Wakana Murata, The Tokyo Bartender Redefining What Hospitality Can Feel Like
Name: Wakana Murata
Base: Tokyo, Japan
Current Role: Head Bartender at Tokyo Confidential
Claim to Fame: Part of a new wave of female bartenders redefining Tokyo’s bar culture as Japan embraces more global and experimental cocktail styles
Signature Style: A mix of global cocktail influences and thoughtful hospitality, blending international sensibilities with Tokyo’s nuanced drinking culture
Known For: Bringing a fresh, global-minded perspective to a traditionally male-dominated field, and building a bar identity that resonates with younger, cosmopolitan drinkers
A New Generation Behind the Bar
Tokyo’s cocktail culture has long been known for precision, tradition, and seriousness. But in recent years the landscape has begun to shift. Women increasingly occupy roles behind the stick. More bartenders are daring to experiment. And among them is Wakana Murata — quietly yet confidently redefining what it means to be a bartender in Japan’s capital.
Murata stepped into bartending not merely as a job, but as a creative outlet. In an interview recently published, she described how the vibrant energy and diversity of people visiting bars made her believe in cocktails as a language — one that could transcend boundaries, spark curiosity, and foster connection.
Today she channels that belief into every drink she crafts, every night she works, and every guest she welcomes.
Tokyo Confidential — Where Identity Meets Innovation
In 2023, a new bar opened in Tokyo’s Azabu-jūban: Tokyo Confidential. Alongside a co-founder from abroad, Murata took the lead behind the bar. The concept was bold: a non-Japanese bar in Tokyo, aiming to deliver global cocktail vibes while respecting local sensibilities.
Tokyo Confidential became a statement. It challenged traditional expectations. It invited creativity. It welcomed people who wanted more than polished classics. It offered cocktails that felt worldly, inclusive, and modern.
For Murata, this was the perfect platform. She helped shape a bar that doesn’t just serve drinks — it shapes experience. The ambiance, the drink selection, the hospitality — everything is designed to feel modern but warm, global but rooted.
Her role is not just bartender. She is curator of mood, builder of community, and a bridge between cultures.
A Style Grounded in Respect and Curiosity
Murata’s cocktail philosophy balances harmony and exploration. Her drinks reflect:
Global sensibility: she draws from worldwide cocktail trends and flavors, not limited by geography.
Local respect: she understands Japanese palates and the subtle expectations of drinking culture in Tokyo.
Hospitality focus: more than showing off technique, she aims to make each guest comfortable, intrigued, welcomed.
Personal expression: each cocktail tells a little story — of movement, of connection, of curiosity.
At a time when many bars chase trend or prestige, Murata’s approach feels refreshing. Her cocktails are not about flash. They are about moments, memory, and connection.
What Her Journey Means for Japan’s Bar Culture
Wakana Murata stands at an intersection — between tradition and modernity, local and global, the old guard and a new generation. Her presence matters because she brings:
Representation for women — showing that leadership behind the bar in Tokyo is possible, respected and evolving.
New energy for a changing crowd — for younger drinkers, expats, locals curious about global cocktails, her bar offers an alternative.
A bridge between cultures — by blending global influences with local sensibilities, she helps the Tokyo bar scene grow beyond old boundaries.
A redefinition of hospitality — where empathy, warmth, and refined taste matter as much as technique.
Her work suggests that the future of Japanese cocktail culture may not just be preservation. It may be reinvention.
