Beer Bar WILDZ

The second place we went to in Hamura was Beer Bar Wildz. I really want to say Wildz by name and Wildz by nature but given that we went in shortly after opening, I can’t say if that is in any way accurate. Wildz seems to have recently celebrated their 13th anniversary, which is really something to admire, particularly when you consider that Hamura is a bit off the beaten track for most Tokyo residents. Anyway, here’s what you need to know:

• Interesting feeling to the place. On the second floor of one of those buildings that contains a lot of little bars (スナック). Who knows what goes on behind some of those other doors..? Lots of wood, but not that kind of blond wood type thing that you get in plenty of places. This was a darker kind of wood, perhaps aiming for a US bar kind of feel. Lots of beer paraphernalia on the walls and a saloon door to go through to get to the toilet. The music was modern US hip hop and EDM which I guess gets the party started later on, but even shortly after opening time, it was at a quite unobtrusive level. Two tables for four and a counter for five, so as you can see, it’s not the biggest place.
• Four taps of Japanese craft and a big list of imported bottles and cans. Beers on tap were mostly one size only, 450ml with one tap, (what seemed like the German style beer), being served in 500ml and 350ml. The large size for this beer and the one size of the other taps was around ¥1400. The smaller was ¥1180. I remember being quite surprised at the variety and quality of the bottles and cans. Sadly all I can recall is that there was a lot of US stuff, and quite a bit of German and Belgian stuff. Other countries were also represented but I was a bit drunk and the details have either gone from my head or were never in there at all.
• No daytime opening. No cover charge. Couldn’t find WiFi. Beware that payment is by cash only. Also, smoking seems to be allowed which I guess is a real turn off for quite a few people, but at the same time is probably to be expected in such a local focused one-man bar. Oh, and they had some food, but all memory of the details is long gone. Should really take better notes. But didn’t because I was having a good time instead!

I don’t know if something was in the air on the day we visited all of these bars, but this was another place I really enjoyed popping in to. It’s always nice to pay a visit to places that have been open a long time, way before the recent boom in bar opening. Somewhat surprisingly there seemed to be a lot going on in Hamura. I’m ashamed to say that I’d never heard of Wildz before I did some minimal research for this pub crawl, but I think it deserves some recognition. If you’ve ever been to Amber Rondo in Sendai, I feel like this place is quite similar to it. Actually, from Tokyo station, it probably takes about the same time to get to both! This place has a very different feel to our other stop in Hamura, Little Crop, but I have to say, I liked both of the places for different reasons. A very positive day indeed!

Japanese breweries on tap when I visited:
Fujizakura
Baeren
Ushitora
Bay Brewing

Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday, 18:00-00:00
Saturday, 18:00-23:30
Closed Sunday

Location/map:
小作台 1-2-12 第3丸八ビル 201, Hamura-shi, Tokyo

Telephone:
070-8596-3003

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