The claim
One of Japan's oldest Western-style bars, this beer hall a minute or two from Asakusa Station was founded by Kamiya Denbei in 1880 as a liquor shop. It is famous for Denki Bran, a potent brandy-based house liqueur. Since 1921 the bar has occupied the same building, with a Western food section and later dining floors added above the original drinking hall.
What the records show
The 1880 is the bar's own: its website carries the line 'founded in Meiji 13, always in Asakusa', and its own chronology opens with April 1880, when Kamiya Denbei opened Mikawaya, a sake shop selling drink by the glass. Japanese Wikipedia gives the same year and adds that he was making his own quick-matured brandy — the ancestor of Denki Bran — from 1882. Retailing liquor is not serving it over a bar. The Western-style bar and the Kamiya Bar name date from 10 April 1912, and the present building from 1921; 1912 is therefore the first record of bar use. Trading in 2026 has not been re-verified.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| c.1921 | Present building | Building fabric |
| 1912 | First record of a drinking house here | Wikipedia |
What to look for inside
- Home of Denki Bran, a brandy-based liqueur
- Current building dates from 1921
- Western-style bar interior since 1912
Visiting
Kamiya Bar is in Tokyo, Japan, at 1-1-1 Asakusa, Taitō-ku, Tokyo 111-0032. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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