Meet Tokyo’s Bartending Monk

Bartenders are easy to confide in. Not just because you’re probably wasted, but because so many others have been before you. Your neighborhood barkeep has already heard it all, and though he might not be able to impart any sage advice, he’s at least developed some good listening skills.

While barkeeps seem to have always occupied this unique social position, it’s therapists who often do these days. Before therapy, which developed from the Christian culture of confession and divulgence, it was the clergy who saddled this responsibility.

Vowz Bar in Tokyo revitalizes that once important role of clergy, placing them right behind the bar, where Buddhist-themed cocktails are mixed for spiritually thirsty patrons. Run by monks in the bustling Shinjuku district, it’s likely the only bar where boozy-and-stirred concoctions are offered with a prayer.