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Punch Room Tokyo

Tokyo

• The Best Bar in Japan 2026, sponsored by Mancino Vermouth

Silver service punch bowls

The Punch Room Tokyo in Ginza brought Edition Hotel swagger to Tokyo's swankiest district in 2024. The interior is inspired by 19th-century London clubs, with walnut walls and ceilings, low-slung seating and saturated velvet in mustard, emerald and electric blue. Edition founder Ian Schrager teamed up with star architect Kengo Kuma to create a space that balances theatrical flair with architectural elegance.

As the bar name suggests, punch is the through-line: one of the world's earliest mixed drinks, reinvented here with a distinctly Japanese perspective. The Wonderland menu uses local ingredients for the bar's five traditional pillars: spirit, citrus, sugar, spice and tea. A martini comes infused with kumazasacha (dried bamboo leaf tea). The crowd-favourite Kappa & Yuzu pairs tequila with farmhouse-style rice brew doburoku, brightened by yuzu, cucumber and vanilla. Elsewhere, rare Japanese citruses and small-batch brews and spirits feature prominently. Order solo and your drink arrives in a glass. If two or more guests choose the same drink, it's served in a silver bowl with table-side ladle service. At the helm is Yasuhiro Kawakubo, a veteran of multiple 50 Best-listed bars whose fluency in global cocktail culture and the history of Japan is evident in the drinks and the thoughtful references behind them. This year, the bar is awarded The Best Bar in Japan 2026, sponsored by Mancino Vermouth.

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