Bar C-Shell

Underneath the name on the door sign, there are the words: ‘She sells sea shells on the sea shore’. Intrigued to know how this very English tongue twister found its way into the logo of a very Japanese cigar jazz bar, it’s our first question to owner and bartender Yu Makiura. ‘There are a few reasons,’ he says, ‘but mainly I wanted to emulate the way, in Japanese language, we tend to shorten phrases to more simplistic terms. “C-Shell” is my shortened version of the tongue twister. But the “C” is also meant to be a subtle reference to the fact that we sell cigars and cognac.’ We were immediately taken by the great deal of thought Makiura has put into just the name of his bar, and it’s obvious from studying the décor in this elegant, moodily lit space that he has done the same with every other detail too. As is the tradition with snack bars, Makiura says he wants to attract a certain standard of clientele; the type who enjoys slowly sipping on whisky and engaging in a more intellectual sort of conversation. So the door to his bar stays closed, and those who are curious enough to enter are usually quick to mellow out to the soft jazz tinkling in the background.