L’s Base is one of the newest lacrosse-themed bar/restaurants in the world, but you might be surprised to learn its location.
When you hear about a lacrosse bar or restaurant, your immediate thoughts on possible locations automatically gravitate toward lacrosse hotbeds. It could be in Vancouver, Baltimore, somewhere outside of Toronto, Central New York, or on Long Island. And while there are certainly places to visit in all of those areas with some lacrosse art on the wall, it may surprise you to hear that the newest lacrosse-themed establishment is in…Tokyo?
Located just a short walk from the Imperial Palace in the heart of Tokyo in the Nihonbashi district is L’s Base, a new bar/restaurant founded by a local lacrosse player and run by another player. To get the details of what this new place is like, we were lucky enough to have Kaisuke Iwamoto on the ground to check it out for us.
Kai has his own interesting story, as back in 2018, he became the first Japanese citizen to play for an MLL team. But now he is back in Tokyo and was willing to reach out to the owner and get a few photos of the place for us.
L’s Base: A Taste of Tokyo’s Lacrosse Life
Who are the owners/managers?
The owner is a lacrosse player, who graduated from college in Tokyo and has been playing lacrosse for 23 years. He is also still the head coach of a local college lacrosse team. Along with him is another lacrosse player, Yasuteru Hosoume, who is the manager. Hosoume graduated from Chiba University in 2015 and has been playing lacrosse for nine years, including being an alternate for the Japan National Team in 2018 for the World Championships in Israel. Now, he is the captain of the Stealers, one of the best post-graduate lacrosse teams in Japan.
Is this their first restaurant?
This new venture is very new for both players. Neither of them has ever had a restaurant of their own. Their goal in that area is very much the same as anyone who opens a new place, though. In wanting to have a very top restaurant, they worked with the food director from a well known restaurants in Tokyo. They also teamed up with one of the best interior designers to make the dining bar really authentic in terms of food and bar itself.
But, Why a lacrosse theme?
They both love the lacrosse community and have been inspired not only by the people themselves, but also their and passion. Since they are both a part of the community, they wanted to provide a place to hang out off the field. Therefore, we excitingly decided to have a lacrosse theme for this bar. This extends not only to the decorations, but also they have cocktails themed after the local teams.
What is the neighborhood like where it is located?
The district where they are located is called Nihonbashi. They are near the oldest department stores in Japan and also walking distance to the Otemachi area that is the very center of Japanese economy. The area is mixed with modern and traditional part/culture of Japan.
Who is the ideal customer?
The goals is to have this place to be comfortable for lacrosse players and become a go-to spot after games and practices. But also, they would love to have non-lacrosse customers to let them know about the sport, even though their main target customer is within the lacrosse community.
What’s on the menu?
The main focus of the menu is cocktails themed after Japanese club teams.
What’s the address and website?
Address: 1-10 Nihonbashi Odenma-cho, Nihonbashi KR building 1F, Chuou-ku, Tokyo, Japan 1030011 (LINK: https://g.page/l-s-base-nihonbashi?share)
Website: You can find L’s Base on Instagram, Facebook, and at its website.
What is the opening schedule?
Lunch: 11:30am-15:00pm, Last Order at 14:30pm (Tue-Thu)
Bar: 17:00pm-22:30pm, Last Order at 22:00pm (Tue-Sun)
So, next time you’re in Tokyo, make sure to add this stop to your itinerary. We hope this business is a great success for years to come!
