Mogura

Worst place, over priced, stinks, service not too great, and charge $ 2 for every Karaōke song.
I wouldn’t advice my friends to go there.

This place sucks, overpriced, stinks like a cigarette and doesn’t treat customers equally unfortunately :(

Rule #1: Never follow a lady clad in a kimono into a bar. Rule #2: if you feel like it might be shady, it probably is.
Mogura has a really cool look, but the service is lacking to say the least. Upon arrival the kimono clad lady behind the bar almost immediately vanished when a group of gentlemen and their escorts came into the bar.
What I really did not appreciate was the lack of service. We weren’t loud or impolite. We all ordered drinks. But the amount of time it took for drinks to come out was unreasonably long. We were also lead to believe that the karaōke was complimentary UNTIL THE BILL CAME. Apparently, the hostess was secretly keeping tabs on all the songs we were singing. I also know she up-​charged us for everything. In the end, lesson learned – sometimes following the white rabbit leads you to not awesome rabbit holes.

This Japanese hostess bar is pretty expensive. Even singing karaōke while you’re drunk will set you back $ 2 per song, but in all honesty, there aren’t too many bars like this one. You can hold your own bottle of sake here, and the hostesses remember you. Love their takoyaki and fried chicken, but portions are small. People are really here to hang out with the hostesses. Sake is fresh, and the list is long. If you’re into that, this place is a quiet oasis in a sea of loud and rowdy Japanese bars. Even the seating here feels authentic with their wooden planks and cushions. Love the hot towel to wash yourself in the beginning. Oh, word of advice. Don’t get the Jpop beer. It tastes like grapefruit juice even though it’s supposed to be 6.5% ABV. No way.

We had 40 minutes to kill and needed to stay close to the theater so Mogura was our solution. Perhaps because it was a random Tuesday night, the place was completely empty. I felt awkward sitting at the «bar» but my friend had already agreed to pay for my drink and I wasn’t about to pass up a free drink. I ordered J-​Pop, which was extremely overpriced (as was everything else) for $ 6.
The bathrooms reminded me of my junior high school’s bathroom; sterile and old. The couches in the bathroom and the main bar area also felt very worn. I don’t really get this place and I won’t be back unless I am really desperate.

I believe all the customer should be treated evenly no matter if you’re Japanese or American. They only serve Asians and White people. That’s totally wrong. They have a security camera at the entrance and check what you are.
Their microwaved foods really tasted nasty.
Health department should check their kitchen. It looked not clean.

Absolutely terrible service. The head of the staff yelled at non-​american friends of mine for not posting the charge per karaōke song. The casual rascism portrayed by the staff lead is downright deplorable. Do not come here, while the drinks are well priced and the actual staff is good, the head staff’s behavior makes this a place to avoid.

This hidden Japanese hostess bar has high sentimental value, and I enjoy coming back periodically to have a drink with friends, chat with the hostess, get caught up on the latest J-​pop, eat Japanese bar food, and hone in on my inner rock star singing skills. Standard Japo beers are on tap and they have a decent sake and shochu selection, if the latter is your thing. The bar food does the trick and enables patrons to quaff more. I especially liked the salmon chazuke and the takoyaki. I was warned against ika no shiokara, or fermented cuttlefish, but I still tried (a bit of) it. I don’t suggest it.
Don’t by shy, come in and drink beer and sing a few karaōke songs.

I came here with a friend after a night at Playground Karaōke. It is tucked away, but it is clean, and I thought the hostesses were nice. I don’t recall being terribly impressed with the drinks, but it kind of did not matter. We were still riding the wave from a great time at Playground. The hostesses told us that they have karaōke for special people. I guess they thought we were special since we got to sing more karaōke at Mogura until the bar closed. It was a good time at a very intimate bar.

Its a Japanese dive bar.
What more could you ask for?

Wow, what an interesting place. Buried in a corner of Japantown center, you feel like you’ve walked into a foreign country when you walk in here. The Japanese music videos looping on the little TV really sets the mood. Awesome place to grab a few cold beers or glasses of sake in Japantown.

This was a hole in the wall bar/​lounge that my friends and I stopped by while waiting for our other friends to arrive. I’m Japanese myself, but my friends weren’t, so they were very hesitant to enter since it seemed to be more suited for Japanese customers and the entrance didn’t look very inviting.
It was about 8pm, so early for bar standards and there weren’t many people. But it was interesting listening to the Japanese music shows and it felt very nostalgic to listen to SMAP. The drinks were very classic to a Japanese style bar, as well as the décor. It felt like I was in Japan again for a moment and I liked that a lot. My friends liked the décor and the calm atmosphere and since I handled everything with the bartender/​server, they grew to like the place. But I can see why they were a bit worried, the lady, though very courteous and nice, couldn’t speak English very well.
Anyway, I’d definitely come back here again for some more drinks. Don’t feel turned away by the shady looking entrance, it’s a really nice place to have a drink and a chat!

