For a country that seems to love pizza, the combination of hand-tossed pizzas and craft beer though seems to be lacking. The artisanal craft of making dough from flour, yeast, and water is as old as making beer, with it’s malt, yeast, water, and hops. Yet in Japan, there are plenty of places that offer up handmade pizza – no, not …
101 Tokyo in Ebisu, Tokyo
101 Tokyo The Bottom Line I really wanted to be able to recommend 101 Tokyo, but the prices for beers and the food push it into the realm of needing a second mortgage to be able to have more than four or five beers with some food. Moreover, the peculiar table charge system ticked me off as well – sit at a …
Standing Bar Beer Boy in Naka-Meguro, Tokyo
Standing Bar Beer Boy The Bottom Line Standing Bar Beer Boy tweaks the tried-and-tested idea of Craft Beer Market to create something different, and it works. The casual atmosphere of being able to pop in for a quick beer, without the hassle of waiting for a seat, or having even to book a table, is still welcome. The prices do …
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Barley Wheat in Kamata, Tokyo
Barley Wheat The Bottom Line If you’re in the area, then Barley Wheat is the best choice in the wilderness that is Kamata – just. It doesn’t differ much from the Barley Wheat Hamamatsucho branch, though personally I found the beer menu to be rather narrow in terms of variety of beer styles on tap – the IPA craze is still strong here. …
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Kazenori Merry in Shimo-Kitazawa, Tokyo
Kazenori Merry The Bottom Line Kazenori Merry felt a Ushitora Mk 1.1 – which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your view point of the bar. The whole interior and decor hasn’t changed since opening and it seems that neither have the prices either. It’s one of the more expensive places to drink in Shimo-Kitazawa but …
Tap & Growler in Shimo-Kitazawa, Tokyo
Tap & Growler The Bottom Line If you want a place that has lots of beers on tap for you to tick off in your Untappd and don’t mind the price, then Tap & Growler is highly recommended. It’s important to remember that Tap & Growler is primarily a place for you to pick up some beer to takeaway in a growler, …
Gastropub Gozo in Shimo-Kitazawa, Tokyo
Gastropub Gozo The Bottom Line If you like Hitachino Nest Beer or hamburgers with lots of melted cheese on top, then Gastropub Gozo is the place for you. Else, give it a wide berth to be honest. While the atmosphere is great at Gastropub Gozo – very chilled and relaxed – the smoking policy lets the bar down as well as the …
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Goto Jozo in Kyodo, Tokyo
Goto Jozo The Bottom Line If you’re in the area, then it’s worth popping into Goto Jozo for a couple of standing beers. But there in lies the problems with Goto Jozo – it’s a nice little place but the atmosphere is more conducive for a quick beer or two then leave. If there was seating then I would recommend Goto …
Kanda Drinking Guide
The third in our series of curated drinking guides is the Kanda area of Tokyo, which is known for being the most densely popular craft beer area in Tokyo. There are 11 bars within a 5 minute radius of the Kanda station; however, that does include the small area of Awajicho to the west of the station. Behind Kannai (add …
BeerMa Kanda in Kanda, Tokyo
BeerMa Kanda The Bottom Line BeerMa Kanda – what is it trying to be? The taplist can be found in other places for cheaper but the bottle selection is one of the best in Japan – let alone Tokyo. If you’re going to buy bottles, then BeerMa Kanda is a great place to do that but make sure you take …