The Bar Towel

On the offchance that anyone is going to Japan soon or searches the forum for some good beer places there, I figured it would be a good idea for me to scribble down my recommendations from our recent trip.

In Tokyo:

Bakusyu Club Popeye can probably claim to be one of the best bars in the world, and those who don't believe me should check it out. 70 mostly Japanese micros on tap with the odd American and Belgian. Three handpumps and a great staff.
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Tobu Department Store is at Ikebukuro subway station, so easy to find and stock up on some Japanese beers. They also have a good selection of US and international stuff that we can only dream of.
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In Kyoto:

McLoughlin's Irish Bar serves up a couple beers from local brewer Minoh (a pale ale and IIPA when we were there) as well as a couple taps from Rogue, all accompanied by some Tom Waits on the soundsystem.

Horino Memorial Museum is a small sake brewery not far from the Shogun's Palace. They make awesome sake and some very decent German style beers that you can enjoy in the small cafe nextdoor, served up by a matronly old lady.

In Osaka:

Beer Belly provides an authentic Japanese bar experience and is worth the visit for the atmosphere alone. It also helps that they have a dozen micros as well as three handpumps.
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In Kyushu:

Satsuma Beer brews all their stuff with sweet potatoes, but from the depth of the flavour you would never know it. The place has a shochu distillery you can tour as well as an attached bar where you can get some beer.
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Thanks for that! There's a good chance the lady and I will have a Taiwan trip next year with a stopover of a few days in Japan, probably just Tokyo.

I found that Taiwan is a beer wasteland other than a decent brewpub in Taipei and certain establishments that have bottled Belgian imports. I'll be dying for good beer by that point.

lister wrote:Thanks for that! There's a good chance the lady and I will have a Taiwan trip next year with a stopover of a few days in Japan, probably just Tokyo.

I found that Taiwan is a beer wasteland other than a decent brewpub in Taipei and certain establishments that have bottled Belgian imports. I'll be dying for good beer by that point.

Tokyo will be worth the layover, if only to break up the flight - its a 12 hour trip from there to Toronto, and I'm figuring Taiwan must be another 4. If you have any questions about locations, or anything at all, just pm me closer the time.

Great information. Would love to check out Bakusyu if I ever get a chance to visit Japan. Thanks for sharing.

Just got back from Taiwan and Tokyo.

Club Popeye was indeed the highlight of the trip beer-wise. Everything I tried there was Japanese other than HoTD Fred. it was all good other than a brown rice ale which I didn't care for though the girlfriend liked it. part of the problem was I thought it was a brown ale made with rice when in fact it was an ale made with brown rice. There was also a proper brown ale there which I had on the second visit which was what I really wanted. They have a pretty friendly bunch of staff there. Happy hour is 5-8pm where you get a free appetizer with certain pint orders (indicated by a crown on the menu.)

Tobu was good. Strangely enough I bought only English beers there.

A place for Belgian beers in Tokyo is Osakaya in Lumine Est beside Shinjuku station. They had some stuff I recognized and numerous ones that I didn't. There is even glassware for sale.

So I managed to hit up a few new places while I was over there for a wedding / two week vacation.

In Kagoshima the Shiroyama Castle Hotel has its own attached brewery (pull up your socks Best Western!). All of the beers seem pretty solid, and you can drink them while looking at the slightly too close for comfort volcano.
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In Takayama a small brewpub called Kori Kori No Kuni dispenses largely forgettable beers, which are still a cut above anything else on tap in the area. If nothing else its a good rest stop on a hot day.
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In Tokyo, the Nakemeguro Taproom is a slice of awesomeness, with over twenty something taps and three cask engines. Who the hell would think you'd find a cask mild in Tokyo of all places?
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Popeye's, as ever, was glorious. I gave myself a nice little hangover working my way through their barleywine menu. Tobu still had the Sam Adam's Triple Bock for sale if any masochists are hunting it down, but it clocks in at $10. That stuff must be about 15 years old now.

Just came back from a week in Tokyo. Figured I'd add a few things:


1. Popeye's:

As awesome as everyone says. 70 taps, 80% Japanese craft with the remainder mostly US (Bear Republic and Green Flash were on when I was there).

http://www.lares.dti.ne.jp/~ppy/


2. Baird has another Taproom location in Harajuku:

http://bairdbeer.com/en/taproom

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It's on the 2nd floor of a building tucked away on a side street.

IMO the atmosphere is much cooler than the Nakameguro location.

About 10-15 on tap (Baird's mainstays plus a few seasonals) and two hand pulls.


3. Vivo in Ikebukuro:

Located in a basement, atmosphere is cozy (nice blues and jazz background music).

Lots on tap and a nice selection of bottles, good mix of Japanese micros and an eclectic assortment of US/European brands.

http://www.vivo-beer.com/

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Also, not craft beer related at all, but the Yebisu Beer Museum was a surprisingly fun way to spend a couple of hours (tour is in Japanese but all the exhibits have English descriptions).