10 Essential Bars in Kyoto, According to Industry Pros
The picturesque city of Kyoto—with its grand shrines, peaceful gardens and small, meandering alleys—might be the epicenter of old world Japan, but it houses a world-class bar scene that is entirely modern. Visitors are seduced by its rich culture and vast history, but restaurant and bar lovers will have plenty to add to their itinerary to complement heavy days of sightseeing.
Like the rest of Japan, Kyoto has a strong drinking culture that waffles between tradition and modernity. And the number of highly rated as well as award-winning bars is as vast as Tokyo and neighboring Osaka.
So, to find the absolute must-visit spots, we’ve enlisted the help of drinks experts intimately familiar with Kyoto’s bar scene to tell us where to go and what to order when you’re there.
Best Vodka Bar: Finlandia
Gion
A sleek, intimate bar stuffed inside a former geisha house, Finlandia delivers all the minimalism you would expect from a bar inspired by Scandinavia. According to Yusuke Ito, the head bartender at Nine Tails inside the Six Senses Kyoto, Finlandia, which has been around for over 40 years, also doubles as a spirits import business, so expect to find gin, vodka and other distillates you might not otherwise expect in Japan (in addition to local products, too, of course).
While there is an international influence at Finlandia, Ito says that the bar has a distinct regional energy, too. “The atmosphere is really authentic, very traditional Japanese style,” he says, adding that “there’s no music [there] so you can hear every sound a bartender makes.”
It’s hard to go wrong with anything on the menu, but pay special attention to the creative infusions. This includes unexpected twists like a coffee-infused vodka for the espresso martini and wasabi vodka for your classic vodka-soda. Ito suggests popping in the early evenings on a weekday, when you’ll have more of the bartenders’ attention, especially if you’re the type who wants to chat them up before making a drink order.
Best Tea Cocktails: Classic Tea & Cocktails
Higashiyama
You’re in Japan, so it’s only natural to seek out some fantastic matcha. Get your fill in this brightly lit former tea house with a pretty garden that you can sit back and enjoy, beverage in hand.
Naturally, matcha drinks are a signature here, and, according to Ito, they serve the original matcha from Uji, and the manager is an expert in the traditional tea ceremony. Options include warm cups of matcha as well as matcha mocktails and cocktails.
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If you are craving something with alcohol, Ito recommends matcha and tequila. “It’s a good combination,” he says. “The tea adds a refreshing depth of flavor to the cool tequila, and the taste of amaretto, a liqueur made from apricots, spreads softly.”
To experience the garden at its best, Ito suggests timing your visit in the fall (when the leaves are changing) or in the spring when it’s cherry blossom season. But for larger groups, Ito says the tatami room also offers a more traditional drinking experience any time of year.
It’s open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm.
Best Mocktails and Vegans: Bar Ixey
Higashiyama
You might not think that one of the best cocktail bars in Kyoto could accommodate alternative dietary practices. Bartender Hiroaki Oda’s cult-favored Bar Ixey isn’t just great for traditional drinks and non-alcoholic beverages, even vegans will find something they like here.
According to Alex Davies, a drinks consultant who was previously head distiller at Kyoto Distillery for seven years, Oda has his own non-alcoholic distillery (under the Miatina label) and drinking salon just 20 minutes away. But at Bar Ixey, where there is no menu, Oda’s passion for making drinks is on full display. There are not only distillates he’s made himself; he’s hand-picked the spirits and potions you’ll see behind the bar during his global travels.
Like many top bars around the world, there is no menu at Bar Ixey. Just tell the team about your favorite flavors and potential restrictions, and they’ll whip up the drink of your dreams.
“In addition to incredible non-alcohol options, the bar has a really extensive range of liqueurs including a large vintage selection,” Davies says. “Oda san also likes to use liquid nitrogen to chill some drinks without dilution and uses vegetarian friendly options in place of egg so he can cater to pretty much all and any dietary needs.”
Best Whisky Bar: CAAMM Bar
Nakagyō
Enter through a beaded curtain and be greeted by a massive wall of booze. Most of it is already open and available to sip neat. CAAMM, the abbreviation for Creative Alcohol And Mood Music, has a specific focus on whisky (most of it Japanese but you’ll find a healthy selection from abroad, too, including top-tier single malts from Scotland—and some owner Yoshihiro Tabuchi collaborated on). But you can find great rums and tequila, too.
“Sit at the counter and let Yoshihiro Tabuchi guide you through his enormous range of brown spirits and take you on a journey,” Davies advises, adding that if you’ve had enough of drinking neat, there’s an extensive list of sharp cocktails, too. He’s particularly a fan of the Grasshopper.
Best Classic Cocktails: Bar Kingdom
Kawaramachi
Formerly a private home, elegant, sleek Bar Kingdom is something of a special occasion destination. There are less than a dozen seats and the owner, Kouji Kido, makes every single cocktail himself.
