Asia Tokyo

seedavid

seedavid

I'm not about to go to Tokyo in the near future or anything, but I loved my time there and just wanted to start a thread in case anybody is planning to visit. Some of the guys on the old site were super helpful while I was planning my trip, so if anybody needs recs or has recs, post them here. I'll start.

Zoetrope was a super cool whiskey bar in Shinjuku. It only has like maybe 15-20 seats, and when its full, they don't let anybody else in until there is an open seat. The guy that runs the place knows everything there is to know about Southeast Asian alcohol. He not only poured me some outstanding whiskies from his outrageously huge collection, but I tried what he believed to be the only absinthe produced commercially in Japan, and a few locally-produced gins as well. It was a great time.
 
I go every four years and the next trip won't be until 2022, but I was just there in November so I can throw out some recommendations:

Tokyo
Vector Beer Factory in Shinjuku has the cheapest craft beer pours I've ever seen in Japan. And it's good beer, too.
Watering Hole in Shibuya is an awesome bar.
The Baird taprooms are all great, but Nakameguro is my favorite one.
Kiuchi/Hitachino has taprooms in Akihabara and on top of Tokyo Station. They tend to have a few draft only offerings and they do a series of hazy IPAs now.

Kyoto
Kyoto Beer Lab is a cool newish brewery that's a bit off the touristy path but in a really cool neighborhood and they're making good beer.
Kyoto Brewing Company is also outside the downtown core but still walkable enough. Good beer. Limited hours, but you can also find their beer on tap at the little Kiharu ice cream stand near the Silver Temple on the Philosopher's Path.

Osaka
Take the train out to Minoh Falls and then stop in the town of Minoh to visit the brewery. Sure they've got locations in Osaka prime, but this location has a totally different vibe.

Other breweries to look for - Fujizakura (great German styles), Oh! La! Ho!, Tamamura Honten, Repubrew, Distant Shores, CraftBeerCompany, Shinjuku Beer Brewing, etc.

Also, Suntory The Premium Malts is my favorite Japanese macro. Damn good.
 
In Tokyo, go eat at Spice Post.

We found it by accident and now it's my number one recommendation. Curry. Simply amazing.
 
BeerandNoise said:
Heading that way in the coming months for my first ever visit. Very excited! Staying in Ueno area of Tokyo. Still need to figure out what area I want to be in for Osaka. Open to all recommendations.
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I recently posted a ton of recommendations over in the Travel thread (in the Hobbies section).

Start on this page:

Travel- the trials and tribulations

Agreed. I've been there a few times and it always delivers. Cafe du Monde tip that I learned on recent trip: there is sometimes a long line out front waiting for a table. As far as the staff is concerned, there is no line. But I'd suggest walking around the back and grabbing a table rather...
dailydrinkingthread.com dailydrinkingthread.com
 
Just realized I didn't really talk about Tokyo in the travel thread. Here's some updates based on my most recent trip this past November.

Food
Miso Ramen Karashibi Kikanbo - Still the best damn ramen. In Kanda.
Sakura Tei - very fun and newbie friendly okonoimyaki shop in Harajuku. Most okonomiyaki places don't let foreigners make their own, but this place is set up to do so. Really fun quirky place with trees growing in the middle of the building.
Shin - Absolutely phenomenal udon restaurant just a short walk from JR Shinjuku Station.
Tsujita - Solid tuskemen/ramen place in Ginza
Ramen Street - In Tokyo station with a bunch of regional ramen shops

NOTE: Craft beer is expensive in Japan. There is a high tax on malt so don't be shocked to see 1,200-1,500 Yen pints of craft beer. Fortunately you can get half pours.