This is probably the definitive «hole in the wall». My friend and I walked over here from Yoshi’s. We had a hard time finding it because we didn’t know that it was in Japantown until I had mentioned we should check inside. Both of us never recalled seeing a bar in there so when we walked in, we looked at the directory and sure enough, it was upstairs. It’s at the end of the hallway and it’s very intimate. There were several people in there that turned out to be regulars. It’s run by a petite Japanese woman and if I can recall, she mentioned that the bar had been there for about 7 years. It’s not a full bar, but they have an odd selection of alcohol including sake. They also have some bar food if you feel like a snack. It’s definitely a place to check out.

Mogura is an easy place to miss as it’s located at the end of a random hallway in the Japan Town mall. Since finding it, I’ve found myself here on plenty of occasions singing the night away or as a first stop before heading out to another karaōke bar. There’s seating around the bar and there is limited space, but of all the times I’ve been here there was always space available for me and my party. Song choices and drink selection are decent. It’s nice that they serve food here and it’s pretty good. The staff is always very friendly and attentive.

We were very excite to be trying this place. The reviews looked good and the pictures of the interior were interesting.
My review will be short, as our visit was.
We walked in at 11:30PM. We were asked to leave at 11:31PM. The place had at least six people. They were singing! THEY asked us to stay. The waitress/​bartender asked us to leave. She said they were closed.
Huh.

I was wandering around Japantown one day with my boyfriend, and was curious about Club Mari. I walked in the hallway, and veered left. The BF was asking where I was going, to which I replied «I don’t know» and kept walking down a brightly lit hallway. We passed a bathroom, and a kitchen, only to find a dimly lit bar!
The décor is very nice, and the bar area is intimate. I do enjoy the seating area (although I wish I could go into the couch area, not entirely sure how to become VIP enough for that.) The drinks are pretty simple, they have a limited menu with small appetizers. I have had the Ebi Shumai and the Fried Chicken so far, both are pretty great (ebi shumai is my favorite of the two though. P)
As far as drinks go, the Sake Wine is great. The Fuji Apple smells like a Jolly Rancher, and is about 3x sweeter than one, so if you are not a fan of super sweet drinks I would recommend going with the Lychee flavored one. The J-​Pop drink is pretty good, it’s a malt beverage that is very sweet. I got the grapefruit flavor, which was good until about ¾ths of the way down; It was a little too sweet and became hard to stomach.
They play fun J-​pop music while you are there, so far I have seen the same 2 videos play everytime I go in, so I can’t say that they rotate the videos… but they are entertaining to watch. From what I have read, this place use to have karaōke, but lost their license or something.
Definitely stop by Mogura for a drink or two if you are in the Japantown mall, I am going to be bringing my friends here when they come to visit, just for the experience alone.

I love this little place. It’s insanely hard to find but worth the look. I thought I knew that mall like the back of my hand, but go figure. The bar is a little sake bar with a few nibbles. The staff is incredibly friendly, as is Mari, the owner. I think my hubby and I were the youngest customers by about 15 years, but it didn’t matter. It’s a great little place to sip some beer or sake and have some small plates while you’re at it.

Mogura (means mole in Japanese) is a traditional Osaka style shochu bar with the works: chill but traditional atmosphere, sitting-​karaōke around the bar, & serving girls wearing wafuku. Sapporo & Asahi on tap. A bunch of sake. Ochazuke & takoyaki.
A couple hours here and you’ll start to believe you’re actually in Osaka. Here’s some tips:
* Mogura is nestled in Club Maris — a Japanese-​only hostess bar. I’m not sure if that rule extends to Mogura but I haven’t heard any English while frequenting.
* Be prepared to take your shoes off and potentially sit cross legged or on your heels.
* Try the takoyaki! Osaka is known for it and Mogura gets pretty close.
* Bring 3 or less people because there is only seating enough for about 15.
* Don’t be too loud or drunk, it’s considered extremely rude and you will lose you’re ability to return. Remember, this is an Osaka shochu bar not an Irish pub!

Say, do you want to do karaōke, but you’re feeling too lazy to actually have to stand up at the mic? Well then you should head over to Mogura where you can sit around the bar on small cushions to do your singing. Please don’t bring more than 3 of your friends though because this spot might seat 15 people if they are lucky.
Also check out your feet situation because you will be required to remove your shoes. Karaōke songs cost $ 2 each and there is a one drink minimum, beer, sake, and wine only. Or you can get the sparkling malt beverage I tried. Recommended only if you like Zima or are trying to start a new «icing» trend among your friends.
This is one place that is on my «you should really experience this at least once» list. And I’m betting I’ll be back time and again in the future.

This karaōke place might as well be tucked away down a dark Tokyo alley. It’s the ultimate hidden secret in that it’s almost impossible to find and it’s likely the most authentic karaōke bar in the city. Just wander into the unmissable Japantown mall (next to the Sundance theater), take the stairs and hang an immediate right.
Once you walk in, you’ll have to take off your shoes (don’t worry, you can wear little bathroom slippers when you go to the bathroom), and rather than showcasing your pipes to a crowd full of drunks, you’ll gather around the U-​shaped bar and sing sitting. Festive, it’s not, but if you bring a crowd it’s unlikely to be packed (let the current 7 reviews be a testament to the popularity).
For those nights when you wanna sing sad songs or watch other people do the same, Mogura is tops.