This is part 8 of the Tokyo Beer Drinker digest posts. You can view all of them by clicking the digest category on the right hand side or alternatively you can just click here. I was surprised to discover that it had been over a year since the last digest post. I’m also pleased to say that recently quite a lot of digest post places have been visited and now have a post of their own. So don’t lose hope digest post bars. If you sound good, we’ll eventually get round to visiting. As with previous digest posts, an inclusion here doesn’t vouch for a place, but does just say that it looks like it might be of some interest. The places will remain as a ? on the map till they have been visited. But hopefully in the brief write ups there will be enough to give you some idea of what they might be like.
(QUICK NOTE, PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT DUE TO THE CURRENT STATE OF EMERGENCY, MANY OF THESE PLACES WILL HAVE CHANGED THEIR HOURS AND SOME MIGHT BE TEMPORARILY CLOSED. BEST CHECK BEFORE YOU SET OUT)
Akubi – Hot Pot & Craft Beer – Daikanyama
Probably everything you need to know is in the name. Actually almost everything I know is what is in the name. Seems to have some kind of connection to Taihu Brewing so that might hint that the food is Taiwanese and give you an idea about what kind of beers you might find there. Food seems to be the main focus.
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Beer Live Base – Komae
Bit of a mystery. Apparently an irregularly open bar that is run by a supplier of brewing equipment. Definitely should check their Facebook before you attempt to go here. Have heard wildly different things about this place.
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Beer O’Clock – Chiba
Has been around ages but I never really go to Chiba so have never visited. 10 taps of quite interesting stuff! Not sure about prices, but definitely seems like it’s worth a stop next time I’m in the area.
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Biajuku Laundry – Fujisawa
Part of a slightly hidden chain of bars run by Product Of Time which includes the Craftsman bars, Maribana bars and some other places too which I’ve never heard of. Seems to be big money behind them. 12 taps of Japanese craft and some bottles and cans. Concept seems to be an izakaya with craft beer. Which also seems to be the concept in the Maribana places too. No idea about prices.
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Cider Shack – Shibuya
Seems quite like Shibuya’s other cider oriented bar Cidernaut, with a selection of ciders on tap and in bottles and cans with some craft beer too. Prices look a bit better though. And I’m sure both bars would say they are very different from each other. In that mystery area south of Shibuya. Should probably go there soon as there are a few places there now.
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Citan – Bakurocho
Hostel with a beer bar. You have to feel for them in recent COVID times. Although actually hostel looks like it might be underselling it a bit judging by the photos on their website as it looks quite upmarket. Probably more hotel than hostel I think. Not beer focused, more of an all round bar and restaurant experience, but they occasionally post about beer on their Facebook and seem to have a house beer made for them by Baird. Think they might only have one tap of craft but there are lots of bottle and can check ins on Untappd there so I guess they have a decent selection.
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Coco Craft – Ichigaya
Seems to have about 8 taps judging by the background of photos I’ve inspected closely. Dim Sum restaurant too. No idea about prices. Untappd check ins show some fairly run of the mill Japanese selections. Guess you’d probably go there for the food and the beer would be a bonus.
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Cori – Komazawa
Vegan restaurant with five taps of Kokage beer from Nagano. Bit of a mystery, that. Apparently the food is amazing and I am due to visit there very soon hopefully for that very reason.
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Craft Beer Kitchen Cocoro No Tsuki – Yokohama
Craft beer and Chinese food seems to be the thing here. 6 taps of mostly local stuff with the occasional import. Taplist is on their Facebook.
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Craft Beer Market Penny Lane – Kichijoji
A second Craft Beer Market in Kichijoji and the food concept is gyoza here. That’s probably all you need to know that you can’t find out from any of the other CBM posts on here.
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Craft Beer Market Tokyo Torch – Otemachi
Another new CBM in whatever Tokyo Torch is (seems to be a couple of towers, shopping and offices with a terrace. Actually looks quite interesting). The food concept here is also gyoza. Other than that it’s a regular CBM
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Craft Works/s – Nishi Nippori
Pretty small looking place with four taps of Japanese craft. Tap-list is on their Facebook each day. Judging by a sliver of a menu in one online photo the prices look pretty standard for a small bar.
