Friday, March 29, 2024
Home Bar Review Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer in Keisei, Kanagawa

Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer in Keisei, Kanagawa

by Rob
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Garapago Racing The Bottom Line

If you’re looking for a bar with amazing views, cheap beers, and well-made food, then Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer (to give the place its full name) is right up your street – if you don’t mind getting there that is! It was fantastic being able to sit outside on the top deck, with a couple of cold beers, looking over Tanzawa ridge and waiting for Mt. Fuji to pop through the clouds. If you do want to sit outside though, make sure you book as it gets filled up The beers aren’t going to blow you away – they’re good but not world class though and could do with some work. The whole place is non-smoking, has no table charge, prices include tax, and there is also some free Wifi too. The menus have a basic amount of English on them, just enough to order some food and beers – but then what else do you need at times? fast.

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Garapago Racing The Full Review

I had been meaning to get to Garapago Racing for a while now – I keep saying that about many places; however, a friend had been the week before I went, and sent me a picture of the chips and the prices of the beer, so with a day off, some fantastic weather throughout the day, and legs that needed moving, so off I went on a 65km cycle to get to the bar.

Garapago Racing opened in April 2018 and is located about a 10 minute walk from Keisei station, which is on the Odakyu Line. Unlike other brewpubs that we’ve been to in Japan, Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer actually obtained their brewing license before opening, perhaps a rarity where most brewpubs open up selling other breweries’ beers while getting the license(s) sorted out. Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer is the sister store of “PIZZRIA Certo! HONOBO-NO”, which runs a pizza specialty store near Shin-Matsuda Station on the Odakyu Line.

Garapago Racing Atmosphere & Interior

As mentioned, Garapago Racing is located near Keisei station, but the thing that is really impressive about the bar is that the surrounding area is a spacious residential area and in the distance, it is a scenic spot with a panoramic view of the Ashigara and Tanzawa ridge, along with Mt. Fuji. It’s very hard not to want to sit outside and drink beers while the sun sets over the range in front of you.

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Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer has two floors for customers – the first floor comprises of the brewery, 6 counter seats, and two tables for 8 people. The second floor consists of four tables for 16 people, and then a deck area outside, that is covered by some awnings, with space for four groups of people of about 8. The whole place is non-smoking and has no table charge, thought the second floor does fill up fast. If you don’t have a reservation, then you won’t get a seat during the lunch rush. There is also free Wifi on both floors of the bar.

Garapago Racing Approach to Covid-19

In spite of Garapago Racing Kaisei Handmade Beer being in the countryside, their approach is second to none. Before going into the bar, you are required to have your temperature checked and must be wearing a mask. Then you have to use alcohol spray on your hands. Moreover, only half the tables are being used, which makes the second floor even more desirable as there are gaps between groups. So it may appear that there is space upstairs, if there are groups either side of an open table, then the table can not be used.

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Garapago Racing Beer & Tap Information

Seeing as Garapago Racing is the taproom for the brewery, then it makes sense that the beers on tap are from Garapago Racing Keisei Handmade Beer. There are eight taps of craft beer on at Garapago Racing, and on the day we went, all but one of the taps were beers from Garapago Racing Keisei Handmade Beer. The beers come in three sizes: 1/2 glass (185ml) from ¥380, glass (370ml) from ¥490, and then US pint (472ml) from ¥640. The prices include tax and yes they are that cheap for some of the on-site beers. The taplist had a strong leaning toward saisons on the day we went, quite unusual in Japan, but then saisons do not need much hops so can be made quite cheaply in comparison. There is also a four beer tasting flight, that gets you any four 185ml beers for ¥1,200. However, there is no happy hour at Garapago Racing. If you do like their beers, then they also have bottles on sale though not all the beers on tap are available in bottles.

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Garapago Racing Food and Menu

Garapago Racing has quite a varied menu of food items, that encompass a variety of dishes and dietary requirements. Of course, there is the BeerTengoku staple of chips, and of course we had some, but then there are also items such as hamburgs, salads, and seafood. The menus were all in Japanese, with just some basic information about some of the items in English. There was plenty of vegetarian options to choose from as well, with much of the vegetables sourced from the local area.

Garapago Racing Details

  • Open: Daily 11:30 – 13:30 (L.O Food 12:30 Drink 13:00) 16:30 – 22:00 (L.O Food 21:00 drink 21:30)
  • Closed: Tuesdays
  • Happy Hour: None
  • Phone: 0465-44-4552
  • Homepage (in Japanese): https://garapago-r.com/
  • Social Media: Facebook / Instagram

How to Get to Garapago Racing

The closest station to Garapago Racing is Keisei on the Odakyu Odawara Line. It’s less than a 10 minute walk to the bar.

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