Vive la Vie: Omotesando
Vive la Vie is a comfy little lounge bar which relocated, two years ago, from an expansive basement off Gaien Nishi Dori to the cozier confines of a basement on the edge of the Aoyama-Shibuya area.

Mi-chan, the no-fuss mama, hosts her haven for artists and creators with warmth and style. She has also created a delicious menu of what she calls "Japanese soul food," which makes it a great place to drop into for a relaxed and reasonably priced meal.

Atmosphere is the key at Vive la Vie. Various areas have been created by pulling together odds and ends of tables and upright chairs and sofas and armchairs, which collectively seat around 20. The kitchen and the bar, which seats another six, are neatly tucked into the triangulated space under the stairs leading down to Vive la Vie's basement. An austere little tatami room, which also seats another six or so, is set off to the side at one end.

A fully-equipped DJ booth overlooks the space from the other end, and this is backed by a large square of wall onto which video images are projected. The remaining walls are available for artists - both local and foreign - to book for solo exhibitions of their works.

Mi-chan's two bar boys are fresh and exhuberant. Her regular patrons are sometimes boisterous and sometimes ponderous, but all are happy to have found this arty oasis on the edge of Shibuya...

by "Sister Chill"



Vive la Vie

Shibuya 2-4-6, Sanzen Bldg B1F
03-5485-5498

Hours: 7 pm till 1 am Monday to Thursday and till 3 am on Fridays, Saturdays and national holiday eves. Closed on Sundays and national holidays.

No cover charge if you sit at the bar, 500 yen cover charge per person if you sit at a table; glass wine 500 yen, draft beer (Kirin Ichi-ban Shibori) 600 yen, bottled beer 700 yen, mixed drinks from 800 yen. Tasty plates of Japanese soul food from 500 yen, set meals from 800 yen.

Closest station: Shibuya. Take the Miyamasu-zaka exit and head up the hill. Cross Aoyama Dori at the first traffic light after the road merges with Aoyama Dori. Head down the street next to Starbucks for 2 and half blocks (before it intersects with Roppongi Dori), where you will find Vive la Vie in a basement on the left.