Toto's Bar

I had to go on a quick trip to Kawasaki, which is close to Tokyo, and I found an hour or so to stop by Toto's bar and see some magic. There are two very cute owls there now. I also noticed that they had changed the color of the Toto's bar playing cards they have in the bar. Their logo is green, so they have started printing their playing cards in green now. Toto's bar is always great, and this time was no exception.

仕事で川崎に行くことがあって、東京で1泊した。ちょっとだけ「都々's Bar」に顔を出す時間もとれた。最近、フクロウ2羽いる。可愛い。他に、都々's Barトランプが今緑色のなっている。都々's Barのロゴが緑色なので、トランプも緑色にしたそうだ。都々's Barがいつも凄く楽しい。今回もそうだった。

Visiting Toto's Bar in Tokyo

When in Tokyo, I almost always visit Toto's Bar, a magic bar in Ginza. Toto is very very entertaining, and the other magicians there are good too. This time too, I found some time to stop by (which resulted in me getting a severe lack of sleep, since I had to get up early for work every day, but it was worth it).

東京に行く時にほぼ毎回銀座にある都々's Barに行く。都々さんが大変盛り上げ上手だ。めちゃくちゃ楽しい店なんだ。他のマジシャンも上手だし。今回もちょっと時間作っていった（そのせいで仕事中で寝不足で大変だったけどね）。

Toto did a parlor magic show and there were doves and bowling balls produced, fascinating cigarette magic, rope tricks, and much much more. I also saw Toto do a colored sand in a bowl of water type of magic trick for the first time, which was nice. Toto also did some very nice close up magic. Apart from doves and canaries that I have seen before, Toto's bar now also has an owl that helps out with the magic show.

都々さんがサロンマジックのショーを見せてくれた。鳩やボーリングボールが出現した。タバコの不思議なマジックがあった。笑えるロープマジックも良かった。色々あった。初めて都々さんの水に色々な色の砂を入れるマジックを観れた。きれいだった。最近、フクロウも都々's Barにいるし。可愛い。

I also saw the magician Yamato, who showed off a very impressive bottom deal and some mental magic.

他に大都（やまと）さんがきれいなボトムディールを見せてくれたし。メンタルのネタも色々やった。

One thing that surprised me a lot was that another guest there started speaking Swedish to me (he was Japanese)! It turned out that one of his relatives had married a Swede and now lives in Sweden, so this guy had also lived one year in Stockholm. I also ended up talking to an older and very drunk Japanese businessman who had been to Sweden several times for work.

一番驚いたのが、他のお客さん（日本人のお兄さん）が急にスウェーデン語で喋ってくれた！家族の誰かがスウェーデン人と結婚し、スウェーデンに住んでいるそうだ。お兄さんも1年間ストックホルムに住んでいたからちょっと話せる様になった。他に日本人の酔っ払っていたおじさんとスウェーデンの話もした。おじさんが何回も仕事でスウェーデンに行ったそうだ。

There was also a woman there who I have talked to at other times in Toto's bar. She remembered me (and I her), and she gave me a slice of apple pie that she had brought because of someone's birthday. It was a very good apple pie. Ginza is one of the expensive high class districts of Tokyo, and this pie had that kind of feel to it.

前に都々's Barで何回か会ったことがあるお姉さんにもまた会えた。僕のことを覚えてくれた。誰かの誕生日の為にアップルパイを持ってきていたから、僕も高級なアップルパイをいただいた。美味しかった。さすが銀座、レベル高いなと思った（笑）。

I also met a young Russian girl, who originally came from a place where my brother spent 6 months. She seemed nice, but had to leave fairly quickly.

他にロシア人のお姉さんにもあった。うちの弟が半年くらい住んでいたところから来たそうだ。面白い人だったが割りとすぐ帰ることになった。

Magic bar Toto's bar

During my trip to Tokyo I also spent two nights in Toto's Bar. My hotel was quite close to Toto's Bar, and it is one of Tokyo's best magic bars. Magician Toto is extremely good at entertaining people. There are a bunch of other magicians working in Toto's Bar too, and they are nice too.

