Tucked into a tiny corner of Tsukiji, Shubiduba is one of Tokyo’s best standing wine and sake bars. This place is truly blink-and-you’ll-miss-it small (look out for a wooden counter under a faded blue awning), but the range of drinks certainly isn’t – at any one time, expect to find around 250 varieties of wine and 15 types of sake by the bottle, and at least 10 varieties of each available by the glass. Shubiduba specialises in natural wine and sake – meaning you can expect expressive, umami-rich styles – with a good mix of local Japanese wines and international brands thrown in for good measure.
If you’re new to sake, try the nomikurabe comparison set, which gives you three small cups of contrasting sake varieties, a great way to work out which style suits you best. In cooler months, the shop also offers hot sake to warm you up. For snacks, there’s a selection of organic otsumami (bar food), including cheese pickled in sake lees, tofu marinated in miso, and turnip pickles from Takayama.
You can pop by Shubiduba for a quick nip while hunting through the market during the day, but we recommend visiting as the sun sets and the market gets calmer. Or, just swing by for an aperitif on your way to dinner in Ginza.