No Tomatoes

Ping pong bar is the name of a bar where ping pong is played. Sean mentioned it when I first met him, a naïve Westerner unable to decode the knots of Tokyo. He had a few years head-start, and was brought here by some friends. It seems extraordinary now, that I did not once know Ping Pong’s. All I had was the vivid description of a secret bar down a backstreet on the first floor in someone’s flat. You had to ring a bell to enter, and once within one encircled two central tables: one with bats, the other a bar. I was enthralled. This was a time when I still could not distinguish different Asian faces, when I thought everyone stylish and mistook manners for friendliness. It was also the time of serial dating, with business cards flung to helpless strangers, not always with success, I hesitate to add, and for those times when a girl said yes, so Sean’s ream of recommendations proved quite handy. Alas my first time there was with him.

From Nakameguro station we crossed the main road and walked up the street with the rail to your left. Over the bridge, take the second street on your right and walk for 100 yards. At this point there is a car-park with some bins just yonder. With these bins to your immediate left and a residence just above you, take the path between block and lot perpendicular to the street. At the end of this path enter a foyer and climb the dog-legged stairs. Ring the buzzer in front. The door will open a crack, and more often than not you will be told it’s full. For somewhere so out-of-the-way, Ping Pong’s is exceedingly popular.

With Oriol visiting it was my turn to pass down the knowledge. That bin bit always gets people wondering, their reaction always amusing me. I don’t come here nearly so often, and probably won’t again since table charge is now by the hour. For five people, two of whom left early, we paid Y15,000 for approx ten beers. Outrageous –especially split between three, one of whom refused to pay more that his own meagre share (not me for once). Tokyo lacks its mystery now, and places that I don’t know I seldom visit. I like having a nest and having a range that I know intimately, but I wonder if I will ever find something like the legend of Ping Pong’s. Best ask Sean.