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Crazy Craft Beer – Ogawamachi
This place used to be CBM Awajicho. Seems like they have less taps now and the prices have gone up from the CBM times. Occasional tap-list shows up on their Instagram. The ‘crazy’ the name is a 700ml size that they serve some of the beers in.
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Draft Journey – Fujisawa
Downstairs below Grano. I suspect they share the same beer list given that they are run by the same company on two different floors of the same building. They serve burgers here so something a bit different from the pizzas on the floor above. The tap-list for both places is available on Untappd. Seems there are about 10 taps in total split over the two shops.
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Evolve Beer & Kitchen – Oshiage
12 taps with bottles and cans too. Medium sized place near the Tokyo Skytree. Food available but beer is also available to take away. There seems to be a ¥350 cover charge.
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Far Yeast Tokyo Brewery & Grill – Gotanda
Never made it to their old place before they closed it! This place seems to have 12 taps, mainly of their own beers, which to be honest I can take or leave, but some people seem to like. I guess the difference is that this is their Tokyo brewpub too, so I guess the Far Yeast beers you get here will include some made on site. Apparently there are 105 seats which makes it a pretty massive place. Quite confusing on the whole.
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Five Trees – Gakugeidaigaku
New brewery that seems to be brewing already. Has some kind of connection to Thrash Zone, but I think this is mainly by way of inspiration rather than finance or personnel. Looks like a pretty fashionable place judging by their Instagram. More Instagram sleuthing makes me think that it has about eight taps, a few seats and some standing areas. Also describes itself as a gallery. Interesting…
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House Of Ladybug – Hachioji
Seems to be all imports and all US stuff as far as I can see. Lots of Portland and West Coast stuff so maybe there’s a Beer Cellar Sapporo connection. Or maybe not.
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Kotoyori Liquor Store – Gotanno
Kakuuchi style place. Looks like their taps are Tap Marche which isn’t exactly encouraging but also has bottles and cans to drink on site or take away. I think… Japanese selection looks pretty standard but there are some trendy breweries mentioned on their blog.
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Kunisawa Brewing – Shinbashi
Slightly suspicious as I heard about it via a sponsored Instagram post. ‘Craft Beer, Stationery and Bespoke Printing’ apparently which is definitely a new combination for me. Seems like the brew pub is on the ground floor and you can drink above it. But the information seems to be quite patchy online, which combined with the sponsored ad, makes me very confused and quite suspicious.
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Maribana – Sangenjaya & Shibuya
As mentioned above, with Biajuku laundry Fujisawa, part of a big group of izakayas with craft beer. I’m slightly suspicious of these places as I am with all big chains that somewhat hide their chain status. But I shouldn’t judge till I’ve been to one I guess.
Sangenjaya branch Facebook
Shibuya branch Facebook
Matsuzaka – Eifukucho
Booze shop that puts quite a lot of pictures of various Japanese craft beers on their instagram. Some interesting looking stuff. No idea about prices.
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Mine Mart – Chigasaki
Pretty big booze shop with a decent selection of domestic and imported craft beers. Some interesting breweries’ beers offered in their webshop. Seems like they ship domestically too.
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No Beer – Ofuna
Apparently 7 taps of craft but their website shows quite a lot of pictures of macro beers. Untappd check ins make it look more promising though with some interesting stuff being drunk there. Prices look a little higher than usual, but it is in an area with limited options so maybe that’s why. Food too. So maybe they should expand their place name to ‘No Beer & No Food’
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Norah – Musashi Kosugi
This place is also linked to the secret chain that owns Craftsman, Maribana and Biajuku Laundry but apparently only in an advisory capacity, whatever that means. Seems to have the same concept ie. izakaya with craft beer. Strangely seems to have deleted all their social media accounts so here’s their tabelog (which is only in Japanese. Maybe they want to go under the radar or something). Prices look good but the sizes are a little smaller than you might expect so that’s probably why.
