Moya Moya Base : The Bottom Line
Moya Moya Base is a cozy little place that offers up a nice, relaxing atmosphere to have a couple of beers at a surprisingly decent price. The owner is knowledgeable about the beers on tap and serves the beers pretty damn well. The whole place is non-smoking, has free Wifi, there isn’t any table charge, and also a limited amount of food. The owner was pretty damned friendly and chatty, in a non-invasive manner, which helped to make a good atmosphere.
Moya Moya Base : The Full Story
Arriving at my hotel a bit early for check in, I went walking around Sapporo for a place to get some food and some beers. I was in luck for the former, but the latter, well, since the state of emergency had ended a few days before, and I my terribly planning hadn’t clocked onto that fact yet, most, if not all, the bars I wanted to go to in Sapporo, were closed. They had changed their hours back to their “normal” hours, so I was left hanging around. Yet, as I was walking around Nijo Market, I stumbled across Moya Moya Base and noticed someone putting out signs. Yes, it was open from 2 pm and my legs could have a rest.
Moya Moya Base is located in the Chuo ward of Sapporo and is located between Odori Station and Hosui-Susukino station, though that doesn’t help much when you’re in Sapporo because Odori is such a sprawling mess, it makes Shinjuku station look small. Moya Moya Base opened up 2019, and I found out later that this bar used to be the original bar for Beer Bar North Island – a write up that is coming later this year.
Moya Moya Base : Atmosphere & Interior
Moya Moya Base is located in a hut of bars and eateries that feels like you’re walking through a maze. It’s not that hard, but it is narrow and winding, so be warned for some sudden stops. Besides that, using the word quaint would be the most appropriate one to describe Moya Moya Base. The bar is small – both horizontally and vertically – and at 1m 83cm, the ceiling did feel a bit low. This does add to its charm, especially with the model planes dotted around the bar that seemed to have come from guests.
Moya Moya Base has space for about 10 people inside, with two tables of two against the wall, and then some seats at the counter, In spite of there being what appeared to be a balcony for some outside drinking, there wasn’t any seats out there and on the cold day I went, the doors / windows to the outside area were firmly closed. The whole place is non-smoking – probably a good thing for such a small bar – and there is also some free wifi too. The isn’t any table charge either.
Moya Moya Base : Approach to Covid-19
When you walk into Moya Moya Base, you’re asked to spray some alcohol on your hands and have a quick temperature check. The staff are also wearing face masks and employ social distancing. The most interesting thing though is prefectural wide system of being able to log onto a site and report any bar or eatery that is not employing basic protocol for the preventing of the spread of Covid-19.
Moya Moya Base : Beer & Tap Information
Moya Moya Base usually has 6 taps of beer on, but due to the recent SoE, the number of taps has declined. All of the beers on the day I went came from domestic sources, but the owner did mention that there are some imports on from time to time. The beers come in two sizes: small (270 ml) from 700 yen, and regular (370 ml) from 1,000 yen. I was honestly expecting the prices to be a lot higher, but this puts Moya Moya Base in the middle of the price range for Hokkaido. The beers were well poured, and didn’t come with an exorbitant amount of head. There wasn’t any beer flight option though, nor any takeaways, but the prices did include tax.
Moya Moya Base : Food Information
I was surprised that Moya Moya Base offered up food, considering how small the place is, but there are a few options for some hot food, but it’s mostly just snacks on offer here. I was offered some English menus too, with the owner politely asking which one I wanted, so don’t worry too much there.
Moya Moya Base : Information
- Open : Daily 14:00 – 23:00 (L.O Food 22:00 Drink 22:30)
- Closed : Random – check the homepage.
- Happy Hour : N/A
- Phone : 011-839-3289
- Homepage (in Japanese) : http://moyamoyabase.jugem.jp/
- Social Media : Facebook / Instagram
