Picca Bar

If you've ever heard of a bossa-and-peanuts bar in Kyoto then the odds are rather high that the nightspot in question is Picca Bar, one of Kyoto's mellowest and, at 11 years, longest-lived watering holes.

Although the door, complete with tasteful stained glass motif, isn't particularly auspicious, the darkness that envelops you once inside enables the chill 60s Brazilian tunes to transport you to faraway foreign climes and a different era. It comes as no surprise that this ultra laid-back spot is popular with people, looking for somewhere different to unwind, including quite a few couples.

Picca Bar's principal novelty though is its basket of peanuts: eat as many as you want (they're free) but don't bother looking for somewhere to dump the shells because you're supposed to toss them onto the floor! If you're having trouble getting used to this, it's worth noting that a few of the bar's well-mixed drinks (from ¥800) rapidly speed up the adjustment process. At one time the bar used to leave the shells on the floor for a month at a time but now they're swept up daily, which is less fun perhaps but rather more hygienic and certainly easier to walk on if you're wearing high heels.

The floor disposal method is a handy alternative clock though — the size of the pile of husks under your seat is a good indicator of time spent drinking, which is useful in a bar where time and daylight are distant concerns. It's a good way to gauge how you'll feel the next day too, since overeating nuts is not going to ease any pain the alcohol you washed them down with, might inflict.

Whatever the morning-after holds though, this is one bossa-nuts bar that you should experience at least once.

Open
2F Tsujita Bldg, Sanjyo-Kiyamachi Sagaru, Nakagyo, Kyoto.
Tel: 075-255-3618
Closed Sundays and national holidays.

Open: 19:00 - 05:00
Charge: ¥200
Drinks: ¥800 - ¥1000
Peanuts: free

Text and Photos: Miki Nakano