing.
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Virgin Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills
Virgin's nine-screen multiplex has the biggest screen in Japan, as well as luxurious reclining seats and Internet booking up to two days in advance for reserved seats. This state-of-the-art theatre also holds all-night screenings on nights before holidays.
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What The Dickens
What the Dickens occupies the 4th floor of the Roob building, whose outstanding façade looks as if it's finished with a layer of mud, and adorned with the mirrored replica of a hummingbird. The beer and pub grub are up to snuff, and good live music and the occasional poetry reading keep things rolling.
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Womb
Womb is all about house, techno and drum 'n' bass. All four floors get jammed on weekends. Bring a flyer and they'll knock around ¥500 to around ¥1000 off the cover - check around Shibuya music shops beforehand, or print one from Womb's website. Picture ID required at the door.
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Yebisu Garden Cinema
This small, comfortable movie house is at the far end of Yebisu Garden Place and screens foreign independent films, many in English. Tickets are numbered as they are sold and theatre-goers are called to screenings as their numbers come up, preventing competition for seats.
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