Bar Cona: Tokyo's merriest happy hour

Happy hour takes on a whole new dimension of fun at tachinomiya standing bar Cona in Shibuya. From 2-6pm, beers are a thirst-quenching ¥350, and cocktails and wines by the glass are a happy-smiley ¥250. For approximately as much as it costs to do two loads at the laundromat, you can have a couple of drinks and a small pizza. 

It's hard to find friendlier prices in this city. On weekdays at lunchtime, Cona offers a one-coin lunch set that includes a pizza, plus salad and a soft drink for ¥500. Unsurprisingly, the place is packed until 2pm, and the staff deserves props for keeping up with the orders. 

All the pizzas are made to order. The dough is hand-rolled before being dressed and baked in the wood-fire oven. At other times of the day or night -- the bar stays open until the wee hours -- pizzas are ¥500 each. The menu lists over a dozen varieties, including tomato and basil, eggplant and bacon, cured ham and soft-boiled egg. 

Cona stocks around 70 kinds of wine, all priced at ¥1,900 per bottle. Customers can choose their own from the temperature-controlled, glass-door cellar in the middle of the bar. Although you won't find Chateau Mouton Rothschild or Chateau Cheval Blanc, there's plenty of high quality wine from solid producers such as Cusomano from Italy, Cono Sur from Chile and Trapiche from Argentina. 

"We've been busy recently, so the shelves look a little empty right now," the bartender says as she pops a pizza topped with avocado and shrimp into the oven.

No wonder. The prices certainly encourage indulgence. After 6pm, there's a ¥300 service charge, but so what, we'll just do one load of laundry this week.

Cona: Dogenzaka 2-7-5, Shibuya-ku, tel. 03 3770 5729