Drinking a Blue Screen of Death in the back streets of Tokyo

Nakao, who also runs a DNA testing company called Hymena, got the idea for Hackers Bar after seeing street performers in Boulder, Colorado last year. He wanted to do something similar, but didn’t think Tokyo would be the best fit. "Japanese people don’t pay street musicians," he laughs. "And the best thing I can do is live coding, which would be strange in a public space." Deciding that a bar would be a better fit, Nakao asked other places in Tokyo if they would be interested in hosting coding events, but ended up opening one of his own instead.

About half the bar’s customers are development novices, according to Nakao, and his live coding events are intended to introduce beginners to the basics of how software is created. "I think Japanese people are very interested in coding," he says. "They’re interested in how the code moves on a terminal, like in The Matrix or other sci-fi movies." There are three screens around the small bar, giving everyone a good view of what the night’s lead "hacker" is working on. The events run four times a week — the bar only opens at 8pm on weeknights, but Nakao wants to invite coders from other companies to host hacking nights on weekends as well.

As with the country’s indie games scene, Japan’s relative aversion to entrepreneurship has stymied its startup culture when compared with elsewhere. But Nakao thinks that’s changing, and is happy to play any part in helping the scene find its feet. "I’d like to support [startups] and I want them to gather here," he says. "We can communicate how they can do business." Hackers Bar itself makes use of some of the apps developed at its live coding nights; for example, a simple iOS app that records customers’ tabs, displays them on a monitor via AirPlay, and wirelessly prints out paper copies.

But what about the drinks? Well, the Blue Screen of Death turns out to be a lot more palatable in alcoholic form.