4 injured after explosion in bar in Tokyo's Shimbashi district

Shimbashi, a once-popular watering hole for Tokyo salarymen, now a good place to avoid

A headline just from here on JT a few days ago. Any connection with those sounds or explosion reported above?

News coming in the explosion is in a restaurant kitchen. Possibly gas.

Hope things are under control.

Very short article.

Very short article.

Probably to be expanded later when more information becomes available.

The owner of that Bentley is probably not too happy seeing all that equipment, activity, and personnel around it.

300 metres west of Shimbashi station is almost Toranomon.

The guy was smoking as he was cooking food. Yuck!

The guy was smoking as he was cooking food. Yuck!

Not sure if this was meant to be a joke, or something, but it doesn't say anything about this in the article.

Gas Leaks are very common and deadly, gas supplier should demand that all lines be replaced every 2 or 3 years depending on routs and locations, or stop supplying gas. annual inspection by gas suppliers would be a good idea.

Seemed a posh or faux-posh racehorse owners themed bar from TV news. Wonder if any legit horse owners drank there? Or gamblers after a hard day of work?

No, the owner was not cooking at the time. Not open yet. If the kitchen were in use, I hope an exhaust fan would have vented the place better.

The bar's 52-year-old owner was also quoted as telling the police, "I thought I could smell something like gas or sewage in the smoking area, and when I used a lighter to light a cigarette there was this explosion."

Darwin candidate? Are people really this dumb? Strike that. Obviously, they are.

Yes, a simple gas leak, in a cocktail bar. Do they serve well cooked and grilled Gin Tonics? lol Additionally, it’s a bar dedicated to horses, or better let’s estimate horse betting and the related guests, entourage, debts or money flows. But gas leak is fine for me, as they use it now globally for explaining similar explosion causes, so it’s of course simply indicating anything else but for sure NOT a gas leak as the real reason.

@Sven Asai--Occams Razor says the simplest theory is preferred.

Many bars would have a kitchen that could use gas. Could be as basic as boiling up some complimentary edamame.

A global media conspiracy to misreport bar mishaps that were really IED booby traps by who knows? Not plausibly simple.

Smells gas and had two choices (a) open windows and find the source of the smell or (b) light a cigarette in the gas-odorous room

Lighting a cigarette anytime is bad but lighting one while smelling gas is kinda stupid.

Boom. I never liked having to cook with gas in Japan and all the apartments I’ve been in used it.. and for heating water. Can you say Monopoly? Boom

There's so many buildings that aren't equipped with gas detectors and sprinkle systems.

I think the main problem here is that the owner wasn’t equipped with common sense.

The guy was smoking as he was cooking food. Yuck!

private owners restaurants oftentimes I smell the cook smoking cigarettes. Family restaurants you won’t see that and you’re lucky before the Tokyo Olympics there was always a smoking section in all restaurants and cafes but not anymore which is a good thing as nobody should be forced to breathe second hand smoke

Why are we still using gas??? We dont use it for lights anymore, and we have electricity now since the 20th century. Electricity is far safer. My electric stove won't explode and destroy a building.

Charlie Sommers

Today 01:08 am JST

Lighting a cigarette anytime is bad but lighting one while smelling gas is kinda stupid

Sounds like the Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5je5ftrDfEY&pp=ygUmQ2hyaXN0bWFzIHZhY2F0aW9uIGxpZ2h0IGNpZ2FyIGV4cGxvZGU%3D

桜川雪Today 03:08 am JST

Why are we still using gas??? We dont use it for lights anymore, and we have electricity now since the 20th century. Electricity is far safer. My electric stove won't explode and destroy a building.

I too wonder about this. Some people like the gas infused smell on their food, I guess.

The bar's 52-year-old owner was also quoted as telling the police, "I thought I could smell something like gas or sewage in the smoking area, and when I used a lighter to light a cigarette there was this explosion."

Darwin at work. Just goes to show that age does not grant a person common sense or wisdom! Dude is lucky to be alive!

Why are we still using gas??? We dont use it for lights anymore, and we have electricity now since the 20th century. Electricity is far safer. My electric stove won't explode and destroy a building.

Ever see the difference in price between gas and electricity here? Gas here by the way, is LP gas, not kerosense.

Multiple people smelled gas and were like “meh”

nosuke

before the Tokyo Olympics there was always a smoking section in all restaurants and cafes but not anymore which is a good thing as nobody should be forced to breathe second hand smoke

A local cafe/restaurant converted their old smoking room into a children's room. As it's completely sealed-off, it keeps those yelling, stomping, little germ factories isolated from the main seating area. Such a fantastic idea!

The manager of Cafe & Bar 'Moutiers' has claimed that no gas is used there; all cooking is done with IH electricity-powered equipment...

Yubaru

Gas here by the way, is LP gas, not kerosense.

No. It's only Liquid Propane in rural areas. In cities, it is delivered in gaseous state via pipelines from the local gas company, and is typically referred to here as "city gas", or in the US as "natural gas".

Nobody even mentioned kerosene. Not sure why you brought that up.

桜川雪

Why are we still using gas???

Because fire is better for cooking. Ask any chef. (Or anybody who cooks more than just boiling water for Cup Noodle.)

We dont use it for lights anymore, and we have electricity now since the 20th century. Electricity is far safer. My electric stove won't explode and destroy a building.

Not your stove itself. But, the electrical wiring in your home or apartment can start a fire, and is one of the leading causes of fire at home and in the workplace..

Electric heaters are another major cause of house fires.

has this been updated? on the TV today, a guest on miyaneya was saying the joint didnt even use gas or have a gas supply agreement in place. some dude they had on suggested methane gas from an evaporated toilet trap, possibly from a tenant on a lower floor....the explosion wasnt a typical 'gas-filled room' type of explosion

Nearly every human has a built-in gas detector. We've been adding a specific smell, mercaptan, to natural gas to aid our built-in gas detectors for over 100 yrs. Works well IMHO. Of course, you can't be dumb about it.

Induction cooking is impressive, but if what you have is gas service then that makes sense to use. There are claims from the "green" people that natural gas is unsafe for many reasons. Electricity is also unsafe. Humans have created methods to make both safer, but not completely safe. Which to use is a preference for most of us. I have a gas stove, gas fireplace (fake logs), gas clothes dryer and gas water heater.

I don't know about Japan, but in the US, if you smell gas, you are expected to leave the area immediately and call the gas company/fire department and let them handle it.

Portable gas leak detectors are $15-$100, so not exactly expensive.

Bars will usually have gas service because they need to wash glasses, plates, and cooking items. That typically means there will be a gas water heater and kitchen appliances.