Craft is Art: WEEK 213--Tokyo 2023--Harajuku/Shibuya/Nihonbashi

This is the 1st (of a few more articles to come) piece for the newspaper column--mainly as a sort of personal notes about the trip rather than a Tokyo beer guide because there are too many craft beer places in and around Tokyo that even if i had stayed for a month it's still only scrathing the surface.

十月底去了趟久违的東京，这次逗留时间稍长，也因为好久没去，接近两周时间内去了十多家城里和周边地区或新或旧专卖吧/瓶子店，也和住東京的新旧啤迷朋友们有过几次瓶子分享会，接下来会分几篇聊聊去过哪里喝了些什么当做个人啤游小记。

Also--though i probably could have gathered more than just 3 beer spots mentioned here--due to newspaper column spaces for words + pics--decided to just go with the flow and post when it's published forthnightly.

This week it's about 3 beer places that i have not been to previously( pre-Covid)--while Harajuku & Shibuya are next to each other on the same side of the Yamanote Line--Nihonbashi obviously is on the other side and via underground Metro rather than JR--went to these places on different days anyway so not really matter distance or direction wise.

Harajuku--Dig The Line Doors

This is one of few places suggested by Neil who i will not miss having a beer (nope it's always more than a beer) with whenever I visit Tokyo since the first trip many years ago.

Went through the few places including browsing on the tap list and decided on this place partly due to it's location--of course the most important is still what's inside to pick and drink from. Location wise it's basically right in front of Harajuku JR station--inside a lifestyle shopping mall( which was quite not what i thought of--thinking it could be a small place hidden somewhere in the alley away from the bustling streets of Harajuku).

It's a small place--modern & neat--with low benches & bar stools to pick from--6 taps & interestingly placed fridges--mix of in-trend Japanese breweries + imports of Europe & US--would say the selection was quite good when visited--ended up spending the entire afternoon there sharing some Japanese & imported ones. It was a cosy afternoon & a happy one since it was the first session of the trip after 4 years of not visiting--and definitely nice to have met and shared some beers with Neil.

#apparently they have another bottle shop/bar in Kyoto so if you are there it's one to look for.

原宿---Dig The Line Doors

每次去東京都会约上常住当地的英国啤迷朋友Neil见面聊聊喝喝，这次也不例外，去的这家是小型酒吧瓶子店，位置很方便，就在原宿站正对面一家餐饮购物中心底层，走出车站过对面路就能找到。

店家不大，正中斜位摆置的冰柜除了一些进口欧美酿坊作品也满满的放着来自日本国内不同地区酿坊作品，其中不乏好几家高人气酿坊作品，瓶子和罐子选择之外，店里也有6个啤酒泵提供更多不同选择。

店面虽然不大，去了两次看到选酒和氛围来说感觉不错，特别是如果想找近期比较高人气日本不同地区在地酿坊作品的话，这家的瓶子或罐子选择不会让人失望。

Shibuya--Mikkeller Kiosk Bar

This is the 3rd bar by Mikkeller Tokyo( after Kanda bar)--heard of this prior to the trip and obviously included in list of places to visit though no definite date as to when--came here on the later stage of the trip--and just so happened it was an evening with some nice ones on tap--a mini "post MBCT 2023" tap takeover event with a few participating breweries such as Lua, Bottle Logic on tap.

An event such as this in Tokyo would mean 2 things--1 is the tap list would be better/more interesting than a normal day list, 2 is the chances of bumping into some familiar faces is rather high--true enough--enjoyed the tap list and bumped into a few friends including Hamilton the man behind( or more like in front) Mikkeller Tokyo--as well the team of Hide & Che from Pigalle Tokyo.

As for the place--have to say it was bigger/cosier than i thought it would be since the word Kiosk might suggest it's a tiny place(the fact that it's housed under a hotel lobby area and look quite small from social media posting)--but it's not--there are sitting area inside the bar as well as outside--and you can sit on the concrete "roadside bench" too if you so desire.

Location wise it's not far from Shibuya JR station either though on the other side of the First Bar--much like how you could walk to the First Bar located at Dogenzaka--if from Hachiko statue it was always go left via 109 to First Bar--for Kiosk Bar it's go right side---it's not that far to walk--in fact from the "roadside bench" one can see that the hot new place Yamashita Park(where Shibuya Yokocho located) is very nearby. With 20 taps there were some good choices to pick from(not sure if there's bottle list available as i did not asked)--ended up spending time here and did not make it to the First Bar( which i normally would everytime in Tokyo).

涉谷--Mikkeller Kiosk Bar

一直以来，开在道玄坂一家神社对面的米吧本店是每次去東京都会一探的点，这次因为还没来过开在涉谷一丁目一家酒店楼下的三号店所以选择了这里。（二号店在神田）

到访当天适逢酒吧有十月中举行的東京啤酒庆典(MBCT23)关联几家美国酿坊的小型占领啤酒泵(tap takeover)活动，当中包括新晋酿坊Lua，加州黑啤高手酿坊Bottle Logic等等，换句话说，当天酒单要比平常日子精彩许多。

从字面意义来看，Kiosk可以是比较小型类似便利店那样的，之前从网上图片看到觉得可能会是小小的一间，毕竟米吧本店就在涉谷不远走路可到的另一边，不过实际来到後比想象中宽敞，啤酒泵选择也有20款，店内座位之外也有户外选择，而且酒吧是开放式所以整体感觉还蛮舒适惬意的。

Nihonbashi--Omnipollo Tokyo

This is the only Omnipollo bar in Asia( as far as i know)--so it's quite obvious this place is on the list of beer places to see in Tokyo during my trip--even though personally i would prefer a place with many different breweries choices to pick from but this place is still worth a visit for sure.

It's located at Nihonbashi--or rather more accurately it's closer to Kayabacho' subway Station(茅场町駅） if you are taking train and do bit of walking. Interestingly the place look very much like someone's wooden house right next to modern tall buildings--from the outside if not for the eye catching neon signage one might just miss it--but once inside the bar--it's very much omnipollo feels with 9 taps & 2 slushie machines which in a way has somewhat become a signature part of Omnipollo be it during a beer festival or bar assocaited with Omnipollo( Titans bar at Otsuka also has got slushie machine).

It's expected that all 9 on taps are all beers from Omnipollo since this is their Asia "avatar" bar--the place is small but not crampy--there are comfortable sitting area to rest your legs and enjoy some beers after walking--personally--this is a bar that if you are a fan of Omnipollo then it goes without saying that it's certainly worth your time--but even if you are not--it's still a nice little place worth a visit.