At Punch Room Tokyo, a loungey bar inside The Tokyo Edition, Ginza, director of bars Yasuhiro Kawakubo tells his staff to stick to a 30-second explanation of the menu for any guest who appears interested in the bar’s concept.
“If the customer is keen to hear more, if they ask questions, then we’d talk for just one minute,” he adds. “We don’t want to force them to listen to us if they don’t want to.”
Not that Kawakubo, 40, should worry; his pitch is no soporific spiel. You suspect that many of his guests (a mix of locals and tourists) would be happy to hear him out if he launches into a long explanation — especially after his recent win at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026, where Punch Room Tokyo was the highest-ranked Japanese bar at No. 23, climbing 13 places from last year after only opening two years ago.
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