If you want to visit Kinfolk Lounge, a cozy, atmospheric cocktail bar with vintage keirin frames hanging from the rafters, be sure to print out a map of its exact location. In February, three weeks before the Sendai earthquake devastated northern Japan, my buddy T.C. and I visited the country for a few days. After spending an afternoon at Tokyo’s Tachikawa Velodrome, a gambling venue where old men in parkas studied racing forms and smoked as racers whizzed by in a rainbow blur, we decided to drop by Kinfolk for a drink.

Finding addresses in Tokyo is tricky, so when we got to the Nakameguro neighborhood it took a lot of wandering around and asking “Keenfolk bah wa doko deska?” until we stumbled upon the tiny, second-story lounge on a quiet back street. With old-school Japanese woodwork, comfy couches, candlelight and tasty libations, it was definitely somewhere I wanted to spend some time. It’s run by Ways&Means, a collective of expats who also build custom track bikes as the Kinfolk Bicycle Company. Co-owner and bartender John Beullens filled me in on the history of the bar, Ways&Means’ current projects, and what it’s like mixing mojitos for Japanese gangsters.

Who’s involved with Ways&Means and how did you wind up opening this place?

It’s me, Ryan Carney, Maceo Eagle and Salah Mason. Me and Maceo, we’ve been friends for a long time, and Maceo grew up with Ryan and Salah in Washington State. I’m originally from Sidney, Australia, and I’ve been living in Japan since 1999. Round about that same time Maceo was coming over from New York and doing graphic design work and