オフィシャル

Hoshi greets customers with a warm smile.
His back is straight as he shakes the shaker with quiet dignity.
Today, he leads seven bars centered in Ginza — a testament to why he is known as “the most successful bartender in Ginza.”

Yet the path to success was never easy.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, his bars were forced to close, and business came to a halt.
At that time, he was the head of an association of more than one thousand bars and restaurants in Ginza.
Many in the industry feared that customers might never return.
Hoshi encouraged his peers and worked with them to create infection-control guidelines.
Those guidelines, first born in Ginza, later spread across Japan.

Hoshi’s dream of becoming a bartender began with an experience he had as a student.
(The bar was Pipe no Kemuri — literally “Smoke from a Pipe,” evoking a warm, nostalgic atmosphere — in Utsunomiya, which Hoshi himself now owns and manages.)
The color and aroma of his first cocktail, Love in the Aegean Sea, completely captivated him.

After graduation, he worked briefly as a clinical laboratory technician, but he could not forget the joy of interacting with people.
At that same bar, he admired senior bartenders who had competed and triumphed in national and international cocktail contests.
Eventually, he decided to pursue the path of a bartender.
He devoted himself to training and studying the art of cocktails.

In 1989, at the age of 32, he won the Japan Bartenders Association (NBA) National Championship with his original cocktail Falling Star.
The following year, he represented Japan at the world competition held in Mexico.
Although he performed strongly, his entry placed fourth overall, leaving him just short of the podium.
Carrying that frustration with him, he continued preparing for another chance.

Ten years later, in 2001, the opportunity finally came.
At the world championship held in Japan, before an audience of 4,000, his cocktail Sakura Sakura, inspired by cherry blossoms, won first prize.
A drink that pursued both Japanese beauty and storytelling, it remains one of his signature creations to this day.

White rum, pineapple liqueur, citrus juice, and blue curaçao are shaken together.
The rim of the glass is decorated with a wave-shaped line of salt and a star-shaped piece of lemon peel.
As the pale green liquid is poured, it arcs like a shooting star.
The tropical fruit aroma and crisp flavor are beautifully balanced.

The concept: “grace, dreams, and storytelling.”
Gin, cherry-blossom liqueur, and lemon juice are shaken to create a gently sweet, cherry-pink hue.
To enhance the fragrance, he uses grapefruit and lime peel and an apple skin twist to form a cherry-blossom shape, finishing the glass with a maraschino cherry.

Another specialty of BAR HOSHI is fruit cocktails made with seasonal fruits.
In autumn, Shine Muscat grapes and La France pears appear on the menu;
throughout the year, pineapple, kiwi, and mango are offered.
Sugar and syrup are kept to a minimum to bring out the natural aroma and sweetness of the fruit.
Hoshi is highly skilled in fruit cutting and decoration and has worked to promote Japan’s cocktail culture.
For these achievements, he was recognized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a Tokyo Meister (Excellent Technician).

At the counter of BAR HOSHI, quiet tension and warmth coexist.
As Hoshi manages several bars, guests who visit the bar may not always have the chance to meet him in person.

However, his spirit and technique are faithfully carried on.
Under General Manager Mr. Sugitani and the staff embody their master’s movements and mindset, welcoming guests with unchanging smiles.
The calm flow of time within each glass — that is the essence of why BAR HOSHI has become part of Ginza’s soul.

Like many traditional bars in Ginza, BAR HOSHI has a table charge.
Enjoying two cocktails typically costs about ¥6,000–¥7,000.
It is a refined experience — a moment that lets one truly feel the value of Ginza itself.

Hoshi opened BAR HOSHI on July 7, 2004, the day of Tanabata, Japan’s ancient Star Festival when people make wishes upon the movement of the stars.
He said, “I want to train star bartenders, help them become independent, and open bars like shining stars from Ginza 1-chome to 8-chome.”
With that wish, he named his company "Eight Star".

In reality, many of his disciples have gone on to open their own bars.
In October 2025, Yosuke Abe, Assistant General Manager of "Eight Star" and bartender at  BAR HOSHI MonsREX in Ginza 8-chome, won the national cocktail championship.
For Hoshi, nothing brings greater joy than seeing the growth of his apprentices.

When asked about the secret to training excellent bartenders, Hoshi answers quietly:

“Those who aim high always have an aspiration.
By repeating the same effort without giving up and constantly asking, ‘Is this truly good enough?’, a person continues to grow.”

He always tells his staff, “Respect the basics.”

Every gesture — posture, the graceful figure-eight motion of the shaker, and the way one offers the glass — carries meaning. It is important to understand why each step exists and internalize it through reason.
Only after mastering the form can one make the subtle, half-step adjustments that bring a single drink to perfection.

He also says, “Listening is more important than speaking.”
A bartender must read a guest’s heart from expressions and gestures.
Many people come to the bar seeking peace of mind.
Delivering quiet comfort — that, he believes, is the true mission embodied in the word bartender.

In his hometown of Aizuwakamatsu, Hoshi operates GINZA BAR HOSHI.
His father, Wakichi Hoshi, served for many years as a high-school principal and is also a master of kendo.

Now 103 years old, he still enjoys painting etegami postcards and has held solo exhibitions.
In 2025, employees of the Eight Star group visited Aizuwakamatsu for their annual training trip and viewed his father’s exhibition together.
Hoshi says he has learned much from his father’s example.

His daughter, Aya Hoshi, has also followed in his footsteps.
In 2017, she opened Bar Dealan-Dé in Nishi-Azabu.
In 2024, she became the first champion of a cocktail competition hosted by an international brand.
Her winning creation, MJ’s Espresso, is an innovative fusion of whisky and espresso.
The name Dealan-Dé means “butterfly” in Scottish Gaelic — symbolizing her flight into a new world on wings inherited from her father.

Hoshi’s guiding principle comes from his father: “Chujo Ikkan. ”Chu “忠” means to act faithfully and rightly. Jo “恕” means compassion for others. Ikkan”一貫” means to remain consistent in this attitude toward everyone — to uphold the same sincerity no matter whom he faces.

Holding both in balance, he treats his guests and staff with sincerity.

As one who has devoted his life to the art of cocktails, he also sees it as his duty to pass down the subtle techniques that shape taste and feeling.

In every cocktail and every smile, a quiet passion lives within BAR HOSHI.
The flow of time there is elegant yet tranquil —
It is filled with a familial warmth — the kind that a mentor feels for a disciple, or a father for his child.
Even tonight, eight stars shimmer softly above Ginza.
That light is the radiance of a genuine bar — and of the bartenders who stand behind it.