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Oima Brewing – Kawawacho (Yokohama)
Brewery/brewpub with four taps of their own stuff. A bit out of the way and looks very small so might not be somewhere you’ll spend a long time. Also seems to sell US imports in cans so maybe that will give you an idea of the kind of thing they are aiming for.
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Sanity – Sangenjaya
Another Kakuuchi with a mix of Japanese and imported craft. 10 taps. Young looking crowd judging by their Instagram. Instagram also shows they get some good stuff in!
Update: I popped in to get a can I’d been looking for and can confirm that what I wrote above is pretty much spot on. Didn’t stay long enough to do a proper post but the ? on the map has been changed and you’ve now got a photo.
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Taihu Tokyo – Kagurazaka
This place seemed to have closed down and now seems to be open again. The Tokyo taproom of the Taiwanese Taihu Brewery. Looks like they have 10 taps, Taiwanese food and a Happy Hour. But no idea about prices.
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Tsuji Brewing – Chigasaki
Fairly new brewpub with five taps of their own stuff. Seating for eight only.
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Usagiya – Hatanodai
Eight taps of Japanese craft in an izakaya. Looks very small but quite fun too. Selection and prices look reasonable judging by a past photo of the menu.
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Yup! Tokyo – Ikenoue
Coffee, donuts, and craft beer (which judging by the pictures on their Instagram seems to be mainly hazy stuff). Four taps and I think some cans too. Young feel to it. Will probably pop in on my way to Small World some time as otherwise it’s slightly off the beaten track.
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When I visit(ed) Japan, I sought the most inexpensive lodging available. I am a Life Member of AYH-SO. This was handy when I was credentialled into the Craft Brewers Conference in 2016 in Philadelphia, PA. A _very good_ hostel, the _Apple Hostel_ in Old(e) City, Philadelphia was a half-mile from the Philadelphia Conference Center where the CBC was headquartered. That was where I stayed for the week. Somehow, I feel that *not booking* into one of the Brewers’ Association’s “official” hotels is why I have not been credentialled into any more recent Conferences. 8=/)
But as to how this pertains to your beer blog; the mini-review of Citan in Bakurocho triggered a memory of my last night consuming beers in Tokyo back in September 2017. {Not-quite-P.S.: Having a Baird beer as the house draft cannot hurt.} I was staying at Guest House Kanalian in central Yokohama. I had already been to a number of craft beer bars, including _Thrash Zone_, in central Yokohama. Thrash Zone was _staggering distance_ back to Kanalian. On my last night, I went to _*Popeye*_ in Ryogoku. {I had a special ticket from Keikyu offering a round trip from Yokohama to Sengakuji, and _unlimited rides_ on the four Toei subway lines.} On my laptop in Popeye, I zoomed out of the map and saw I was less than one mile away from the Asakusa Line’s Higashi-Nihombashi station. _I managed to walk the route from Popeye to that train station_ where I waited for the next through-running train going beyond Sengakuji. Yes, including crossing the Sumida River. I consider that another rung on the ladder of myself understanding how to traverse metropolitan Tokyo.
The next time I visit Tokyo, if the government ever again lets me in (I am fully vaccinated. But I do not have a mobile telephone to let it track me!), I have unearthed the Khaosan World Ryogoku Hostel. It is a third-of-a-mile from Popeye. *Staggering distance*. I may actually obtain a J.R. Pass to get to/from Narita Airport and the Ryogoku Chuo-Sobu Line station.
I can lucidly envision myself having a ‘night cap’ *every night* at Popeye. The Khaosan hostels I have stayed at, including one its opening week in Namba Osaka, are all above average. I enjoy interfacing with younger travellers. I perceive I have advice pertinent for them if this is their first jaunt to Japan.
Sanity is a good place – the staff are friendly, and the beer is really good – however THE PRICES – you’re looking at 1500¥ UP for a pint. The hours are also somewhat “flexible” – usually closed by 10 PM, although they “sometimes” stay open later.