Tsujido Beer Hall One-Line Mini Pros and Cons
Pros
- Close to the station
- No cover charge
- No smoking, no food cooked in the bar so your clothes don’t smell
- Beers change regularly
- English-speaking, friendly staff
Cons
- Slightly dodgy building
- Only half pints
- Bloody TV
- Naff music
Tsujido Beer Hall Full Review
Remember a couple of years back, when I got a new job in my hometown but then Goldn’ Bub moved one station over so I wouldn’t be walking past it any more? And I was gutted? It’s been like that until very recently. I can be home with a 25 minutes’ walk, but there’s nowhere for me to stop off on the way. Boo hoo.
So I was grumpin’ down the road from work the other week, almost at the station, and I noticed a sign that read “辻堂ビヤホール”. I did a triple take, firstly because it said ビヤ (biya) instead of ビール (biiru, the usual way to write “beer”), but secondly because the sign read TSUJIDO BEER HALL. OH MY GOD! It wasn’t open yet, but I had a look at the menu board outside and saw that yes, for once a bar will promote itself as a beer bar and have more than the Macro beers on sale.
I came back a few days later. Tsujido Beer Hall is on the south side of Tsujido station, even closer than Goldn’ Bub was. It’s maybe the shortest distance from ticket gate to bar I’ve ever reviewed. As I mentioned, I walk down this road from work to home, so my heart sank when I saw legions of my students trooping past the building with its lurid hostess bar posters. What could I do? It’s not a good look, being seen going into this building. You won’t have this problem. I hid in the convenience store over the road and waited for my opportunity to strike.
Swooping in like a hawk up the stairs, you’ll open the door with the moustachioed face on it and enter into a small-ish L-shaped barroom, dimly lit with the bar on the right.
The details. Tsujido Beer Hall has 20 seats- 8 counter seats, and table seating for 12 (4 pairs and one 4-person table). It’s available for parties, there’s no wi-fi but also no smoking, and quite rarely there’s no table charge. This is to encourage drop-ins- on the menu it specifically says that people who just want to pop in for one drink are welcome. Cool!
There are a few taps of macro beer here- Premium Malts, Ebisu Stout and the like- and four taps of craft beer. When BeerTengoku visited the beers on tap were:
- Hitachino Nest Weizen
- Swan Lake Amber Ale
- Outsider Brewing Drunk Monk Tripel
- Shiga Kogen Indian Summer Saison
Now, the bar is small, so the kegs are half-sized: they have about 15 US pints’ worth in them. Beers are ordered every two weeks or so. In order to not have to keep constantly ordering beer more frequently than that, Tsujido Beer Hall only has one size of beer: 240ml for 580yen. A bit higher price than the average, but we are out in the figurative sticks here. There are specialist glasses (such as the bullet-shaped IPA glass) but the owner will only fill it up to 240ml. I suppose you could be cheeky and ask for two half-pints if you really have to have a pint, but in that case I would say cool your boobs, Hemingway.
The owner of Tsujido Beer Hall is Junpei Kikuchi. He looks like the moustache man that serves as the bar’s logo, but it isn’t him. I asked him. He speaks excellent English – he lived in Toronto for 4 years working as an exporter of vintage clothing. He’s chatty as well, but if you don’t fancy talking don’t worry. He’s a nice guy. He has a certification in beer pouring, so your beers will all be poured with the appropriate amount of head (note the head size on the weizen above). There’s also some kind of beer pouring performance you can ask for too, but I prefer to drink my beer rather than look at it.
As I mentioned before, the bar is moodily lit, with dark wood and Edison bulbs all over the place. The walls are brick, and along with Kikuchi-san’s bowtie and vest ensemble, I got the vibe of a jazz bar. Shame about the pop music playing over the speakers, and the inclusion of a dreaded TV. I hate TVs in bars, mainly because I can’t help but watch them if they’re there. Fortunately it’s in the top corner of the bar so it’s not in your eyeline unless you’re sitting in a certain few seats. Like I said, there’s counter space for 8 and tables for 12, and there are the little hooks for your bags underneath the bar which is an often overlooked but much appreciated addition.
The menu is all in Japanese, but with Kikuchi-san on hand that shouldn’t be a problem. Food is izakaya fare (as it’s made by the izakaya next door), and having the kitchen in the adjoining restaurant means your clothes won’t smell of food at the end of the evening. I ordered sausages grilled with cheese (680yen) and the potato wedges (380yen) which were both great. The wedges were piping hot and freshly fried for maximum crunchitude.
Tsujido Beer Hall The Bottom Line
Tsujido Beer Hall is a great drop-in bar for a quick drink, what with the lack of cover charge, the no-smoking policy, the lack of chip grease in the air, the small size of the beer and proximity to the station. You’ll be in and out before you know it, and your students will be none the wiser.
Tsujido Beer Hall Details
Open: Monday to Saturday 17:00-02:00 (LO 01:30)
Closed: Sunday
Happy Hour: None
Phone: 0466-37-1211
Homepage (in Japanese): http://tsujido-beerhall.com/
SNS: N/A
How to Get to Tsujido Beer Hall
The closest station is JR Tsujido station on the Tokaido line. Tsujido Beer Hall is about a five minute walk from the south exit.
