【Special Report／Ten Years in the Taiwan Bar Scene】 Bar The Society: A bridge between bars in Japan and Taiwan! - Part 1 -

Even in Japan, I hear rumors that bars in Taiwan are on the rise. And it seems that the last 10 years have been amazingly exciting. That is why we are urgently planning a "Special Report: 10 Years of Taiwan's Bar Scene! The guest of the first part of this prestigious event was Mr. Hiroshi Nanki, a Japanese bartender who knows Taiwan well. In the second part, we have Mr. Nammoku's friend, Mr. A Hsiang of "Bar Home" in Tainan.

writer：Drink Planet　撮影：Akiko Sameshima（東京）、Wakako Gomi（台南）

A new dawn of the Taiwan bar scene!

I've been to so many that I've lost count. I can't even keep track of them all (laughs).

When asked how many times he has visited Taiwan, Koji Nammoku, bar manager of Park Hotel Tokyo's "Bar The Society," replied, "My first visit to Taiwan was about 10 years ago.

Around two or three years before that, Taiwanese bartenders started coming to our bar one after another, and I started to make friends with more and more of them, so I went there privately.

My first impression of the Taiwanese bar scene was that it was "fresh"; the WORLD CLASS that started in 2009 was gaining momentum in Taiwan, and the word "mixology" was gradually becoming popular. It was just so energetic and bold. For us Japanese bartenders, it was like, "You can't just combine this with that! We Japanese bartenders were surprised many times by such out-of-the-box ideas.

Today, the company has become a legend in the Taiwanese bar scene, with Aki Wang and Nick Wu , Angus Zou, Kae Yin It was a time when these people were exploring and trying new things.

The lack of a unique culture and style in the Taiwanese bar scene meant that they were free and unafraid of anything.

Later, Mr. Nammoku began to visit Taiwan many times for guest shifts and became deeply committed to the Taiwanese bar scene.

To put it simply, I fell in love with Taiwan (laughs)."