You wait months for a Beer Scissors post to come along and then suddenly two turn up, one right after the other. The 2nd Story tap takeover was split over the two branches of Scissors and after a fun time at the Ikejiri branch we decided we should probably hoover up the other five taps at the Akihabara branch. Given that these are two branches of the same business, I’m not going to write much on this post and instead direct you to the post on the Ikejiri branch here. You should read that one first and then come back to this one where you can discover the little things that are different. Is that ok? We may have a shiny new website now, but that doesn’t mean my enthusiasm has also been upgraded and relaunched. So here’s what you need to know that is different from the other branch.
- It’s on the ground floor and has a small counter for three or four, a side counter for about the same number with what looked like small bench seats, (but everyone was using to put their coats on so maybe weren’t), and a couple of standing tables in the middle.
- 15 taps, so a few more than in Ikejiri. A few more imports in there but still mainly Japanese. Similar prices and a similar amount of fridges of bottles and cans.
- WiFi, some daytime opening, no cover charge and no smoking. The food menu here was a bit smaller.
So that’s about it. But please do check the other post as otherwise you’re really not getting the whole picture. Although the situation was a bit different, there was a similar feel to this place. It’s a little walk from Akihabara station so not as convenient as Ikejiri in that respect, but on the other hand, Akihabara station is a lot better connected than Ikejiri is! If I had to choose a favourite branch… I wouldn’t know which one to pick. This one had more taps, but the Ikejiri one had more food (and the food was really good). Anyway, as they are on opposite sides of central Tokyo, you probably won’t really be choosing between one of the other. Sadly neither branch seems to post its tap list online that often which is a shame as it would definitely encourage me to visit more often if I knew what was on. (To be fair to the Ikejiri branch though, they do it a bit more often than this one). They do have a tap list on their website, but it doesn’t seem to have been updated for a long time. Like Ikejiri, this was a fun place to have some beers and it’ll be near the top of my list, along with iBrew when I’m back when I’m in the area.
Japanese breweries seen on tap:
Isana
Swan Lake
Oni Densetsu
2nd Story
Black Tide
Opening Hours:
(These may be COVID times hours, so I’d advise checking their social media before you go)
Monday-Friday, 16:00-21:00
Saturday, 13:00-21:00
Sunday, 15:00-21:00
Location/Map:
台東1-27-5 グランアセット秋葉原 1F, Taito-ku, Tokyo
My advice to to head for the Showa Dori exit of Akihabara station, and then the route is as shown in the map below.
If people have a train pass on [b]Tokyo Metro[/b], the Suehirocho station on the [b]Ginza Line[/b] (G-14) may be easier to reach from here.
True, but given the name and the (somewhat confusing to me) popularity of the Akihabara area I thought it made more sense to put the directions from there. They are only a suggestion anyway.