Orihara Shoten: Sake Bar in Tokyo

Orihara Shoten (折原商店) is a popular sake shop and bar located on the shopping street leading to the Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine, in the heart of the Monzen-Nakacho district, in eastern Tokyo.

With a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, this place stands out for its shelves full of sake bottles, which they sell to customers, but also for its large fridges, full of open sake bottles of all styles and varieties.

In addition, it is impossible not to look at its high tables, where customers chat animatedly standing up while they taste sakes and are accompanied by typical tapillas of izakaya.

The concept: Drink while standing

In this sake bar There are no chairs, so all customers are standing around large communal tables. And perhaps that is what promotes the good atmosphere that is breathed in the place; it's easy to end up talking to each other, especially if you know the world of sake.

On one side of the premises you will see the "store" part. Here you will find dozens of bottles of sake that you can buy to take back to your country. And, on the other side, you will see several refrigerators in which you will find about 40 open bottles, which are available to try that day. You will easily recognize them because the price per glass appears on the label.

It depends on how many sakes you want to try, you can choose the small glass (45 ml) or the large glass (90 ml). The prices vary depending on the sake, although they are around 400 to 700 yen.

So, check the fridges and when you find a sake you want to try, grab the bottle and take it to the bar, where they'll pour you a glass. And he remembers later to put the bottle back in the fridge, of course.

If you don't know which sake to choose, ask for recommendations. There will always be someone willing to help you and eager to see your reaction when trying one sake or another. The magic word in this case to ask for a recommendation is otsusume (おすすめ).

The tapas, part of the experience

At Orihara Shoten you will find small traditional tapas that go very well with sakes. Some of the most typical are:

• Fermented squid entrails (shiokara).
• Grilled ray fin with seven-spice mayonnaise (eihire).
• Stew oden (only in winter, of course).
• Strips of dried cod (hotaruika).
• Shark cartilage with pickled plum (ume suishoi).
• Duck ham with black pepper.
• Fried chicken skin in ponzu sauce.
• Grilled tofu with bonito.
• Pickled radishes.
• edamame (soybeans).

The dishes pair very well with alcohol and are quite cheap, plus you can try many different things at reasonable prices.

Additional Information

• Normally open from 12:00 to 22:00, every day
• Smoking is not allowed inside.
• More information in the Orihara Shoten's website.

How to get

Orihara Shoten sake bar is a two-minute walk from Tokyo Metro Monzen-Nakacho Station, which is on both the Tozai (Tokyo Metro) Line and the Oedo (Toei) Line. This means, logically, that if you have the JR Pass it will not work for you, since you cannot use the JR Pass for the subway.

You have marked the bar on our map of the Koto and Sumida wards, where Monzen-Nakacho is. Remember that you can use the map comfortably from your mobile during your trip. If you have any questions about how to do it, we will tell you about it on the Maps page for traveling in Japan, where you also have more than 160 additional maps of Japan.

Tourist map of the neighborhoods of Koto and Sumida (Tokyo)

The Monzen-Nakacho area, where the Orihara Shoten sake bar is located, is included in our map of the districts or special neighborhoods of Koto and Sumida.

Enjoy sake at Orihara Shoten!