Ryukyu Drink LABO: Featuring Okinawan coffee and awamori. A laboratory where Ryukyuan culture is chanpuru!

Bartender Tomoaki Nakamura runs three bars in the centre of Naha, Okinawa: Ryukyu Mixology Style Bar Alchemist, Ryukyu Drink LABO and Ryukyu Drink Laboratory Harurenohi. In the second part, we spoke to him about his second bar, Ryukyu Drink LABO, and his third bar, Ryukyu Beverage Laboratory Harurenohi.

writer：Drink Planet　撮影：norico

Shintenchi Market Main Street, where Ryukyu Drink LABO and Ryukyu Drink Laboratory Harurenohi are located.

Flare, hotel bar and mixology experience.

Tomoaki Nakamura has been fascinated by the job of bartending since he started working part-time at a bar as a student, and after graduating he continued his two-faced lifestyle as a childcare worker during the day and a bartender at night.

After living a two-faced life for two years, Mr Nakamura encountered flair bartending during that time and decided to shift to a single life as a bartender in order to improve his skills as a flair bartender.

After working at several bars, including Bar ECLIPSE, a flair bar in Chatan, he then moved to a hotel bar.

At the hotel bar, he was involved in the opening of the bar from its inception, and as head of the bar department, he also gained experience in purchasing, costing, staff training and management.

After a total of five and a half years' experience in two hotel bars, he opened the Ryukyu Mixology Style Bar Alchemist in 2018, which was introduced in the first part of this article, and became an independent owner-bartender.