Name: Asia’s 50 Best Bars Bartender Shinya Koba Comes to Conrad Tokyo
Start: 2026-07-08T19:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-07-08T22:00:00+00:00
Location: Twenty Eight at Conrad Tokyo

Asia’s 50 Best Bars Bartender Shinya Koba Comes to Conrad Tokyo

Jul 08, 2026 at 7:00pm ~ Jul 08, 2026 at 10:00pm

Award-winning Kumamoto bartender Shinya Koba comes to Tokyo for one night only, bringing his celebrated cocktail program to the 28th-floor bar at Twenty Eight. Koba is the owner-bartender of Yakoboku (夜香木), a Kumamoto bar housed in a roughly 150-year-old renovated inn that was named to Asia’s 50 Best Bars in 2025, ranking 25th and marking the first Kyushu entry in the list’s history. He also represented Japan at the 2021 Diageo World Class global competition. His concept, “cocktails you can only drink here,” draws on local sake, produce and ingredients from Kumamoto’s natural environment.

For this event, Koba will serve four original cocktails, including his signature Yakoboku, named after the night-blooming flower that inspired the bar, and the Phoenix Martini, a vodka riff on a classic martini built around a house-made vermouth from Kumamoto white wine, created as a tribute to his home prefecture. He’ll be joined by Masato Ishioka, bar manager of Yakoboku’s second location, Yozora, which opened in Yoichi, Hokkaido earlier this year. Ishioka’s background spans pastry (including time at Bulgari Il Cioccolato) and competition bartending, with wins at the CT Spirits Japan Cocktail Challenge 2021 and Diageo World Class Japan 2024.

The Menu

Yakoboku: Gin-based signature with lemon, apple and jasmine, evoking the fragrance of the night-blooming flower the bar is named for.

Phoenix Martini: A vodka martini built with a house-made vermouth using Kumamoto white wine as its base, conceived as Koba’s homage to his home prefecture.

Beni: A Manhattan rework using Koba’s own herb-infused vermouth rosso for a softer, more elegant profile.

Abacaxi: Portuguese for “grilled pineapple,” this dessert-leaning cocktail combines tequila, mezcal, pineapple and Kumamoto lemongrass.

¥3,400 per cocktail

Information

Start: Jul 8th 2026 at 7:00pm

End: Jul 8th 2026 at 10:00pm

Twenty Eight at Conrad Tokyo
1-9-1 Higashishinbashi, Minato-ku

¥3,400

https://conrad-tokyo.hiltonjapan.co.jp/plans/restaurants/event/twentyeight-cocktail

Arden Kreuzer

San Diego-born, Tokyo-based Arden is a writer and editor with a master’s in International Relations from Waseda University. With a background in sociology, East Asian history and journalism, she brings a thoughtful, cross-cultural lens to her work. As a senior editor at Metropolis Magazine, Arden works across print, digital and social media platforms, covering everything from cultural deep-dives to international affairs. Rain or shine, she can often be found on a terrace in one of Tokyo’s shitamachi neighborhoods, observing the everyday details that make the city so compelling.