We visited this Tennessee Vols themed bar in Tokyo, and here's what we found

TOKYO – In the heart of Japan's capital, there’s a brightly illuminated sign featuring a delightful hillbilly with a cowboy hat and an orange beard emblazoned with a “T” that would catch the eye of any vacationing Vols fan.

Walk a little closer, and you’ll see through the glass door a flash of quarterback Joe Milton scoring a touchdown on a TV and Tennessee’s tristar state flag anchored in the far corner.

And is that a figurine of UT’s Smokey mascot on a shelf? Surely, your eyes deceive you.

But the sign on the door says, “Good Ole Tennessee Bar,” and invites you to “Come in y’all!”

So you step inside the small cozy sports bar, and your curiosity is finally quenched. This is what you think it is, and one sight seals it.

Just above the front door is the iconic orange sign that any UT fan recognizes in an instant, even in the Eastern Hemisphere. It’s the shape of the Volunteer state adorned with the words: “I will give my all for Tennessee today!”

It’s a sight for sore eyes for any Vols fans visiting the most populated city in the world, or at least a pleasant surprise.

Good Ole Tennessee Bar opened in February as a passion project for Yoshitoshi Momoki, a Tokyo native who graduated from UT in 1993.

Momoki wanted to pay homage to his alma mater, the state of Tennessee and his parents and grandparents, who sent him halfway around the world to experience Southern hospitality and an American education.

He also wanted to share what he loved about Tennessee with the Japanese people in his home city.

“In a sense, it was paying back and paying it forward,” Momoki told Knox News. “Because I didn’t know about the Volunteers and Rocky Top and moonshine and pickup trucks and everything until I went (to UT).”

Come for taste of Tennessee, stay for Yoshi

Visiting Good Ole Tennessee Bar is a three-pronged experience: The food and drink, the décor and the infectious personality of Momoki.

He usually goes by Yoshi to Americans, capitalizing on the popularity of the Super Mario character by the same name.

If you follow the bar’s Instagram account, you’ll see turn-by-turn directions to Good Ole Tennessee Bar presented by a Yoshi plush dinosaur.

Honestly, it’s not hard to find with a little help from Google Maps app and a basic understanding of the bustling subway system.

The bar is located just a short walk away from at least three major subway stations on the edge of Chuo City, a historically commercial center of Tokyo, and a few blocks from the Sumida River.

But Yoshi greets patrons at the door with a wide grin and a magnetic personality. He’s the only employee at the bar that he owns, but he effortlessly mixes work with casual conversation from the behind the bar.

One moment, Yoshi explains unique facets of Japanese culture. And the next, he sings the chorus of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” and does it quite well.

“You know I could sing the national anthem at Neyland Stadium,” Yoshi said with a hint of seriousness.

Classic country music often echoes through the bar, streamed around the globe from Knoxville’s historic FM station, 107.7 WIVK. And Tennessee recording artists like Elvis and Tina Turner are featured in framed photos with Japanese subtitles on the wall.

Yoshi is more than happy to tell you about them. He knows more about Tennessee than some American southerners who grew up in the state, and almost certainly more than anyone in Tokyo.

It’s no wonder that in 2019, UT’s Office of Alumni Affairs appointed him as the alumni area representative for Tokyo.

How Tokyo locals react to the Tennessee bar

Local customers come to the bar, but they’re understandably confused by its theme. Yoshi fills them in over a cocktail and some snacks.

There’s a large mural of Tennessee on the wall. It highlights the West, Middle and East regions of the state and pinpoints the major cities.

Sensing an American theme, some Japanese misidentify it as a map of the United States rather than just the Volunteer state.

“Many Japanese will go, ‘Oh this is a map of America,’ ” Yoshi said. “No, that’s not (Los Angeles). It’s Memphis. And, no, that’s not New York. It’s Bristol.”

So he gives customers a “things to know” guide about Tennessee that they can read while they sip their Jack and Coke, which was shipped directly from Lynchburg.

But for Tennesseans, the Good Ole Tennessee Bar has quickly become a bucket-list item, especially for UT fans vacationing in Japan. Dozens have visited the orange-clad bar in the past two months after learning of its existence on social media, which included a push from American-Japanese tourism sites.

Yoshi has a unique way of documenting visitors from his adopted Volunteer state. If a customer is from Tennessee, they sign their name, hometown and date of visit on the state map on the wall. And then he features them in a photo on Instagram.

From the bar to restroom, Vols orange is everywhere

Some UT fans bring gifts to Yoshi to decorate the bar. He already had quite a collection of memorabilia to celebrate the Vols and other teams in Tennessee.

There are UT mini helmets and a couple of Vanderbilt items. The wall behind the bar is lined with hats of the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators and Memphis Grizzlies.

Among the books on a small shelf are “100 Things To Do in Knoxville Before You Die” and a dictionary of East Tennessee beers. They are flanked by a black and white photo of UT’s iconic football coach, Gen. Robert Neyland.

There’s a Smokey mascot standing alongside the blender behind the bar. And even a Smokey grey Vols helmet sits atop the toilet paper dispenser in the bathroom.

More Tennessee-themed items are added every week as American friends ship décor to Yoshi or drop it off while touring Tokyo.

What to eat and drink? Start with these Southern favorites

The menu follows the same theme.

There are limited food items. Remember Yoshi is running the entire bar and kitchen on his own.

There are hot dogs and nachos that remind fans of gamedays at Neyland Stadium.

But don’t leave without trying any dish served with Yoshi’s delicious chili, including chili dogs, honky-tonk chili cheese fries or a small bowl of chili that probably can’t be found anywhere else in Tokyo.

The bar is stocked with homegrown Tennessee drinks like Jack Daniels from Lynchburg, George Dickel Tennessee Whisky from Tullahoma, Chattanooga Whiskey and Yee Haw Beer, which was started in Johnson City and spread across the state.

There’s also a wide variety of bourbons from Kentucky.

Here’s what Nico Iamaleava’s name means in Japanese

But it’s not a Tennessee sports bar unless there’s sports, and that’s where Yoshi uses technology to circumvent a 13-hour time difference between Tokyo and Knoxville.

Replays of UT football games from the past few seasons run on a loop on the TV in the bar.

Baseball, soccer and Sumo wrestling are popular sports in Japan. So American football seems more like a novelty, and the Vols aren’t widely known.

But Yoshi is changing that, one customer at a time.

The Good Ole Tennessee Bar is loudest when the 2022 replay of UT’s win over Alabama is on the tube. Yoshi admits that he cried when the Vols’ game-winning field goal fluttered over the cross bar and fans carried the goal posts out of the stadium.

He watched it live from Tokyo, where kickoff was at 4:30 a.m. Sunday.

“I just get up early,” Yoshi said.

He watched UT beat Iowa in the Citrus Bowl in a New Year’s Day matchup, although it kicked off at 2 a.m. on Jan. 2 in Japan.

Yoshi is especially excited about quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and that’s not just because he won the Citrus Bowl MVP in his first start. Iamaleava’s name gives off good vibes in the Japanese language.

“Nico doesn’t mean anything,” Yoshi said. “But niconico – saying it twice – means ‘smile’ in Japanese. That guy will make us smile.”

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Here's what we found visiting this Tennessee Vols themed bar in Tokyo