Herringbone One Paragraph Review
Overall, Herringbone is another great place to drink, which I would often go to if I lived there, and will certainly visit when I’m back. The bar is smoking though.
Herringbone Full Review
I was told about Herringbone by the staff at Voyager, and, although it’s website suggested it was a wine bar, it proved to be a real beer-drinker’s discovery. Situated very near to Don Quixote, in a rather less salubrious part of town (most of the neighbouring places are hostess bars), it has a warm and spacious atmosphere. I only met the owner, Takuto, though apparently there’s at least one other member of staff, and the bar is open every day from 7pm till 5am.
Takuto was also friendly, and is a great fan of British music, so if you want to request some Kinks or Floyd, he’ll be happy to oblige. Prices were pretty reasonable too. The first night I went, there were only two other customers, both keen on drinking in silence (it was Monday), but the second time there were quite a few people, and a much livelier atmosphere.
Rokko Double Awaji Lemon
There are four taps of beer at Herringbone. Draft beers are sold either as pints (UK ones), half pints (ditto) or ‘Regular’, which means US pints. He’s happy to show you the glass sizes too, in case you want to know. The Kumamoto Craft Beer’s Dark Lager was very smooth and slipped down the throat easily. The Rokko Double Awaji Lemon was one of the finest beers I’ve ever tried, and I came back the next night just to try it again. A UK pint was ¥1300 or ¥1500, regular (US pint) about ¥1000 with tax included in the price.
I didn’t get a chance to try the food, as I had eaten a lot beforehand both times I went, but the real pull for me was the large and interesting selection of draft beers. There are, apparently a lot of bottled beers available usually, but when I went Takuto was waiting for a delivery, and the serried ranks of bottles behind the bar were all empties from past months.
Herringbone Details
Open: Monday to Sunday 19:00 ~ 05:00
Close: National Holidays
Phone: 096-356-4747
Homepage (in Japanese): http://kumamotobeer.com/
How to Get to Herringbone
The closest station to Herringbone is Hanabatacho in the Kumamoto Shiden A and B lines. It’s about a two-minute walk from the station to the bar.
