Back in January I was looking for a place to grab a beer and maybe a burger over in Tachikawa while doing some work. Ya, beers and burgers are a thing in Tachikawa because there is a huge US Airforce base adjacent to the city, Yokota AFB. Their C130's and Ospreys fly over my house all the time.
Anyway, I stumbled upon a place called Sakamichi Brewery quite by accident. I was checking to see if some of the other watering holes I know about in Tachikawa were open. I hadn't heard of Sakamichi before so I thought I would give them a try.
One of the things that immediately stands out about Sakamichi is the interior. This is important in Japan because every shop, restaurant & office are uniquely designed down to the last detail. Everything is natural, the concrete slab floor, the bar counter, the chairs & tables and the walls. This fits well with our proximity to the mountains just a few miles away. It's very welcoming. The patrons and beer add the variety of color.
Now to the beers. Sakamichi brews their own beer and hosts other brews from around Japan. A pint will cost you $8.80. It's the only size they have and keeps things simple. Often times when you go into a bar or brewery the prices will fluctuate from $5 to $12 a pint. Nuts are $3 and like most other places probably come from Costco, but were just as delicious as you could hope for.
After scanning the menu I started off with a pint of "Seize The Means" Red IPA. A 6.6% IPA with 60 IBU.
At the first sip I was pleasantly surprised. The flavor wasn't overwhelming like most IPAs. It was very smooth, drinkable. I mean you could drink them all night. I'd later find out this was the case with all of their beers, very drinkable.
As I sat and pondered the samurai who may have once traveled down the road in front of the brewery, I decided to come back to the real world and chat with the bartender/Co-owner. I think his name was Josh. He was from the Midwest, maybe Ohio, and had been in Japan for about 15 years. I knew at that point I had met a fellow Stranger in a Strange Land. We had lots of similar stories to share and would do so over several more beers.
The next beer I ordered was lighter, a pilsner called "One Koen" or Devil's Park. Kinda funny because it was light and fruity. I would have called it Angel's Orchard or something. It was delicious and light. The brew is a collaboration by DevilCraft Tokyo Brewery & Sakamichi. Give it a try for the lighter side.
I ended up trying just several more beers they had on tap. All of them had this same, mellow theme, very easy to drink with just the right amount of flavor. While over at Shared Brewery closer to my home the beers there have a lot of flavor and you may only be able to handle two before they become overwhelming.
As Josh and I chatted and drank, a gentleman from France stopped by to have a pint as well as an older Japanese gentleman who really likes to talk about his worldly travels. It really felt like fun place to come and share stories with people from all over the world. I'm very much looking forward to having a few pints there when I return and share stories of what's happening in the states.
I ended the night when they closed and picked up a t-shirt, the black on in the picture above. It was $30, but going to a good cause.
Despite COVID, Sakamichi is open. They did close down for a few weeks early last year, but have been open since. Their hours are shorter, 12:00 - 8:00pm because of COVID, but drinking inside is fine. They also have take out. A few customers did come in and grabbed a beer to go while I was there. It was very interesting to see that compared to the states.
Sakamichi is located at 青木ビルディング, 103 ２丁目-６-5, Shibasakicho, Tachikawa, Tokyo 190-0023, Japan
You wanna go where everyone knows your name.... Cheers!
Thanks for reading!