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Sanity in Sangenjaya, Tokyo

by Rob
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Sanity : The Bottom Line

If you’re looking to pick up a couple of cans of beer, or just fancy popping in for a quick beer while you’re out and about in Sangenjaya, then Sanity is a nice, but pricey, little shop to get some in. It’s more of a bottle bar but there are plenty of choices of beer on – though in terms of food, there is nothing, so you have been warned. The whole place is non-smoking and there is also some free wifi in the area but I wasn’t sure if it was from Sanity, or a local shop in the area.

Sanity : The Full Write Up

I am going to try and resist all the jokes about sanity / insanity that could be made – low hanging fruit and all – but if you had asked me a few years ago about the possibility of Sangenjaya – one of Tokyo’s more traditional neighbourhoods – becoming a destination for craft beer drinkers, I probably would have said you would be insane for suggesting something like that. With Shibuya and Shinjuku up the road, there are more choices there but it seems that I am wrong – not the first time, and no doubt not the last time either.

Sanity opened in August 2021 and provides the Sangenjaya with something that it was lacking – a bar that offers plenty of choices on tap, as well as plenty of choices for takeaway beer. Sanity is located less than a three minute from Sangenjaya station, which is on the Den-en-toshi line out of Shibuya.

Sanity : Atmosphere & Interior

To say Sanity is cosy would be an understatement. It is not a very big place, so if you go, then you’ll either be squashed up against a wall with some high stool for chair cum table, or maybe outside the front of the store at one of the small stools. If you’re very lucky, then you could get a seat at the bench by the front door but that’s if you’re lucky. The whole place is no smoking and because Sanity is primarily a standing bar, there is no table charge either.

The music was an eclectic mix of random stuff throughout the day but it wasn’t that loud and didn’t disturb from conversations being held.

Sanity : Approach to Covid-19

When you go into Sanity, there is a temperature check with someone watching you to ensure you don’t sneak in. There is also alcohol spray at the front door. The staff were all wearing masks and wiping down tables between groups of people coming and going. Pretty stringent stuff here.

Sanity : Beer & Tap Information

As Sanity is both a bar and a bottle shop, there are plenty of talking points, but let’s start off with the bar. Sanity has 10 taps of craft beer on, with a split between domestic and imports, with tap takeover events occurring throughout the year. This means that the range of taps will vary on the day that you go there. The beers come in two sizes: medium (250 ml or so) from 800 yen, and US pint (473 ml) from 1,300 yen. Prices are not cheap but they do include tax and they are well poured. There isn’t a happy hour, nor an option for beer flights.

The beer fridges encompass a selection of domestic and imports with both bottles and cans in stock. The prices are typical for the area, but there is no corkage / bottle fee, so that does explain why they are a bit higher than other parts of Tokyo.

Sanity : Food Information

There is nothing besides some random bags of crisps and snacks. If you’re hungry, then Sanity is not the place to go to. I didn’t see anyone with food from outside either on the day.

Sanity : Details

  • Open : Weekdays 15:00 – 22:00 (L.O 21:30) Saturday 13:00 – 22:00 (L.O 21:30) Sundays & Holidays 13:00 – 21:00 (L.O 20:30)
  • Closed : N/A
  • Happy Hour : N/A
  • Phone : 080-3356-0671
  • Homepage (in Japanese) : https://sanity.beer
  • Social Media : Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

Sanity : Getting There

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