Drinks/Beer
Night Kiosk - really cool natural wine/craft beer bar on the second story of the Nishi-Nippori Scramble building right outside the JR Nishi-Nippori station.
Beer Pub Ishii - Old guard craft beer bar in Yanaka Ginza. Yanaka is my favorite part of the city and I love stopping in this little bar and sitting upstairs while enjoying a pint. They normally have free copies of the Japan Beer Times (bilingual in both Japanese and English), too.
Kiuchi Distillery - Hitachino Brewing does their own whisky and this is the spot for it right next to JR Akihabara Station, literally underneath the tracks. When we were there in November you weren't able to buy whisky bottles to go, but maybe their production will be high enough that you can do so now. They also have a bunch of Hitachino Beer on tap.
Vector Beer - Still in Shinjuku and still the cheapest (and still good) craft beer pours in the city.
Watering Hole - Very very close to JR Yoyogi Station. Great craft beer bar and has a little bottle shop off to the side where you can buy stuff to go. You'll see a lot of local PNW beer on tap here, too. When I was there in November they were doing bottle pours of a bunch of Fremont BA stuff.
Devilcraft - Deep dish pizza and craft beer with locations all over the city. Started by some guys from Seattle, they now also brew their own beer. I've only been to the one in Hamamatsucho but it was cool.
Baird Brewing - OG brewery with cool taprooms in Harajuku and Nakameguro
Ushitora - Multiple craft beer bars in Shimokitazawa now making their own beer. Shimokita is another one of my favorite neighborhoods in Tokyo.
Bonus Track - New collective of artisan shops and restaurant in Shimokita. Great beer options.
Shibuya Sky - Amazing views of the Tokyo skyline and there's a bar up there serving craft beer and cocktails. Priced a lot more reasonably than you'd think based on it's location
TDM 1874 - Yokohama Brewery with a fancy taproom/bottle shop in the Odakyu Shimokitazawa Station. Solid beer and a very impressive selection of Japanese whisky bottles for on-site consumption.
Oerbier Man - There's an official De Dolle brewpub in Akihabara that has kegs of all their beers on tap. Nice outside seating.
Yokohoma Hammerhead Cruise Terminal 7-11 - If you go to Yokohama, this 7-11 is worth stopping into. Their selection of craft beer (one section is Europe/North America and one is Japanese) puts most bottle shops to shame. In a fully branded official 7-11. They go by The Slowest Tzu on Instagram.
Tanakaya - The grandaddy of all Japanese bottleshops around the corner from JR Mejiro Station.

Finding good, rare, whisky will be difficult. You will be able to find very good affordably priced whisky, though. The department stores in Ginza normally have the standard Ichiro's Malt for ~$45 or so. Way cheaper than what it costs here. If you make your way to Kyoto you'll be able to find better whisky in the shops as they're not as picked through by the secondary vultures. We got some cool single barrel Akashi White Oak whisky bottles in Kyoto that I've never seen anywhere.

Good breweries to keep an eye out for:
West Coast Brewing
Uchu Brewing
Nara Brewing
Verete
Shiga Kogen/Tamamura Shoten
Minoh - They do an Ichiro's Malt BA Stout that is supposed to be awesome. It's never been available when I've been there, but keep an eye out just in case. Their Osaru lineup of IPAs are solid, too.
Fujizakura Heights - Makes fantastic German styles
Oh! La! Ho! - Their pirate themed pales and IPA cans should be easy to find in a lot of 7-11s
 
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BeerandNoise said:
Heading that way in the coming months for my first ever visit. Very excited! Staying in Ueno area of Tokyo. Still need to figure out what area I want to be in for Osaka. Open to all recommendations.
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well it looks like teamLab Borderless temporarily closed while they build a new space. i would check to see if that reopens by the time you're there, but probably won't. They do have teamLab Plantes in Tokyo, which looks pretty cool as well. And they've got a night installation in Osaka. Borderless is one of the coolest things I've ever been to, so I assume the other projects are worthwhile.
If you're in Tokyo Station with some time to kill, Hitachino has a little bar on the outside of the station, up an escalator or two. Nice spot with some light foods.
I highly recommend going into any 7/11 and getting the pre-packaged egg salad sandwich (if you like egg salad) and the pancake sandwich. Get everything, but get those 2.
I went to the curry place Nathan recommended above and it was great.
If you want to do cocktails, definitely look into reservations in advance. We went to Orchard Ginza and it was a cool experience, just $$$$
Piss Alley for yakitori was fun.
 
