Little Texas is shown in Tokyo, the capital of Japan.
Courtesy of Belton Gaar
Nearly 16 hours and a Pacific Ocean away, a honky-tonk bar, adorned with Buc-ee’s merchandise, neon signs and cowboy hats, sits on a busy street in Tokyo. For some tourists, it feels like home—evoking the bustling energy of a Texas Roadhouse (ironically not Texas-based) on a Saturday night. For others, it offers a taste of the Lone Star State—without the flight or the triple-digit heat.
San Antonio native Belton Gaar stumbled upon the tavern, fittingly named Little Texas, last week after taking a wrong turn in Tokyo. Gaar, a media production student at the University of Texas at Austin, is in Japan for four months through a foreign exchange program.
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In a TikTok post shared on Thursday, April 3, Gaar documented his visit to the bar and grill.
“Insane experience,” Gaar said. “Having whiskey with a Cowboy from Shibuya was not a part of my travel plans.”
In the video, a three-man band performs a cover of Johnny Lee’s “Lookin’ for Love in all the Wrong Places.” One wears a wide-brimmed black hat and jeans; another dons a black-and-white plaid button-down. Behind them, a poster reads “Cold beer, good music.” Elsewhere, a Texas Longhorns parking sign humoursly hangs beside another that reads “Aggie Fans Parking Only.”
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“I mean…Looks like every bar I’ve been to living in Texas,” one user commented on the post.
Even country superstar Luke Combs was impressed, asking in the comments if the tavern was “looking for (music) acts.”
Others noted they’ve come across similar Texas-themed joints around the world.
“Houton-born here! I have lived in Canada and Italy…been to five other countries. I have found something Texas-related everywhere I have been,” a user said.
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In this case, Little Texas was born from the passion of Takeshi and Natusco Grace Yoshino. After making a few trips to the U.S., the couple opened the cowboy-themed spot in 2005, converting what had once been their ramen shop. Takeshi traveled the nearly 6,500 miles to Texas twice a year to bring back road signs, license plates, pickup truck parts—whatever he could fit—for display in their Meguro district bar.
“It has become known as a base for transmitting American culture in Tokyo, and become a famous spot in both Japan and the United States,” the tavern’s website states. “The U.S. ambassador and the governors of Tennessee and Mississippi secretly visit Little Texas.”
As a child, Takeshi was fascinated by the tunes of country singer Dave Kuboi. He was further enamored with the cowboy culture and Western fashion that it represented. Today, his bar brings that world to life with line dancing and daily performances by country artists from Texas and Japan.
While guests take in the nostalgic western vibe, they can snack on chicken fried steaks, tacos, chili, or other Tex-Mex cuisine—all while sitting on wooden saddle bar stools under the neon moon—I mean—Coors Light sign.
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With nearly two decades dedicated to the honky-tonk, it’s only fitting that former Texas Governor Rick Perry made Takeshi and Natusco “Honorary Texans” in 2011. It’s not something the owners take lightly. The certificate hangs proudly on a wooden wall behind the bar.
And those wooden walls? Imported all the way from Denton County.
AloJapan.com