How to enjoy high-end bars without paying for it

You know the situation. You're enjoying a drink, companions and warm bar surroundings when suddenly the bill arrives and something doesn't add up. A ¥2,000 per-person surcharge? Exactly what is going on here and why weren't these charges explained up front?

Welcome to the world of carefully concealed Tokyo cover charges.

While some venues explicitly state their cover charges upon entry, more often than not the only place you'll find the information is in the fine print at the bottom of a drinks menu.

Often there's a grave message in that tiny type. In addition to the ¥3,000 cover charge at the Armani Ristorante Ginza Tower, for example, customers also agree to cough up ¥2,000 per cocktail.

But there are ways around these charges.

Park Hyatt Tokyo’s famed New York Bar (Park Hyatt Tokyo, 3-7-1-2 Nishi Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, tel. 03 5322 1234) applies its ¥2,000 cover charge only after 8pm (on Sundays, after 7pm). So here's the trick: Arrive at the bar on a Friday at 6:30pm, watch dusk arrive and the lights of the city flicker on, and leave before 8pm. You’ll enjoy a drink and the "Lost in Translation" aura, see day turn to night, and have ¥2,000 left in your pocket to put toward four or five drinks elsewhere.

To avoid the ¥3,000 surchage at the BelloVisto bar (Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, 26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, tel. 03 3476 3000) on the top floor of the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, sit at the bar itself rather than heading to the inviting sofas and low chairs. Four friends and six drinks will set your party back ¥12,000 at the bar. If you have the same drinks while seated by the piano, you'll pay twice as much. The bar has an equally impressive panoramic view -- for many the price difference makes it well worth riding a stool at the bar.

Many Tokyo cover charges come with similar hidden loopholes. Do some research -- or remember to ask about surcharges at the entry -- and you'll end up spending more money on drinks than cover charges.