東京の出張の時に、2回も都々’s Barに行った。泊っていたホテルが近かったのもあるが東京のトップレベルのマジックバーなので、何回も行きたくなるのもあるね。都々さんが凄く盛り上げ上手。他のマジシャンも都々’s Barにいる。皆面白い人だ。

A live goldfish that appeared from nowhere

I first met the female magician Minto in the hallway outside, where she was seeing off some other guests. She commented on my t-shirt and then did some magic for another group. I was at the same time being entertained by the magician Yamato (who I had met once before in Sapporo), so I could not see much of what Minto was doing. She then left. Yamato stuck around for a long time, and he did a lot of magic for me. He produced a real live goldfish out of thin air, for example.

最初、廊下でマジシャンミント（眠都）に会った。他のお客さんの見送りをしていた。僕のティシャツ、突っ込んでくれた。その後、他のお客さんにマジックを見せていたが僕がその時にマジシャンヤマト（大都、札幌で1回会った）にマジックを見せて貰ったからミントさんが何をしたか観えなかった。ミントさんがその後帰った。ヤマトさんが沢山のマジックを見せてくれた。空中から金魚を出した。

Very good karaage chicken

I also met the magician Yuto, who I had not seen before. He turned out to have watched a lot of my YouTube clips so we talked about that for awhile. He had even learned a card move from one of my clips and asked me if he was doing it right. We seem to have similar taste in magic, and he did a lot of magic similar to tricks I do.

他にマジシャンユウト（遊都）もいた。会ったことがなかったがちょっと話したら、僕のユーチューブをよく観ているって。僕がアップしたカードの技法１つを練習したから、僕に見せた。合っているかどうか、教えて欲しかった。他にもマジックの趣味が似ているみたい。他のお客さんに見せていたマジックは僕がやるマジックと結構似ていた。

Raisins in butter, stuffed into bread

At around 1 a.m. the bar become completely full again, and they decided to do one more stage show, with Toto, Yamato, and Yuto all performing. After all the "normal" guests had left they had a "magic study circle", and I was invited to join them too. I joined for an hour or so but had to get some sleep before next day's work too, so I left "early".

午前1時にまた満席になったからもう１回ステージショーをやることになった。都々さんも、ヤマトさんもユウトさんもマジックを披露した。普通なお客さんが帰ってから、マジックの勉強会もやるからって誘われて、勉強会にもちょっと参加した。次の日に仕事があるからちょっと寝ないとって思って早く帰ったけど。

A late night meal for the staff

I dropped by the next night too, and saw two more stage shows. I also spoke to a magician from southern Japan who was visiting, and saw a lot more close up magic. I also showed one trick to Yamato that he liked a lot, so he asked me to show it to the others too, and he asked me if it was OK if he copied my trick. I said fine :-)

次の夜も都々’s Barに行った。ステージショーを２回も観れた。日本の南のほうのマジックバーからの若いマジシャンも隣にいたからちょっと話した。ヤマトさんに僕が考えたマジック１つ見せて、凄い気に入ったみたいなので、他の人にも見せてと言われた。そして、私もやっていい？って聞かれた。勿論、どうぞって答えた。

The new edition of the Toto's Bar cards

During these two nights, they also kept giving me food. They came over with some fried chicken or some raisin/butter sweets and said: "Try this, it is really good". Indeed, the food was really good! I had eaten before coming there so I guess I gained a few kilos during this trip... They also refused to let me pay for the food, so I got two super great visits very VERY cheap there... So cheap I felt bad about it. They also gave me a deck of cards with the new Toto's Bar card design (I have two decks of the old design since before).

この２回で、何回も食べ物を出して貰ったんだ。「この唐揚げが凄く美味しいから食べてみて」とか、バターレーズンのお菓子とか、色々貰った。本当に美味しかった！バーに来る前に普通に食べ放題とか（仕事の懇親会）を食べたから、東京で太ったなぁ。帰る時に食べ物の分を払うとか、基本的に払うのが駄目だと言われたから激安って感じで終わった。申し訳ないほど払っていないから…都々’s Barの新しいデザインのトランプも貰ったし（前のデザインのトランプも２個持っている）。

So I had a great time, got to see huge amounts of very good magic, got quite a lot of food, and got to see them feed all the doves and parakeets they use in their show, etc. Toto's Bar is always great, so I highly recommend it to anyone in Tokyo.

