Post by James
Sekimachi Cellar is a family owned liquor store with a long history. It was founded in the 5th year of the Taisho era. I think that would be 1916. Anyway, it’s definitely over 100 years old. You can’t sense such a long history from the building itself but you certainly get the feeling of a family run store that has evolved and survived over several generations and that takes pride in what they do.
There are 5 taps and all are Japanese craft beers. The cheapest pint the last time I was in was a bargain at ¥1000. There are also several fridges full of both Japanese and imported beers. There is enough variety to suit all tastes. One of the best things about Sekimachi Cellar is that there is no extra charge for drinking beers from the fridge on site. The cheapest bottle from the fridge was a Minoh Stout for ¥490. A very nice price indeed! There is also a wide range of wine, Nihonshu and Shochu but this is a beer site so I won’t go into details. Beers can be taken out or drunk in the shop. The counter where you buy the beers has room for one, maybe two people. There is a small standing table outside for about one to three people. Lastly, there is a large terrace on the second floor that can seat at least 20 and which even has a toilet.
The only food is packaged snacks like nuts, cheese, salami etc. Sometimes there is an event like curry day, when an outside company prepares food on the second floor terrace.
There is no charge and it’s open during the day. No WiFi though.
In summary, this is a cheap place to drink in an area which doesn’t have many craft beer options. It’s also an excellent place to go with a group who don’t all drink craft beer. The only downside is that it would be cold on the terrace in winter and there aren’t really any craft beer bars nearby if you want to bar hop. The bars of Kichijoji are about 30 minutes on foot, but not many people would walk that far. I really like Sekimachi Cellar and would go more often if it was easier for me to get to.
Japanese breweries on tap when I visited:
West Coast
Vertere
Hansharo
Ushitora
Inkhorn
Opening Hours:
Wednesday-Monday, 10:00-20:00
Closed Tuesday
Location/map
関町東 1-1-8, Nerima-ku, Tokyo
Telephone:
03-3920-1124
Just want to rep this place being my local for craft. There is now x8 taps that change all the time and they always have great breweries. Almost every weekend there is different pop-up style food (as mentioned in the post) differing on both Saturday and Sunday from outside companies — various international curries, smoked BBQ brisket and ribs, stone baked pizza, etc. Often they have DJ events spinning tunes upstairs on the terrace. They also sell and fill growlers for take home. I highly reccomend a visit!