Welcome to the seventeenth edition of “Patreon Drinking Guide To…”. For this one, we’re going to be heading back to Yokohama. Now, Yokohama itself is a major city in Japan, that stretches across Kanagawa prefecture.However, for this one, we’re sticking to around Yokohama station. Perhaps this one has been a long time coming – well we are 17 editions in of these guides, but Yokohama has finally got enough craft beer bars to actually have its own kind.
It also seems like a nice comparison coming off the back of our edition 16 that was held in Kobe. The old argument about which city is better will come back to haunt us no doubt, but until that point, let’s go drinking in Yokohama.
Short (2 hours)
- Thrash Zone – Yokohama Bay Brewing – Craftsman (Keeping to the North)
- Babel Bayside Kitchen – 800 Degrees – Akatsuki no Kura (Keeping to the Station)
- iBrew Yokohama – Jingle (Keeping to the South)
Medium (2 – 4 hours)
- Thrash Zone – Yokohama Bay Brewing – 800 Degrees – iBrew Yokohama (Through the City)
- Babel Bayside Kitchen – Craftsman- Akatsuki no Kura – Jingle (Going Classy)
Long (4 hours +)
- Thrash Zone – Yokohama Bay Brewing – Babel Bayside – Craftsman – 800 Degrees – iBrew Yokohama (Mixing it up)
Short
- Thrash Zone – Yokohama Bay Brewing – Craftsman (Keeping to the North)
We’re starting off at the OG of craft beer in Yokohama with Thrash Zone. It’s been around for longer than I remember, and it’s also the reason I don’t remember how long it’s been around for. Many a drunken night was spent in the original iteration of the bar on the 2F, with the pictures existing on the internet. It was also debauched and always drunken in the bestest way possible. I met some fantastic people there and am still in contact with some of them. Thrash Zone doesn’t make the best examples of craft beer in Japan by a long way, but what it does make is cheap craft beer that’s guaranteed to kick start your heart for the evening ahead.
Yokohama Bay Brewing The Front is the newest contender on the list here, but like Thrash Zone, the head brewer has been around the block and knows his stuff when it comes to European style beers. Suzuki-san started out at Yokohama Beer and branched out to start Bay Brewing Yokohama in Kannai, before changing it to Yokohama Bay Brewing. The German and Czech style beers he makes are well worthy of their plaudits, but for the ales, perhaps give them a miss at this bar.
Craftsman promised so much when it opened in Yokohama after opening in Gotanda and Sendai with its huge taplist. It’s still a place I’ll go to for their Belgian frites that are double fried and doused in butter, though the beer servings may rub some people the wrong way. It’s a shame that it’s not as good as it once was, but once in a while, they’ll serve up a gem of a beer that can’t be found elsewhere.
- Babel Bayside Kitchen – 800 Degrees – Akatsuki no Kura (Keeping to the Station)
Perhaps you don’t have time to walk around the North part of Yokohama station, and that’s fine, but there are still some areas you can get to.
Babel Bayside Kitchen is a place that has flown under the radar of craft beer drinkers in Japan. However, it does have a great outside drinking area for those wanting to kick back with a cold beer, and the tap list is varied enough for all to find something to drink. I too am guilty of not going here enough but it’s located within a 5 min walk of the station so come along and get here for a lunch beer or 3.
As you’re walking back to the station, you’ve got a couple of choices ahead of you. I recommend 800 degrees on the upper floors of what is the NeWoMan building. There are two places you can drink – the hot dog bar inside, or the pizza place, but both have the same beers on tap, so it really does depend on what you want to eat. With a plethora of local beers on tap, you’re spoilt for choice, and if you are left wanting, you’ve got 2416 Market to grab a few cans or bottles on your way out to drink – at home or perhaps on the balcony watching the trains pull into Yokohama station.
Akatsuki no Kura offers up a lot of sake for those wanting a break from beer – I don’t blame you as I too love a good choko or 5 of the stuff – though they have craft beer as well. You’re sticking to the local station and by now, perhaps a bit bloated. The tap list isn’t as varied as other places on this list, but they’re trying and worth a visit. And of course, you can finish off your night with a choko of sake – but that’s on you.
- iBrew Yokohama – Jingle (Keeping to the South)
Medium (2 – 4 hours)
- Thrash Zone – Yokohama Bay Brewing – 800 Degrees – iBrew Yokohama (Through the City)
As we go through the city, you’re going to be getting higher and higher, and you’ll get to see more of Yokohama’s skylines too, so perhaps this is a good one for later on in the day where you can see all across the city, from the bay to the hills, from the city centre to the hustle and bustle around the station.
Thrash Zone is the first port of call here, and one that you’ll stay at for one or two drinks. Any more than that and you are in trouble. The small drinking area doesn’t have space for lots of people, or big groups, but come at the right time and you can see a real mix of craft beer fans from the city; metalheads to office workers, salary men to students, everyone and anyone is welcome at Thrash Zone.
Yokohama Bay Brewing is the newest entry on the list here, and as you go up, you get to look down and people watch as they move around the north area of Yokohama station. There’s something pleasing about watching people go around their lives while you have a cold pint of beer in your hand. There’s a chance for you to get some Ras potato as well, a very strange textural experience, but one that always keeps me coming back for more.