凄く楽しい時間過ごせたし、素晴らしいマジックを沢山見せて貰ったし、美味しい食べ物も沢山貰ったし、ハトやインコに餌をやる時も見れたし、色々楽しかった。都々’s Barはいつ行っても楽しいから、かなりおすすめだね！

A fake candle (actually a very realistically looking electric light)

The lit and fluttering fake flame looked less realistic from the side

Magic bar review: Toto's Bar

Toto doing some rope escape magic with two spectators (my friend on the right)

I have been to Toto's bar three times. The first time, Toto himself was not there (he was in America, performing at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, which he does regularly twice per year). There were other magicians there instead, of course, so it was still nice. Toto is extremely good at entertaining people, though, so missing him means missing a lot.

都々's Barに3回も行ったことがある。最初の時、都々さんがいなかった。アメリカのマジックキャッセルでマジックをやっていた。毎年行っているそうだ。代わりに他のマジシャンが勿論いたから楽しかった。都々さんが凄い盛り上げ上手だから、都々さんがいないとちょっと損するけどね。

Me and Toto

Toto's bar is located in the Ginza district in Tokyo. There are many magic bars in that area. The bar is fairly small, but looks very nice. There is a small stage area, a few sofa and table sets, and a counter. Toto does magic shows in front of everyone on the small stage, and he also does close up magic shows at the counter and in the sofas. If you book in advance, you can have a dinner and magic set with food that looks good (we never tried the food), or you can go there just for magic and drinks.

都々's Barが銀座にある。周りにマジックバーがいっぱいある。店がまあまあ狭いがきれいだ。小さなステージがあって、ボックス席もあって、カウンターがある。ステージで皆の前で都々さんがマジックショーをやる。カウンターやボックスでもクローズアップも見せて貰える。早い時間に行けば、ディナーコースも出来る。ご飯が普通に美味しそうだったがうちらはご飯試していない。

Toto's brother who makes food and handles sound, and the very nice bartender

Apart from Toto himself, there is a very nice bartender working there, making any drink you can imagine. Toto's brother works in the kitchen, and also does sound/music stuff for Toto during his shows. There are also other magicians working there, and they show you magic too.

都々さん以外も、優しいバーテンダーさんもいる。何の飲み物出すそうだ。都々さんの弟さんもキッチンで働いている。音楽の色々もやっている。他のマジシャンもだいたいいる。マジック見せてくれる。

On our first visit we saw Raito (apprentice to Toto, I think; all his apprentices have names ending with "to" by the way) and a guest magician called Mocchi. The second time I went there, Raito was there and Toto himself was back. The third time we showed up late and only Toto did magic. There was also a woman working there, but I do not know her name (or what her job actually was).

初めて行った時に都々さんの「来都」という弟子（弟子だったと思う。弟子たちが皆「都」が付く芸名にしているみたい）と「もっち」というマジシャンがいた。2回目の時に来都さんと都々さんがいた。3回目の時に都々さん以外は誰もマジックしていなかったが女の人のスタッフ1人もいた。どういう仕事の人だったかちょっと分からなかった。

The very skilled magician Raito

Raito was very technically skilled, and performed very slowly in a gentleman style. His version of the professor's nightmare (3 ropes that change length) trick is the most technically beautiful version I have seen so far. Very slow but with care taken on angles to stop precisely where you have to stop etc. He also did a very nice version of a trick with a playing card turning inside out while folded inside another card. He was very good.

来都さんが凄く上手だった。ゆっくりの見せ方で、紳士的なマジシャンの印象になった。色々なマジックを、全部凄い綺麗に見せてくれた。3本ロープのマジックが今まで観た見せ方の中で来都さんの見せ方が一番綺麗だったなぁ。他にカードの中に折りたたんだカードが裏返してくるマジックもきれいな見せ方で披露してくれたし。うまいって感じだった。タイミングとか、角度とか、きれいに見せるのを気にしているマジシャンだった。

Toto is also very good, but more than his technical skills you become impressed with his entertainment skills. He is very good at getting the crowd going. He does some very advanced magic, but the main focus is on entertaining presentation ideas. He makes very good use of music and other sound effects during his show. In a similar vein, when he does spoon bending or similar effects, suddenly his necktie is bent out of shape and when you look around, so is his brother's necktie as well as the bartender's necktie. Funny details like that help a lot.

