Hopbuds in Nagoya, Aichi

Hopbuds The Bottom Line

Is Hopbuds a bottle shop turned bar, or a bar turned bottle shop? Doesn’t matter as it does both well enough that you should go there for a few beers while you’re in Nagoya. The multi-nationality makeup of Hopbuds means you’ll end up talking with people from different backgrounds, a welcome change in what seemed to be a very one-dimensional makeup in most of the bars I visited in Nagoya. The whole place is non-smoking, has no table charges (as it’s pretty much all standing, save for a few window seats), and beers can be bought to drink or to takeaway. While the prices are more expensive than what you might find in Kanto, Hopbuds does have the best range of beers in Nagoya. Just make sure you take some food with you as there is nothing to eat.

Picture courtesy of Colin

Picture courtesy of Colin

Picture courtesy of Colin

Hopbuds The Full Review

After a few beers and a bit of BBQ at Midtown BBQ Naogya, I had planned to meet a friend in Hopbuds. I had heard a lot of positive things about Hopbuds since it opened in April 2016, and had eagerly been trying to get here.

Hopbuds is located between Kamimaezu and Higashi-Betsuin stations, about 10 minutes from either station, on the banks of the Shinhori River. The bar is mostly free standing, with just a few window seats for people sit at. This means you could be rubbing shoulders with a variety of people, and this was one of the main things I liked about Hopbuds – a group of beer drinkers being able to talk about beers and then just generally chat about life and far deeper things once the beers have kicked in. The whole bar is non-smoking; however, it is ok to smoke on the street right outside the bar – a shame but most of them time the doors were closed.

The beers at Hopbuds are predominantly imports from around the world, with a heavy leaning towards the USA, though there are also some domestic bottles available too. The bottles and cans are stored in perfect condition in store, with the bottles and cans being able to be drunk in-store or for takeaway. There is also an online part to Hopbuds, where they will ship beers to you as well – just in case you forget something while you were drinking there. And take it from us, you’re bound to forget something. I would have like to have seen more domestic beers in stock. Thankfully all the prices do include tax as well.

There’s no food on at Hopbuds – though when we were there, some people did order some pizza and eat it on site, but we can’t guarantee that everyone is allowed to do that.

Hopbuds Details

Open: Tuesday to Sundays 17:00 – 23:00

Closed: Mondays

Phone: N/A

Homepage: https://hopbudsnagoya.com/

Social Media: Facebook

How to Get to Hopbuds

The closest stations to Hopbuds are Kamimaezu and Higashi-Betsuin.

[ezcol_1half]Directions from Kamimaezu Station
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[ezcol_1half_end]Directions from Higashi-Betsuin Station
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