[Quick update, they are now brewing their own beer under the name Kakegawa Farm Brewing. The brewery is quite close to this place and they seem to have a few of their own beers on so I’m also marking this as a brewery tap now. Check the facebook page for details]
Today, a brief post on a place in a city that was quite unfamiliar to me until last weekend. To be honest, I didn’t really see much of it either, apart from the inside of this bar. Before visiting, I thought it might be a bit of a stretch to add somewhere in Kakegawa, given that it doesn’t seem to really be on the tourist route, but Bucket Here won me over, so it gets an entry of its own. If you find yourself on the Kodama shinkansen, desperate for a beer, why not hop off, head here for a couple of hours and then resume your journey. I should acknowledge though that this is advice for people with much more enthusiasm and energy than me. In any case, it’s well worth a visit, especially if you’re in the area. Here’s what you need to know.
– Hugely spacious place if you compare it to the majority of places on this blog. Not a great deal of tables, but Bucket Here occupies the ground floor of a decent sized corner building no more than five minutes walk from the JR station. Modern looking decor with a counter for eight, three high tables for six each and then round the other side of the bar, a fancy sofa and a big bench seat that looked like it was made out of a tree trunk. Hip kind of Portland type feel to it, if that statement makes any kind of sense at all.
– Beers are a mixture of imports and Japanese craft split around 2/3 1/3 respectively. They are served in three slightly unconventional sizes, regular (390m), pint (500ml) and Mass (1000ml). Prices vary from beer to beer and range from ¥950-¥1100 (R), ¥1300-¥1500 (P) and ¥2500-¥2900 (M). Not sure quite how people manage a mass of some of the stronger or sourer beers on tap, but all power to them if they can do it. They also have a beer flight option, four beers of your choice, 125ml of each for ¥1400.
– Wifi, no smoking, no cover charge and some daytime opening. The things we tried from the food menu were very nice. They also seem to be quite into their coffee, so there’s even something for people who don’t like beer. Although what they are doing reading this blog, I don’t know, but welcome to them anyway.
Like I said, this was somewhere that won me over. There are only a couple of beer places in the city apparently and the Belgian beer bar was closed on Sunday so it was natural we ended up here. But I was very happy we did. There is also a brewery opening in the city soon so the possibility of a little scene starting. Apparently the staff sometimes close for beer trips to Tokyo or Nagoya, so it might be worth checking their facebook before you visit. This does show that they are very much into the stuff they’re selling though, which can only be a good thing. Sure, the prices look a little on the high side, but when you consider the unusual serving sizes and calculate the relative price, I think they’re pretty reasonable. It is also definitely the case that places in Tokyo have to be a lot more competitive price wise given the large amount of rival bars. And actually, I’m pretty sure some of the rarer imports are cheaper here than in similar places in Tokyo. So definitely worth popping in if you’re in the area and worth making a pit stop if you’re passing through.
Japanese breweries seen on tap:
AJB
Ise Kadoya
Outsider
Opening Hours:
Monday-Thursday, 16:00-23:00
Friday, 16:00-24:00
Saturday, 14:00-24:00
Sunday, 14:00-22:00
Location/map:
肴町1-13, 蓮福寺ビル1F, Kakegawa-shi, Shizuoka-ken
Telephone:
0537-61-6116
Links:
Facebook page