sameasiteverwas said:
well it looks like teamLab Borderless temporarily closed while they build a new space. i would check to see if that reopens by the time you're there, but probably won't. They do have teamLab Plantes in Tokyo, which looks pretty cool as well. And they've got a night installation in Osaka. Borderless is one of the coolest things I've ever been to, so I assume the other projects are worthwhile.
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We went to TeamLab Planets in November, it was wonderful. Feels like "Instagram: The Ride" at times, but a great a way to spend 60-90 minutes.
 
seedavid said:
I'm not about to go to Tokyo in the near future or anything, but I loved my time there and just wanted to start a thread in case anybody is planning to visit. Some of the guys on the old site were super helpful while I was planning my trip, so if anybody needs recs or has recs, post them here. I'll start.

Zoetrope was a super cool whiskey bar in Shinjuku. It only has like maybe 15-20 seats, and when its full, they don't let anybody else in until there is an open seat. The guy that runs the place knows everything there is to know about Southeast Asian alcohol. He not only poured me some outstanding whiskies from his outrageously huge collection, but I tried what he believed to be the only absinthe produced commercially in Japan, and a few locally-produced gins as well. It was a great time.
Click to expand...
In the near future... Not sure how near.... Will be going to Japan. So I'll revisit
 
Just booked my trip to Japan. Heading there the last week of May. Will be there 2 weeks.

Looking for advice on where to stay and how long.

Thinking I will start in Tokyo and end my stay in Tokyo.

Interested in checking out Osaka and Kyoto.

Open to any and all recommendations.
 
R1pps said:
Just booked my trip to Japan. Heading there the last week of May. Will be there 2 weeks.

Looking for advice on where to stay and how long.

Thinking I will start in Tokyo and end my stay in Tokyo.

Interested in checking out Osaka and Kyoto.

Open to any and all recommendations.
Click to expand...
Nathan said:
Spice Post

maps.app.goo.gl

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.
maps.app.goo.gl maps.app.goo.gl
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R1pps said:
Will add Spice Post for places to eat.

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Rough idea right now. May do only a day in Kanazawa and do my last day in Tokyo before I fly home.
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Spice Post is good.

That’s a pretty busy itinerary. We spent a week in Tokyo and I felt like we barely scratched the surface. Just something to think about.
Two things we did which I would recommend:
You can get a portable wifi hotspot at the airport, so you have connectivity wherever you go. This was a huge help in getting around on the streets, otherwise we’d have been constantly lost. The subway and trains are very easy to navigate though.
The other thing we did was when we left
Tokyo for Kyoto we were able to leave our luggage with our hotel, and they sent them directly to where we were next staying. Not dealing with big bags on the train was great. Not sure if this is offered everywhere but something to look into. It’s not free though.

Couple other tips: many places were cash only as of 2019. Do not expect people to speak English. Go to 7/11 and get all the foods. The egg salad sandwiches and the pancake sandwiches were two of my faves. It’s also very cheap.
 
R1pps said:
Just booked my trip to Japan. Heading there the last week of May. Will be there 2 weeks.

Looking for advice on where to stay and how long.

Thinking I will start in Tokyo and end my stay in Tokyo.

Interested in checking out Osaka and Kyoto.

Open to any and all recommendations.
Click to expand...
I will be there a month later with the family. Still working out details as far as an itinerary. So many itineraries, I see say you have to go to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. I kind of would like to get out to the countryside if possible. Or maybe a less dense seaside town. Not sure where though.

Would really like to know if I need to have cash. The last time I went to Korea, I used almost none of it. Even the street food vendors accepted card.
 
BigFrank said:
I will be there a month later with the family. Still working out details as far as an itinerary. So many itineraries, I see say you have to go to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. I kind of would like to get out to the countryside if possible. Or maybe a less dense seaside town. Not sure where though.

Would really like to know if I need to have cash. The last time I went to Korea, I used almost none of it. Even the street food vendors accepted card.
Click to expand...
A lot of great ramen places are cash only (via a weird machine). Or anyway they were in 2018.
 
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