Dansan: Pure Gold in Golden Gai, Tokyo

Golden Gai and Dansan

Tiny alleyways of Golden Gai

Originally a den of iniquity when the American soldiers were stationed in Tokyo, I got the impression that Golden Gai is not really on the tourist trail (even though it was in the Lonely Planet) - there were no gaijen (foreigners) on the streets at all.  The tiny alleyways are lined with even tinier bars (around 200) that seat around eight patrons if you're lucky and most of them have their doors firmly closed, or the bar(wo)man gives you a subtle shake of the head as you walk passed.  

Sneak peak into Golden Gai bars

Members only

We were feeling down right intimidated about walking into any of them for a drink until Sander noticed a poster of a rugby team at the foot of a steep staircase.  Ah ha!  If we were going to be welcome anywhere, it was going to be here.

Rugby memorabilia at the foot of the stairs

Sure enough, after some incredibly surprised looks, once we explained we were from New Zealand we knew we were home.

Dansan interior

Dansan is the home bar for the Suntory rugby team in Tokyo (explaining the multitude of Suntory business cards tacked to a small section of the wall) and it's patrons are extremely passionate about the game.  We settled in for a few beers and as curiosity got the better of the locals and the bar staff we became included conversation (albeit a little confused or stilted at times - lost in translation).

Sake from a small wooden cup - it's good luck to overfill the sake glass into the cup

By the end of the evening the Rugby World Cup had been dissected (as had a bottle of sake), Sander had been sketched twice and had the address of the bar to send a rugby memorabilia book once we were back in Singapore (which we have since sent).   We staggered home feeling very lucky to have stumbled across such a hidden jewel.

The artist

Portrait 1:  Frosty Boy - inspired by Sander's t-shirt

Portrait 2:  Sander's portrait - signed, dated (note: 1.05am) and tacked to the ceiling
(hopefully it's still there next time we visit)

The Dansan Team

Drink Your Wild Oats - Bar on the Hill

"we distrust camels or anyone who can go a week without a drink"

Any place with a statement like that is bound to be good in my books!



wild oats during the day

Image from wild oats website



I've been meaning to go to wild oats (no capitalisation please) for a while now - it is literally just up the hill from my house in Singapore.  We stumbled upon it walking home from dinner (wo's sister restaurant Wild Rocket, also good, is also just up the hill) and thought it looked great but hadn't made it back until last night.



Sander and I headed out for dinner last night before my work trip to Australia ('technical difficulties' mean I'm writing this now in the airport as opposed to somewhere in the air over Java) takes me away for a week and we decided to start our evening with a drink at wild oats.

I love the setting: an old Colonial-style white house, a wooden deck dotted with rattan chairs and surrounded by some great music filtering through the rainforest-esque foliage. 



The drinks menu is great - the wine list is extensive (including lots of New Zealand sav and pinot - yes!) and the cocktail list has a great mix of classics and clever combinations.  I was tempted by a blueberry and lemongrass margarita, and also a kiwi whisky sour but in the end Sander had his usual mojito (if it ain't broke...) and I tried a lime, ginger and sake gimlet.  What a fabulous combination!  Little flakes of ginger injected a touch of spice, the lime added a tang, and I love sake.  It was very strong, but really no complaints from me, I could drink these all night.

See what I mean about lush foliage?

We were a bit peckish and the food menu looked interesting (although very 'bar snack'ish therefore lots of deep fried bits).  I had a little giggle to myself when I was reading about their Hot Bitches - wo's take on hot dogs - but we decided to get wasabi prawns.  I wasn't expecting deep fried (possibly I mis-read the menu) but I have to say they were delicious.  The wasabi mayonnaise was very creamy with a hint of that familiar horseradish tang.  Sander would have preferred more wasabi, but I thought it was fine.

Sadly, there were two downsides.  Getting the attention of the majority of the waitstaff was near to impossible.  They have a very unprofessional habit of delivering their drinks from the bar inside and then disappearing without taking a look around the deck to see if anyone else wanted service.  We had to wait for about six different people to come and go before someone looked up and saw the now several tables where someone was trying to get some attention.  Secondly they bought out Sander's mojito about 10 minutes before my gimlet came out (and delivered about four other drinks in between to other patrons).  This is a giant no-no in my book.  It's really not that difficult to wait until both drinks are ready before delivering to the table.  You get no brownie points for speedy service if said service is only partially complete.

At the end of the day, I will most certainly be back. wild oats (feels very uncomfortable not capitalising the start of that sentence) has a great atmosphere, tasty drinks and is just up the hill.