Win a free ticket to Tokyo International BarShow 2026, May 9-10

It’s that time of year again — the Tokyo International BarShow is on May 9-10 at Tokyo Dome’s Prism Hall. And again, Nomunication readers have a chance at winning a free ticket!

The Tokyo International BarShow was first held in 2012, and since then it’s established itself as one of Asia’s largest and most influential drinks events. While originally held in conjunction with WhiskyLive, I’d say the BarShow today “includes” whisky rather than making it the main event. Cocktails are flowing at basically every booth, and they’re being poured by some of Japan and the world’s best bartenders. It’s basically impossible not to have a good time here. I’ve said this before: people come to this event year after year because of all the (public) drinks events in Tokyo, the BarShow is by far the most fun.

• Tokyo International BarShow 2026, “Smash the World”
• May 9-10, 2026, 11:00-18:30
• Tokyo Dome City Prism Hall
• 1-day ticket 8,000 yen(adv)/9,000 yen(door), 2-day ticket 14,000 yen(adv)/15,000 yen(door)
• Advance tickets available via eplus, Lawson Ticket, and Pia

As you can see, this year’s theme is “Smash the World.” That’s because one of this year’s special guests is none other than Joerg Meyer, famed founder and owner of Le Lion in Hamburg, Germany and pioneer of the Gin Basil Smash. At Le Lion, Punch reports that they serve 300 to 500 Gin Basil Smashes every week. Needless to say, one of the highlights for lucky visitors to this year’s BarShow will be sampling the drink made by Joerg himself.

I’m also happy that 2026 will see the return of friend of the site Dave Broom to the BarShow. Dave was recently named “Shogun” and presented with the Order of the Scottish Samurai, making this BarShow a particularly timely one. Aside from his highly influential The World Atlas of Whisky, he also writes extensively about Japanese whisky including 2017’s The Way of Whisky: A Journey Around Japanese Whisky.

Tokyo BarShow staples like the IBA Flair Japan Final, Nadeshiko Cup, and Gin Guardians ceremony, of course, return as on-stage highlights. About that Nadeshiko Cup, I found it quite interesting that one of this year’s competitors works not at a cocktail bar but at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery Teavana in Meguro. The full timetable for the stage programs and masterclasses is yet to be announced, as are the booths and festival bottlings. Even so, one thing I noted for myself after last year was to pay more attention to the schedule, so I’ll certainly be keeping an eye on the official site and setting reminders.

How to enter to win your free ticket

I’m happy to announce that the BarShow’s organizers, the Cocktail Culture Foundation, have once again graciously provided four one-day tickets to the event exclusively for Nomunication readers.

How to enter? Let’s not make this more complicated than it has to be. Simply drop a comment on this article with your recommended cocktail bar(s) in Tokyo. If you’ve never been to Tokyo, comment with somewhere you’d like to visit. Please comment by April 18, 13:00 JST!

On April 19, I will select four winners (i.e., one ticket per winner) at random and drop you an email so we can arrange to get the tickets to you. So yes, please use your actual email address when leaving a comment. Good luck, and see you at the Tokyo International BarShow!