We’re getting a bit higher in the next place with 800 Degrees and a chance for you to look over Yokohama station in all its glory. There’s two places you can drink here, and maybe grab a piece of pizza to eat as well. The tap list consists of mainly beers from the Yokohama area, with one or two from further afield in Kanagawa. Moreover, you can get some beers from the local 2418 Market and head outside to the balcony to catch a few of the sunlight rays setting over the station and hills.
For those that need their feet on level ground, then the last entry takes you through the hustle and bustle of Yokohama, between the old areas of small drinking establishments, interspersed with a new and upcoming area of developments. Craft Beer Bar iBrew Yokohama is a long established favourite of ours at BeerTengoku and it’s a chance for you to pick up some decent beers, at good prices, and rest those feet from the walking.
- Babel Bayside Kitchen – Craftsman – Akatsuki no Kura – Jingle (Going Classy)
Perhaps you are wanting something of a classier beer crawl around the Yokohama area, and with this one, you might just get it. You won’t be needing to wear black tie for this tour, though it’s a chance to get out of those crocs and shorts, into something a bit smarter, perhaps casual smart, and enjoy a different kind of ambience for your drinking.
Babel Bayside Kitchen is the first on this list as we’ll be walking back towards the station area. It’s a bit out of the way but Babel Bayside Kitchen is on the list for its outside drinking area, which is often busy at the weekend, and for a good selection of beers and food on the menu. And we’re not just talking about chips and pizza, but some good meals that will fill you up for the walk across town.
Craftsman is the second stop on this list, and while you could wear crocs and shorts to come here, it would be a bit out of place, for one of the more upmarket places to drink craft beer in Yokohama. It’s casual dining environment, with its dim lights in the evening, and expansive list of foods means you could bring a date here too for, if you’re both into some craft beers and food. It’s quite intimate at times, with couples close together, but also if you come alone, there is space for one.
Akatsuki no Kura is another casual dining place where you could easily take someone on a date to explore sake from across Japan, or drink some beers, and have some delicious food. There’s a few quiet spots in the bar where you can sit and relax, chatting with someone until the late hours of the evening, and I for one have done that. It’s also a good point where if you have drunk too much, the station is just outside the bar and you can call this crawl and get home safely.
Jingle wasn’t planned to be on any of these lists, mainly due to it being a smoking friendly bar. However, it was on a recent return trip there that we noticed, well, it had become non-smoking and the environment was more upmarket. Perhaps this was an influence from those COVID-19 days, but it’s a welcome change. The atmosphere was cheerful, as it has always been, but also the crowd was different, more younger professionals wearing suits and smart clothes – definitely no crocs or shorts in sight here.
Long (4 hours +)
- Thrash Zone – Yokohama Bay Brewing – Babel Bayside Kitchen – Craftsman – 800 Degrees – iBrew Yokohama (Mixing it up)
So this is the crawl where you’ll see a mixture of places, people, and bars. These are all places that we’ve been to numerous times and will happily go back to drink.
Thrash Zone could well be the last stop on this tour as they often have the highest abv beers on the menu, and it’s usually a good place to end the night as well. It’s an established drinking place in Yokohama, and could well be the first craft beer bar that we went to before BeerTengoku started up. It’s a much loved institution and if you haven’t been in here, but you’ve been drinking in Yokohama, then you need to fix that as soon as possible.
Yokohama Bay Brewing The Front was a surprise opening in Yokohama, what with branches in Totsuka and Kannai already established, but it was a welcome opening. Lots of good Czech and German lagers on tap, and with 20+ taps at any time, there’s definitely something for everyone there.
Ah, to sit outside in the warm sunshine on a lazy weekend, drinking a cold pint of beer, with some delicious food as the hours while away. Sounds like the perfect time for me and at Babel Bayside Kitchen, there’s the chance of that happening. The beer list may not be as impressive as it once was, but there’s no doubting that getting some seating outside helps to make everything seem, and taste, better.
Craftsman – the place with potentially the best chips on this list, and also the potential to be so much better. The pours are the main downside to this place, as mentioned elsewhere on this list, but the beer list is pretty good and worthy of stopping in for a drink or two. Personally, I prefer to stand outside when the weather is good, as I’ve been to known to hit my head one or two times at the counter seats. The fact that we still go back here, must mean they’re doing something right.
Perhaps you don’t fancy some chips, but some hot dogs and beer instead? Then head on up to 800 Degrees and do just that. The beers aren’t going to blow you away but they’re doing good things here, showing off some local breweries from the area. The bar has two parts to it – standing or sitting – so you have the choice of staying for however long you want.
The final stop, or perhaps the first stop depending on how you do this crawl, is iBrew Yokohama. It’s on this list for the reason of having so many different beers on tap, and at various price ranges so you won’t have to break the bank when you come here. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been to this place, and always had a good time here. With some warmer weather, I also prefer to stand here and drink, rather than inside, but there’s plenty of choices to stand or sit either way. But by this point of the crawl, sitting is probably the better option.