都々さんも上手だがマジックのレベルより盛り上げ方に感動する。盛り上げ上手！難しいマジックもやっているがそれはどうでもよくなって、見せ方というか、テンポというか、観ると凄く面白いんだ。見せ方が面白いし、格好いいし。音楽や音の使い方もうまい。他にも、例えばスプーン曲げをする時に突然都々さんのネクタイも曲がっている。周りを見たら、バーテンダーさんのネクタイも、都々さんの弟さんのネクタイも曲がっている。そういう細かいポイントもちゃんとやってて、結構面白い。

Toto does a parlor magic show on the small stage, including things like a floating table routine that is very good, rope escapes, producing bowling balls from a sketch pad, flying handkerchiefs, and things like that. Very high tempo, very entertaining.

都々さんがステージでサロンマジックのショーをやる。フローティングテーブルとか、脱出のマジックとか、スケッチブックからボーリングボールが出てくるとか、飛んで行くハンカチとか、色々なマジックをやる。テンポが良くて、超楽しい。

He also does close up magic at the counter, including some very interesting coin magic, his signature effect where five spectators point their fingers at a deck of cards and go "bang" and for each bang that spectators selected card shoots out of the deck (he once mentioned that he sells this trick for 1 million yen but too many people kept buying it at that price so he upped the price to 1.5 million so he would not have to spend too much time teaching people that trick...), strange electric toy tricks, other fascinating card tricks, and more. Toto is one of the most entertaining magicians I have seen perform. Highly recommended.

カウンターやボックスでクローズアップもやる。不思議なコインマジックもやるし、都々さんの有名なわざのカード当て（5人の人が指を指して「バン」と言ったら、自分の選んだカードがトランプの把から飛び出る。100万円で売っているマジックだそうだが買う人が多すぎて、そのマジックを教えることに時間が掛けたくないから150万円に値上げしたって、笑）、不思議な電気系のおもちゃのマジックとか、他の不思議なカードマジックとか、色々見せてくれる。都々さんが今まで観たマジシャンの中でトップ3位に入っているから、かなりお勧めだ。

The entrance to Toto's bar is a mirror

Since Toto performs one or two weeks in L.A. every year, presumable he also performs in English. He said he just spouts random words that sound like English and hope people understand him through body language, but I think he may have exaggerated, haha. He probably speaks English fairly well, but we only spoke Japanese. The owner of the magic bar where I perform is also friends with Toto, so we talked about common acquaintances and things like that too.

毎年2回アメリカに行ってマジックキャッセルでマジックショーをやっているから、英語でもマジック出来ると思う。本人に、適当な英語っぽい音を出して気持ちでやりたいことが通じるように頑張っているだけくらいな話されたけど、笑。でも、ちゃんと英語が出来ると思う。僕とはずっと日本語で話していた。うちのマジックバーのオーナーと都々さんが仲良いから、お互い知っている人の話とかもした。

Summary:
Location: Good location very close to the Ginza subway station, in a district full of magic bars.
Type of magic: Parlor and close up.
Quality of magic: Very very high
Cost: 5000 yen for me, depends on what you order.
Interior: nice
Staff: very nice and funny people
Of special note: Very good use of sound/music. Shows pictures of spectators taken during the magic show on monitors afterwards. Serves food during the early hours.
Overall impression: One of the best magic bars I have been to. Toto is VERY good at performing entertainingly. Highly recommended.

まとめ：
場所：銀座の地下鉄駅のすぐ近く。他のマジックバーも近くに沢山ある。
マジックの種類：サロンもクローズアップもある。
マジックの質：かなり高い
値段：僕は5000円くらい払ったが沢山飲む人なら高いらしい
インテリア：きれい
スタッフ：面白いし、優しいし
特典：早い時間なら、ご飯もある。サロンのショーの間にお客さんの反応の写真とかを撮って後で店にあるモニターで見せる。音楽や音の使い方がうまい
全体的な印象：今まで行ったマジックバーの中のトップ1か2だと思う。都々が大変盛り上げ上手だ。かなりお勧め。