Bar Trench
Ebisu, Tokyo
Bar Trench is a tiny cocktail bar down an alley in Ebisu, at street level in the DIS Building, 1-5-8 Ebisu-Nishi. It spent years on the World's 50 Best Bars list and did a lot to get Tokyo noticed as a bar city. The drinks are herbal and bittersweet, and the back bar is absinthes and European liqueurs you won't recognise.
Insider tip
It's open every day from 6pm to 2am and doesn't take reservations. There are 13 seats, mostly at the counter, and they're full by 8pm, so the bar asks groups to keep to four. Go on a weeknight, right at the 6pm opening, and expect a small cover charge per person.
What the guides say about Bar Trench
Ebisu, one Hibiya Line stop or a fifteen-to-twenty-minute walk, is the sensible answer for most visitors. It has the hotel supply Nakameguro doesn't, the best restaurant density on the south side, and both the Yamanote and Hibiya lines. Prince Smart Inn Ebisu at 3-11-25 Ebisu-Minami is a mid-range pick. Its official site puts it five minutes from the JR west exit and three from Hibiya Line exit 5, which is the side with Ebisu Yokocho, Afuri and Bar Trench. The Westin Tokyo at Yebisu Garden Place is the upscale anchor on the east side, beside the free view from Garden Place Tower. The Ebisu neighbourhood guide covers the evening.
Ichiran gets dismissed as touristy, but the solo booths work and it's there at 3am when little else is. The more local move is one stop away in Ebisu. Go to Afuri for the citrusy yuzu shio ramen, then Ebisu Yokocho for the full shoulder-to-shoulder izakaya hall experience. The Ebisu neighbourhood guide has Bar Trench for afterwards and the free Garden Place view for before.
What's on near Bar Trench
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Bar Trench, from the weekly Tokyo events calendar.
Sarugaku Festival 2026 (Daikanyama Festival)
猿楽祭2026 代官山フェスティバル
Time 10:00-17:00 Station Daikanyama Station (Tokyu Toyoko Line), 3 min walk
A two-day festival around Hillside Terrace in Daikanyama with the theme disaster prevention x street, free to enter.
Hillside Market: Mashiko Market
益子の市
Time 11:00-17:00 Station Daikanyama Station (Tokyu Toyoko Line), 3 min walk
The December session of the Hillside Market on Hillside Square, listed in the 2026 Hillside Market schedule and free to enter.
Baccarat Eternal Lights
バカラ エターナルライツ
Station Ebisu (JR Yamanote Line, Hibiya Line), 7 min walk
A Baccarat crystal chandelier with about 8,500 crystal parts and 250 lights glows in the Center Plaza at Yebisu Garden Place, in its 27th year, with the theme Hikari no Naka e (into the light). It is lit from 11:00 to 23:00, and from 17:00 only on the opening day, 14 November, when the lighting ceremony is planned for 17:00.
kcomiida, CC BY-SA 3.0 Baccarat Eternal Lights
バカラ エターナルライツ
Station Ebisu (JR Yamanote Line, Hibiya Line), 7 min walk
One of the world's largest Baccarat crystal chandeliers, with about 8,500 crystal parts and 250 lights, glows in the open plaza at Yebisu Garden Place, alongside tree illuminations and a small Christmas market. The chandelier is lit from 11am to 11pm.
kcomiida, CC BY-SA 3.0 Smaller local events nearby
WHAT CAFE Exhibition: Matsuri x Art Exhibition Exhibition
30 Oct to 15 Nov · WHAT CAFE, Tennozu
An exhibition at WHAT CAFE with a collaborative installation and works by guest and exhibiting artists, made with the festival craft maker Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten.
Free · 11:00 to 18:00 · Map · Source: Tennozu Isle area events · WHAT CAFE EXHIBITION vol.48 Matsuri × Art Exhibition -祭の多面体-
Ebisu shopping street illumination Illumination
1 Dec to 14 Feb (dates to be confirmed) · Ebisu shopping street (Ebisu-minami 1-chome)
The Ebisu shopping street west of the station keeps its winter illumination up until Valentine's Day.
Free entry · 17:00 to 24:00 · Map · Source: Shibuya City News (Shibuya City), 1 Dec 2025 illumination issue · エビス商店街 イルミネーション
Live music nearby
Nearby
Around Ebisu
Where Tokyo actually goes out to eat
Ebisu is one of the best food neighbourhoods in Tokyo and doesn't shout about it. Ebisu Yokocho gives you the full yokocho experience, shoulder to shoulder under one roof, and the streets around the station hide izakayas that locals guard jealously. The Yebisu Garden Place tower has a free observation floor most visitors never hear about.
Ebisu has 5 places on the Roam Tokyo map: 2 bars, 1 viewpoint, 1 neighbourhood and 1 restaurant. Read the Ebisu guide.
Good to know
- How do I get to Bar Trench?
- The nearest station is Ebisu (JR Yamanote). Bar Trench is in Ebisu, Tokyo.
- How much does Bar Trench cost?
- Bar Trench is at the higher end, marked ¥¥¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Bar Trench?
- Plan for 1-2 hours.
- When is the best time to visit Bar Trench?
- Weeknights at opening.
Stay near Bar Trench
Browse live availability and compare prices around Ebisu.
Median US$309 a night across 46 listings within 1.2 km for a two-night stay a month out, sampled 20 October 2026. Cheapest quarter under US$225. See the weekly index for every neighbourhood.
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