The venerable Rihga Royal Hotel on Nakanoshima, an elongated island sandwiched between the Dojima and Tosabori rivers in the heart of Osaka, boasts more than eight decades of history and has welcomed many a celebrity and head of state over the years, including some actual royals. Hidden away on the hotel’s ground floor is the Leach Bar, opened in 1965 and named after the British potter Bernard Leach, who lived in Japan for more than a decade and was a key figure in the mingei folk crafts movement established by Soetsu Yanagi. Leach designed the bar’s layout, in which architect Isoya Yoshida also incorporated a number of Yanagi’s ideas.
Functioning as a shrine of sorts to Leach, Yanagi and related artists such as Kanjiro Kawai, Shoji Hamada and Shiko Munakata, whose art is displayed here and there throughout the space, Leach Bar is an impeccably classy boozer. There’s no background music; guests sit on 50-year-old Windsor chairs, speaking only in hushed tones while sipping gin tonics served in copper mugs, as has been customary here since the ’60s. But don’t hesitate to order something more adventurous too: chief bartender Kiyofumi Kageyama has won several awards for his bespoke cocktails and is more than happy to take requests.
A free shuttle service is available from Osaka Station to the hotel.