Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori : The Bottom Line
Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori is a cosy little place that offers up some good craft beers – both local and some from farther afield – though the prices may leave you a little bit light headed at the end of your drinking session. And that’s a surprise considering Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori is essentially the taproom for Yellow Beer Works, which is located less than a 20 minute drive. The whole place is non-smoking, has no table charge, prices include tax, and there is also some free WiFi for those wanting it. Oh, I’d also suggest some sunglasses as it’s rather yellow inside.
Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori : The Full Review
After finishing up some beers at Prost (see last week’s review) and eventually getting back into Fukushima central via some kind bar staff getting a taxi for me, I was feeling a bit peckish and also a bit thirsty. My initial plan was to go to Yellow Beer Works over in North West Fukushima, but after reaching out to the brewery in Instagram, they turned around and mentioned that there were no plans to open the taproom on the day, but I should go to Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori instead as it would be open for lunch and some beers.
It’s not hard to find Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori in town – I think they used all of the yellow paint in Fukushima when they decorated the inside, and outside, of this place. Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori opened in August 2022 and it is located about a 10 minute walk from JR Fukushima station though you could probably do it quicker when it’s not absolutely bucketting it down as the rain was on the day.
Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori : Atmosphere & Interior
As you approach Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori, you’re greeted by yellow – yellow awnings, yellow paint work, yellow pretty much everything. And then you get inside and it’s even more yellow than you can imagine. My eyes took some time to adjust to the amount of yellow in the store but thankfully there were some non-yellow items to help my eyes acclimatise to the surroundings. Funnily enough, the only thing that isn’t yellow in the bar is actually the toilet on the second floor – it’s a rather nice blue colour.
Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori has two floors, with the first floor having space for 4 people sitting, though there is some standing room, and the second floor having space for around 12 people, as long as they don’t mind sitting close to one another. The whole place is non-smoking, has no table charge, and also some free WiFi – a common theme among bars in Fukushima it seems – with the information posted at various places around the bar.
Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori : Beer & Tap Information
Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori has 12 taps for beers with both domestic and imports being served at times; however, the leaning for the bar is towards domestic beers. In spite of Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori being the taproom for the Yellow Beer Works Brewery, the taplist wasn’t dominated by their beers, with only 4 of their beers on out of the 12 on the day I went. The beers come in three sizes: small (150 ml) from 400 yen, medium (300 ml) from 800 yen, and then large (475 ml) from 1,500 yen, with guest beers coming in at more. There was no option for a beer flight, nor any happy hour beers, but the prices do include tax.
While Yellow Beer Works do have cans of beer for sale at their online shop, there wasn’t any oppurtunity to get some cans to takeaway from Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori though if you do have a growler, then they will fill it up for you, though I wasn’t told anything about the price.
Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori : Food Information
Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori does have some food on offer though don’t go expecting much as the kitchen itself is a tiny area just to the side of the fridge where the kegs are kept and served from. I had a couple of rice balls / onigiri though as I was rather peckish and at prices from 200 yen a rice ball, you might think “that’s more expensive than a convini!” but these rice balls were stuffed to the brim with fillings and then topped off with some more of the filling. I had the salmon and ume (pickled plum) options and they certainly hit the spot. There is also some smaller items, such as chili con carne, and mixed nuts though you can not bring in your own food. One thing to note is that all the menus are in Japanese though so you may need someone with you who can read or speak Japanese.
Yellow Beer Works Bunkadori : Information
- Open : Daily 11:30 – 14:00 / Mon – Tue 15:00 – 20:00 Wed – Sat 15:00 – 22:00
- Closed : Sundays
- Happy Hour : –
- Phone : 024-563-3003
- Homepage (in Japanese) : https://yellowbeerworks.com/
- Social Media : Instagram