According to Ito, who describes the bar as both formal and comfortable, you’ll want one of the seats around the bar, under the dainty crystal light pendants. From there, you can watch Kido work his magic, meticulously putting together drink orders as they come in.
“The bar is like his stage,” Ito says, adding that while there is no official menu, Bar Kingdom is where they’ve perfected the classics. “I had a martini and an X.Y.Z. when I went—both were the best I have ever had, even as a bartender myself.”
Best New Bar: Grace Note
Higashiyama
This nine-seat bar (with two additional spots for those who want to stand) only opened in March 2024, and it’s already become one of the most talked-about drinking destinations in Kyoto due head bartender Hajime Yamasaki’s mind-boggling imagination.
“He expertly treads the line between respecting the tenets of Japanese bartending and offering something creative and new,” Davies says.
In fact, his I Feel Good slushie—a frozen mix of Tanqueray 10, raspberry and wasabi—was among the winners at this year’s Diageo World Class Japan competition. “I think it’s always going to be on the menu, and it’s so damn good,” Davies raves.
You can also try the Obento Sazerac, which turns the classic on its head by adding seaweed and sesame syrup to the mix of rye, absinthe and bitters. And if that’s not enough, it’s garnished with salmon jerky and a piece of nori.
Best for Local Ingredients: Rocking Chair
Shimogyo
When this whimsical bar (there are four rocking chairs for crying out loud!) first opened in 2009, its backstreet location in the heart of the city made it difficult to find. But its surging success—thanks to delicious, locally-inspired cocktails handcrafted by thoughtful bartenders—has turned into one of Kyoto’s most sought-after drinking dens.
According to Ryuta Yamada, director of food and beverage at Ace Hotel Kyoto, “Rocking Chair is known for their beautifully original cocktail program utilizing Japanese products like Kyoto Sansho pepper, Japanese pear and Shine muscat.”
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And, like many of the bars on this list, a no-menu setup means chatting up the bar team, but Yamada recommends asking for a cocktail made with KI NO BI gin, which is locally distilled with local ingredients like bamboo. He adds, however, that he’s “partial to their Moscow Mule, a Japanese riff on the traditional version, featuring yuzu juice instead of lime.”
There’s space for less than 30 guests here, and you can’t make reservations, but Yamada says you may just get lucky and land on the best seat in the house: right in front of the fireplace.
Best Water Quality: Cocktail Stand Furek
Higashiyama
This dimly lit, lab-like restaurant in charming Higashiyama has a very special point-of-focus: its water. “It’s distilled with carefully selected botanicals using natural water pumped up from a well dug 60 meters under the property,” Yamada explains. “The resulting delicately flavored water is used for cocktails and dishes.”
You may not think of the role water plays in the quality of your mixed drink, but the purity of the H20 here is worth sampling. Yamada says that while the classic cocktails coming out of the bar are world-class, he would recommend starting with your favorite spirit paired with one of its distilled waters as a mixer.
“For example, whisky with water (or mizuwari), try it with different types of Furek-flavored water,” he adds. “Even if you are drinking the same whisky, you can experience differences by changing the water.”
Best Speakeasy: Bee’s Knees
Kiyamachi
A beloved fixture on lists and rankings of the world’s best cocktail bars, Bee’s Knees is a classic speakeasy that serves pitch-perfect cocktails. Bar enthusiasts love it for the attention to detail, from the intimate Art Deco interiors to the jams, tinctures and syrups bartenders Toru Ariyoshi and Keisuke Yamamoto make themselves as a way to add playful twists on classic 1920s cocktails.
Tetsuro Miyazaki, global marketing manager of Iichiko Shochu, who makes multiple monthly trips to Kyoto, calls out the bar’s impressive collection of rare sake and shochu bottles, including regional varieties many have never heard of. To that end, one of his favorite orders is a Bee’s Knees made with Tumugi, a barley-based shochu from Kyushu.
“It’s a fun twist on a classic cocktail,” Miyazaki says, adding that the Tumugi “gives it a smooth, umami-forward flavor, which pairs well with the floral notes of the honey, fresh lemon juice and yuzu jam.”
Best Local Haunt: Mayday Coffee & Bar
Kitaoji
Kyoto’s most accessible neighborhoods are full of very popular bars, but if you want to travel off the beaten path, head just north of the city center for this local favorite.
“Founded by Satoshi Furukawa, the heart and soul of Mayday, the bar reflects his warmth, expertise and passion for hospitality,” says Alex Porteus, Kyoto-based hotelier who was formerly the general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto.
Porteus says the locals-only atmosphere is truly what makes this one of his preferred drinking den, but make no mistake about it, the work behind the bar is worth the trek.
Drinks here tend to feature a ton of playful Japanese twists, like a yuzu margarita with a matcha salt rim or the Brick Lane, a gin-based cocktail with Earl Grey syrup, apple liqueur, cranberry and orange juice plus a sweet potato powder dusted over the foam to resemble a wall of bricks.
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