I Spent a Night in a Japanese Hostess Bar

Head to this unagi eel restaurant where you can literally grab your own dinner! The master will teach you the secret to catching the eels, which are incredibly slippery and slimy. You need to pick them up by the head and tail at the same time. It's a lot harder than it looks, but it's a unique way to earn your meal. After you catch your eel, it's prepared traditionally upstairs.

Experience a unique Japanese snack bar by going 'snack bar hopping' with a geisha as your host. Unlike typical izakayas, snack bars are small, cozy, and intimate, focusing on chatting with the owner. At Bar Hanah Higashiyama, your host is a geisha, offering a rare opportunity to interact with these traditional performers outside of Kyoto. You can buy a bottle of your preferred drink (whiskey, cognac, or even orange juice) to keep on the shelf for future visits. Enjoy an array of snacks like grape chocolate, Russian CPUs, cheese crackers, and nuts. If you sing karaoke, the geisha might even perform a traditional dance! It's a nostalgic and cozy experience, especially in winter, with the smell of smoke, perfume, whiskey, and sake in the air.