Drake's in Tokyo: Makoto Konno's Kitchen
In the world of Tokyo hospitality, Makoto Konno is a bit of a legend. Decades of experience, two very successful French bistros in the city: Organ and Uguisu. He was one of the first to explore the potential of introducing natural wine to Japanese drinkers. “Twenty years ago that word, natural, didn't exist here,” says Konno, sat across from me at a large, pale wooden table, afternoon sunlight pouring in floor-to-ceiling windows 10 floors up. “Soon we’d built a community, word spread, and we built something a bit different.”
Death in the Afternoon
Names of cocktails can be deceiving, and Death in the Afternoon is one such example.
At first blush, you might imagine it to be a sessionable, mid-day tipple, in the mold of an Aperol Spritz or Negroni Sbagliato; after all, its name does contain the word “Afternoon.” However, the aspect of is title we should be concerned with is “Death.”
Tokyo Baseball
From way up in the stands the members of the Yomiuri Giants look like little figurines in clean white and orange. Number 6, legendary shortstop Hayato Sakamoto, steps up to the mound and assumes the position, bat cocked, knees slightly bent. A few seconds of stillness, then the crack of wood on leather—the ball sailing high and away into the Tokyo night.
Home run, Giants.
Editors Picks
Revue: Mark Cho
