RECORD BAR analog — Restaurant in Tokyo

First. It's a really cool bar. Great music. And drinks were good. However, they give you a list of rules when you come in. 90 minutes max (not on the list) and you must buy one drink, fair enough. All three of us ordered drinks. Once we finished, they came up to ask us if we wanted another and because we didn't at that exact moment (which we would've when we were ready), we started to get looks and bad vibes (from a female employee). So we never even hit our 60 minutes let alone the 90 minutes. So when our friends came and they couldn't accommodate (which is fair because of our time limit and our friends' new time limit as well as their space limit), we were happy to leave. Which was a shame.

They do this cool thing where they give you a pin and you can trade that pin in for them to play a song from a record of your choosing. I liked the spot initially so much that I wanted to keep the pin as a souvenir. But I tossed the pin unfortunately all because of bad vibes. We really wanted to like this place, but the pretentiousness ruined the mood. So do yourself a favor and go to the bar we wound up at after: スナックROOTS Completely different vibes of course, but much more fun and much less pretentiousness.

They'll respond passive aggressively like they did to some others about their "rules", but when you have a 900 yen cover charge, and you give people 90 minutes and a one drink per person rule, let them enjoy the 90 minutes after the one drink... otherwise, change the one drink rule to "must always have one drink in hand when one drink minimum is finished".

UPDATE Read their response and the "rules" on the picture provided and note that no where on the rules does it state that you will be asked to close your bill before your 90 minute limit if you do not order another drink after your first required drink (fact). The only thing aggressive is their pushy sales tactics to push you out if you don't order a second drink per person (fact). We are denying this aggressively unprofessional response (fact) and don't worry, we will continue to patronize good bars that understand how to do business and "to take care of their family."

UPDATE to the UPDATE As written in this review and many many many other negative reviews, it's your tactic and attitude towards the customer once the bill is dropped. Many other reviews point out, as I did, that we immediately feel unwelcome and pressured even though you don't physically kick us out. This isn't a subjective-one-off negative review. If it was, I'd give all 1-stars as well as a 1-star for atmosphere and change my 2-star rating to a 1-star rating as well... but I didn't. Learn to take some constructive criticism and perhaps take a look at how you're treating clients after the bill has been dropped and the amount of 1-star reviews you have may start to lower.

For readers out there, take a look at my reviews... there are very few negative reviews given by me compared to how many negative reviews this place actually has because I've worked in the service industry as a bartender, waiter, and supervisor for many many years and I understand how tough of a...

First thing’s first, the vibes were pretty good. Liked that we could request one song per person. That’s all the pros I can think of.

We went in a group of four people on a Saturday night at 8pm, right when it opened. It was my friend’s birthday and it was our first time going to this bar. Got sat next to the coat rack which took up so much space, I barely had enough space to put our bags down and sit comfortably. There’s a cover charge of ¥900 per person, which is incredibly high in Japan. I’ve been to so many cocktail bars, and I’ve only seen ¥1000 cover charges at some of the best bars I’ve ever been to in my life. Unfortunately, this ¥900 was awfully spent. That’s the price of one drink, which by the way, the drinks were mediocre at best. Truly not worth the price.

Throughout the time we were there, the staff kept urging us to order drinks and kept coming to our table to check for empty glasses. (No self-respecting bar would force you to order more drinks, especially with a cover charge that high). They have a “2 hour table time” policy when the bar gets crowded, which is extremely common in Japan, and we went in with this expectation (they wrote it not only on the menu in the store, but also on their Instagram story). After an hour, the staff kicked us out because we didn’t want to order another round of drinks. (We already ordered one drink per person)

We kept pressing them about this 2 hour table time policy, telling them that it’s only been an hour. Even though we kept explaining it was our right and it was their policy, they kept making excuses saying that when it’s so crowded and people are waiting, only when you order drinks are you allowed to stay the full two hours (which by the way, NEVER happens in Japan. Never once have I been chased out of a bar, no matter the price range or how much we ordered, before the two hour table time was up!) eventually the staff snapped at us, telling us to take it up with management. When we left the bar, there were no people waiting outside the bar or downstairs, which just annoyed us even more.

Never have I felt such disdain for service before in Japan! Truly awful. Ruined the night and my friend’s birthday. Other people seemed to be having a good time though, so if you’re willing to spend your money on mediocre drinks for some good vibes, you might enjoy the bar! Just sadly wasn’t a great experience...

Absolutely Xenophobic. Especially if you are a person of color (POC), please do yourself a favor and avoid this place. I will never recommend it, particularly if you look like a foreigner, non-white, or non-Japanese. The bar itself is okay, and they have this system that charges for a table, allowing a 2-hour stay for one drink. While this system is common in many other bars in Tokyo, the problem is how the staff treat foreign customers, as mentioned in several other reviews.

We were POC couples and we experienced consistent glaring from the staff upon entering. Initially, I thought I had done something wrong because they keep glaring at us, but we were simply sitting, talking quitely, and sipping our drinks. I grew up in Japan so I'm really accustomed to Japanese culture, but this kind of treatment is rare. It's the kind of intense stare you might get when you go to police station. I felt as if I were being treated like a criminal, with the staff watching our every move. The staff's attitude worsened; we were asked to prepare to leave after only 40 minutes, even though the bar was relatively empty. Additionally, they refused to allow us to order more drinks, leaving us with no choice.

Around 1 hour and 30 minutes into our visit, we were told to leave, even though we were supposed to be able to stay for 2 hours, and the place was not busy at all. Tired and unwilling to argue, we decided to leave. The subtle and insidious hostility towards foreigners was evident.

I write this review not to degrade the bar (apparently, they treat other Japanese better) but to protect fellow POC foreigners from terrible experiences. It is a sad truth that some Japanese bars are still xenophobic and hates foreigners coming in. I don't want anyone to spend money and time just to be treated poorly. There are plenty of other nice places in the area, too.

Thank you for reading this long review, and have a safe and enjoyable trip in...