Nihonbashi after work: the old merchant quarter and its century-old shops

Every road distance in Japan is measured from one point: the zero milestone set into the middle of Nihonbashi bridge. That "Tokyo 340 km" sign on the expressway is measured to exactly there. The quarter around the bridge was Edo's merchant district, and is now towers interleaved with shops someone's great-grandfather opened and their descendants still run.

Two and a half hours, three venues, one drink at each. It begins at the foot of the bridge at six, looking at the marker and hearing why an elevated expressway runs directly over this historic bridge — a 1964 decision Tokyo is still arguing about. Then a sake bar inside an old building, the first pour served with an explanation of how to read a bottle label. The second stop is a Meiji-era shop still making the one dish it has made for over a century.

It ends at a standing bar full of office staff who have just finished work — loud, tight, and the only stop where you see today's Nihonbashi rather than the historical one. Three drinks with food are in the price. Non-drinkers are fine: tea or soft drinks instead, same price.