Entertainment in Western Honshū
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Kuro-sawa
This chic izakaya (Japanese-style pub) is hewn from bare concrete and attractively low-lit, a fine setting to savour goodies like charcoal-grilled pork with ginger sauce. Look for the MOS Burger outlet on the ground floor.
reviewed
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SWLABR
After the Bikan area closes down, relax with the good music and friendly staff at SWLABR. It's the green weatherboard house on the corner, a couple of blocks southeast of the station. Cocktails cost ¥600.
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Koba
Koba is a very chill place to enjoy a drink, pizza, pasta or curry and an eclectic range of music; friendly manager Bom is a musician and hosts live acts now and again as well as works by local artists. It's in a concrete building with a pool of water by the entrance, just behind Stussy.
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J-Café
Homely and comfy are the watchwords at this breezy café-bar on Heiwa-Ōdōri. Big red couches lend a living-room feel, and graffiti art adorns the walls. Scrumptious waffles, crepes and panini are on offer. The sign outside has a stylized 'j' like an ampersand.
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Lotus
Two floors above Opium in the Namiki Curl Building is Lotus, a stylish, Zenlike space where you can take off your shoes and relax on the raised floor amid cushions and low tables or sip cocktails at the bar. There's a little DJ booth here too playing great tunes.
reviewed
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Bar Alcoholiday
You can hear the karaoke wails as you approach this place, in a building crammed full of bars. Chie will be happy to serve you, particularly between 21:00 and 22:00, when drinks are ¥100 off. Look for the bright red Casa Blanca sign outside.
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Opium
Sip high-calibre drinks and people-watch in this cool bar. Snacks, pizza and pasta dishes are available. There's a sign on the wall outside. It's above the Kokoroschka shoe store on the corner.
reviewed
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Saudade na Yoru
This 2nd-floor lounge bar overlooking the Symphony Hall building makes all the right retro-chic moves, including a rough concrete floor, mismatched furniture and ornate-glass lighting. It has a good drinks list (most priced around ¥700), coffees and a limited food and snacks menu. A ¥300 cover charge applies after 9pm.
reviewed
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Organza
Bookshelves, floral wallpaper, old-fashioned furniture and a piano add to the busy retro surrounds at this dimly lit lounge bar. Organza hosts an eclectic schedule of live events (from acoustic guitar to cabaret), some with a cover charge, and it gets busy. Lunch is served on weekends.
reviewed
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Ninjō Ganko Yatai
Six small izakaya squeezed into one large room make up this convivial spot, where beer and sake come with the usual izakaya fare, as well as some local-style okonomiyaki. Take the sixth right off Yagenbori-dōri, and look for the lanterns and rope curtain over the sliding-door entrance.
reviewed
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Nawanai
This basement izakaya is an atmospheric place to mingle with locals over fresh fish and a range of local sakes. Try ko-iwashi (baby sardines), available either as sashimi or tempura (¥600). There is no English menu, but the owners will make sure you don't go home hungry – or thirsty. Take the fourth left off Yagenbori-dōri and look up and left for the illuminated sign in Japanese. Nawanai's in the basement.
reviewed
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Lotus
Take off your shoes and relax on the raised floor amid cushions, or sip cocktails at the bar. It's on a side street just off Namiki-dōri.
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Kuro-sawa
This is a trendy 'Japanese-style public house', hewn from concrete, with seating at the bar or on velvet chairs in a raised red-carpet area. It's worth coming for a drink just for the bizarre toilet experience. Food also served. It's in Ebisu-dōri arcade, on the 5th floor of a building opposite the Italian Tomato Café.
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Koba
Cross the pool of water and go up the narrow stairs to this laid-back place, where the welcoming rock-music-loving guys behind the bar serve drinks and cook up small meals. It's in a concrete building, just behind Stussy.
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Kaki-ya
Kaki-ya is a sophisticated oyster bar on the main street. It serves delicious local oysters freshly grilled on the barbecue by the entrance, along with beers and wines by the glass.
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Izayoi no Tsuki
A convivial atmosphere, walls decorated with sake labels, and an enormous drink menu – just what you want from a local izakaya. There are numerous sakes from Okayama Prefecture (around ¥500) and beers from local microbreweries – try the Doppo pilsner or a Kibi Doteshita Bakushu ale. Izoyoi is just back from the corner off the Sky Mall arcade. The bar's name is written in large characters across a yellow moon.
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Coffee Souko
Across the river behind the shrine is this little cafe, where coffees go for less than in the main street. Get your latte to go or grab one of the few tables. Look for the red van inside.
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Coffee-Kan Cafe
The low-ceilinged, wood-and-brick interior of this caffeine-lovers' paradise is thick with the aroma of freshly roasted beans. The menu features coffee and coffee only, though you can choose hot or cold. It's on the canal next to Ryokan Kurashiki.
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Chocolate
A long, narrow cafe-bar selling beer, cocktails and coffee (but not chocolate). Food is also served (pastas around ¥800).
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Cafe Tikal
Through the old gate of the Kogawa family residence is this small cafe with large windows looking on to a pleasingly unkempt garden. Sit among the knick-knacks and books at one of the few wooden tables and choose from a range of coffees, including a mountainous cappuccino. Cakes are also served.
reviewed
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Cafe Bar EAD
There are great river views from the terrace of this relaxed bar-cafe, found as you head away from the bridge. Snacks include homemade pizzas (from ¥735). The entrance is on the left as you come off the bridge. Take the stairs to the 3rd floor.
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Aussie Bar
An expat-run watering hole that's popular with the city's English-speaking population.
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