What do you get when you add one Oak Door to Two Rooms?  Anywhere else in the world it might amount to a fabulous old-style suite at a top-notch hotel, but in Tokyo it is the sum of the best Tokyo has to offer; bars where everybody knows your name.

Fresh off the boat (or plane, as the case may be these days), Tokyo appears to hold a plethora of possibilities and an ocean of opportunities when it comes to activities of the after-dark variety. Every little entryway or narrow alley lead to a myriad of bars and clubs – some so small that you will be forced to hold a one-man party: You and the partially toothless Japanese bar-lady, who will merrily serve you a Gin with Tonic of the 1987 vintage…

Then there are the somewhat larger venues – with design and décor worthy of an Oscar; the problem is that these venues, such as the fabulous Baccarat in Roppongi Hills, tend to deter with their prices, which presumably need to be levied to pay for said ‘bling’.

There are, of course, the larger beer-swilling, cigarette-laden joints which Mr Tokyo pops into for a quick pint after work, like A971 in Tokyo Midtown or Legends, a few hundred yards down the road. But as a reader of Picnic under the Orange Tree, you don’t want to go there!

No, for you I have – with much research and hefty helpings of aspirin – narrowed it down to the Oak Door bar in the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi and Two Rooms bar and grill (connected by a narrow walkway, thus the ‘two rooms’ – geddit?) in Aoyama. Elegant settings, polite English-speaking staff, managers who greet you like a long lost relative to the point you actually question whether you are, indeed, related. But importantly, you will always know half the crowd, since they, too, are expats drawn to the same watering hole. The other half, in the case of Oak Door, tend to be hotel guests – most likely businessmen, but could equally be the stars of the films premiering at the Toho Roppongi Hills cinema next door.

Long of several martinis, mojitos or the obligatory Champagne, the next port of call on the expat schedule is typically one of three; Geronimo (a small, Western-themed shot bar, where you will, without doubt, lose all inhibitions, shame and, if you decide to ring the gong (which invariably one does), cash; Mogambo (same idea as Geronimo but with a dubious ‘jungle’ theme); or Smash Hits, the expat- favoured karaoke bar.

You, on the other hand, are far too fabulous to suffer such fate, and should utter a firm ‘no’ to all three and, instead head to Le Baron de Paris off Aoyama Dori, which sees the glitterati – both of Western and Japanese decent – party glamorously until the sun is firmly up in the sky. An alternative is Velours – also in the Aoyama area, where the clientele tends to be more Japanese. Once a month, you should steer your Choos to the coveted Blacklist party currently held at Desert Rose in Ginza. The only problem is that you have to be on the ‘list’ to get in… But, then, if you can get a VIP table at Pacha at the click of a finger or any table at JAX, I know this will not hold you back…

Mrs Tokyo’s little Black Book:

Baccarat  (b bar)– Roppongi Hills, Keyakizaka, 6-12-1 Roppongi

A971 – Tokyo Midtown East,  9-7-2 Akasaka

Legends – Aoboa Roppongi Bldg 1F, 3-16-33 Roppongi

Oak Door Bar and Restaurant – Grand Hyatt 6F, 6-10-3 Roppongi

Two Rooms Bar and Grill – 5F AO Building, 3-11-7 Kita Aoyama ; Telephone 03-3498 0002

Geronimo – 2^nd floor Yamamuro Bldg, 7-14-10 Roppongi (near Roppongi crossing)

Mogambo – Osawa building, 6-1-7 Roppongi

Smash Hits – B1F, M2 Bldg, 5-2-26 Hiroo High Street

Le Baron de Paris – Aoyama Center Bldg B1F, 3-8-40 Minami Aoyama

Velours – Almost Blue B1, 6-4-6 Minami Aoyama

Blacklist (by recommendation of another member only) www.blacklisttokyo.com