Bars & Nightlife · Kiyamachi
Bee's Knees ビーズニーズ
Kyoto's best-known speakeasy, on Asia's 50 Best Bars every year from 2020 to 2025: push through a fake door off Nishi-Kiyamachi into a dim, buzzing cocktail room.
Typical visit (2 drinks + charge): ¥4,500
About
Bee's Knees hides behind an unmarked entrance on the Nishi-Kiyamachi side of the Takase canal, the kind of door you walk past twice. Inside is a dark, lively room with a long bar and a playful menu: the Ninja Smash, the Astronaut, a New York Cheesecake that tastes exactly like it, and the Florist Sour. It made Asia's 50 Best Bars every year from 2020 (No. 21, peaking at No. 18 in 2021) through the extended list in 2025, and it is still the bar visiting bartenders head to first in Kyoto.
Highlights
- Asia's 50 Best Bars every year 2020-2025 (peak No. 18)
- Hidden speakeasy entrance
- Signatures: Ninja Smash, New York Cheesecake, Florist Sour
- Lively, music-filled room
- Open until 3:00
Tips
- Opens 18:00; arrive early or expect a wait at weekends
- Closed Sundays
- Look for the small door in the Matsuya Building on Nishi-Kiyamachi
- Order one signature and one classic
Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09
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