Just one subway stop from Ikebukuro Station, Shounji Temple stands in the quiet residential neighbourhood of Kanamecho, with a history stretching back some 500 years. Beyond its grand entrance gate, the temple grounds are enveloped in the quiet of the evening, with a soft, welcoming light glowing through the windows of its traditional shoin building.
On just a few nights each month, that light signals the opening of Bozu’n bar. Created as an evening counterpart to Bozu’n COFFEE, the temple’s occasional daytime café, the bar offers an unusual setting for a drink. Guests can settle into a spacious tatami-floored room or sit along the veranda, sipping carefully prepared cocktails featuring Japanese tea.
A Historic Japanese Room with Imperial Connections
The garden viewed from the main hall takes on a different character at night, illuminated by subtle lighting.
Passing through the noren curtain and removing their shoes, guests enter a historic shoin said to have been relocated from a residence associated with the Fushimi-no-miya, a former branch of Japan’s Imperial Family. Despite the room’s distinguished heritage and traditional architecture, the atmosphere is remarkably relaxed and welcoming. Look towards the windows of the main hall and you’ll notice the garden scenery gently shimmering and distorting. The effect comes from the original hand-made glass, crafted by artisans sometime between the Taisho era and early Showa period, and carefully preserved to this day.
The Signature Sencha Gin and Tonic
Japanese tea takes centre stage on the bar’s menu, with flavours chosen to complement the temple’s tranquil atmosphere. Cocktails featuring sencha green tea, roasted hojicha and Japanese black tea form the heart of the selection. Among them, the signature Sencha Gin and Tonic is a particular favourite, infused with the delicate aroma of green tea.
For those who prefer something sweeter, the Hojicha Amaretto and Japanese Black Tea Amaretto are popular choices, offering rich, roasted and aromatic flavours. Regulars also favour a sake-based cocktail combining Japanese sake with Campari, lemon and tonic water.
Image 1: A bar counter set up in one corner of the traditional tatami-floored room.
Image 2: An assortment of spirits displayed in front of the historic hand-drawn glass windows, used in the bar’s Japanese tea cocktails and other drinks.
When winter temperatures drop, the menu offers plenty of ways to warm up. Hot chocolate cocktails blended with whisky, rum or amaretto provide a comforting treat, while rich coffee vodka is another option for colder evenings. The bar also draws on the expertise of its daytime café, offering a generous selection of non-alcoholic drinks, from café lattes to matcha lattes, so everyone can enjoy the experience regardless of whether they drink alcohol.
Behind the bar, there’s another unexpected detail: the bartender sits on the tatami floor while shaking cocktails, a scene that frequently makes first-time visitors do a double take. The bartender handles the cocktails, while the temple’s deputy head priest, wearing a traditional Japanese happi coat, takes care of café drinks and serves guests.
No Rituals or Religious Formalities Required
The spacious main hall occupies a historic shoin with imperial connections. Tables are arranged with plenty of space between them, with one table per group.
Some visitors may wonder whether drinking alcohol at a Buddhist temple conflicts with religious rules or customs. However, Japan has a long and nuanced history when it comes to religion and alcohol. Shinto shrines and sake have traditionally shared close ties, particularly during periods when Shinto and Buddhism were closely intertwined. Rules governing Buddhist monks’ diets and alcohol consumption have also evolved since the Meiji period. Today, there are few religious restrictions preventing temples from serving alcohol.
Visitors to Bozu’n bar needn’t worry about religious formalities. There are no sermons to attend, no special rituals to observe and no requirement to leave an offering. Instead, guests can enjoy the atmosphere and drinks as much as they would at any other bar.
The bar has also become increasingly popular with international visitors and foreign residents, many of whom first hear about it through social media. On some nights, more than half the guests come from overseas. They settle onto the tatami, gaze out at the garden through the gently rippled hand-drawn glass, and happily venture onto the veranda with their cocktails, even on freezing winter evenings. It’s a scene that speaks to the setting’s appeal, regardless of where visitors come from.
Keeping Things Just as They Are
With the doors to the veranda left open, guests can wander outside and take in the garden air whenever they like. Tables are generously spaced, and even solo visitors can enjoy a large table to themselves. Music plays so softly through the speakers that it’s barely noticeable, providing just enough background sound to keep the space from feeling too quiet. With lighting that falls somewhere between a café and a bar, guests are free to spend their time however they please, whether enjoying a drink, reading a book or simply gazing out at the garden.
The veranda overlooking the garden. The trees outside appear to gently ripple when viewed through the original hand-drawn glass dating from the Taisho to early Showa periods.
When asked what the future holds for Bozu’n bar, the deputy head priest and bartender are in agreement. Neither is interested in rapid expansion or elaborate events. Instead, their hope is simply to preserve a place where visitors leave feeling glad they came. There’s something about this modest, unhurried philosophy that reflects the generous, welcoming spirit of the nearly 500-year-old temple, giving the bar a sense of ease all its own.
The bar opens around five or six days a month, primarily on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with the latest dates and opening hours announced on its official Instagram account. On evenings when the pace of Tokyo feels a little overwhelming, why not make your way to the quiet temple grounds in Kanamecho? Settle in with a fragrant tea cocktail and take in the garden beyond the gently rippled, hand-drawn glass, leaving the bustle of the city behind for a while.
Bozu’n Bar
Address: Inside Shounji Temple, 3-1-6 Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Instagram : @bozu.n_bar
