Beer Island The Bottom Line Despite Beer Island being in the red light district, or so it seemed, of Okayama, I thought Beer Island was one of the better places – if not best place – in Okayama for a couple of cold, craft beers. The inside does look like something out of Japanese snack bar – because it is, …
Bakushu Shouten in Okayama, Okayama
Bakushu Shouten The Bottom Line Bakushu Shouten is a peculiar place and as I write this, I’m still in two minds whether I liked it or not as it ticked off both positives and negatives. It has craft beer on tap, with plenty of taps to choose from with a decent atmosphere going on, but the service was a bit …
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Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi in Shibuya, Tokyo
Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi The Bottom Line I was hoping for Hamayaki Sakaba Torohachi to be better than it was; however, the prices were way more than I was expecting for something so kitsch I guess. It does have a fun, izakaya-style quality to it, with scaffolding being used for “second” floor seating in some places. Moreover, the whole place is …
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Hitsuji Miyagawacho in Noge, Yokohama
Hitsuji Miyagawacho The Bottom Line Like it’s forebearer, Hitsuji Miyagawacho has so much going for it – a nice setting, relaxed atmosphere, with some good food on the menu, but then falls to the same problems as the first branch in that the dread table charge and prices not including tax rear their ugly heads. If you don’t mind that, …
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Nihonbashi Brewery in Ningyocho, Tokyo
Nihonbashi Brewery The Bottom Line If you’re going to call yourself a brewery and have you own beer on tap, make sure you have plenty of your own beer on tap – and that was the biggest problem with Nihonbashi Brewery, besides some small niggles that you can probably guess. The place promises so much – a great chilled out …
Mugi no Oto in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Mugi no Oto The Bottom Line Mugi no Oto is a place I really wanted to like – went in with an open mind, looking forward to some craft beer and relaxing music in the background. I definitely had some beers but the music and prices of beers left me a bit cold, despite the beers being well served. The prices …
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Craft Beer W&W in Namba, Osaka
Craft Beer W&W The Bottom Line Craft Beer W&W is a small venue in the heart of one of Osaka’s busiest areas. It’s in a great location for any tourists who need to take a break from the crushing crowds and noise of Namba, and has a decent selection of both bottled and draft beer. It’s a nice place to …
Swan Lake Pub Edo Shinjuku in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Swan Lake Pub Edo Shinjuku The Bottom Line Swan Lake Pub Edo Shinjuku is nothing like the other two branches in Kyobashi or Tamachi – it’s far more upmarket and not really aimed at craft beer drinkers. Instead, it’s aimed at the local office workers – as I found out on the day. While it follows a similar vein to …
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Osaka Craft Brewery in Umeda, Osaka
Osaka Craft Brewery The Bottom Line Osaka Craft Brewery is a beautiful venue with a decent view of the city and plenty of space for large parties. They have a nice food and wine menu, although their craft beer selection is pretty basic. It’s definitely more of an upscale place than most craft beer bars, and as such you can …
Craft Beer Ghent in Nagoya, Aichi
Craft Beer Ghent The Bottom Line If you’re desperate for craft beer and there’s nowhere else in the area, then I guess Craft Beer Ghent is worthy of a visit, but there’s so much that it does wrong that personally I would give it a wide miss unless you’re really wanting some craft beer. When we went, Craft Beer Ghent was …