This Saturday sees the initial opening of our first location in central Kyoto, Kyoto Brewing Tap Stand. Kyoto is a city with a lot of options for locations, but being the kind of city it is with so many visitors, finding the right kind of spot is easier said than done. We have looked around Kyoto station, Gion and other areas within Higashiyama, Karasuma, and Kiyamachi, which is where our first spot downtown will be.
Sitting immediately to the West of the Kamogawa are Pontocho and the Takasegawa. The Takasegawa runs through the heart of Kiyamachi, which is a core night-time area within Kyoto, and to our minds possibly the most characterful. From the Southern part of Kiyamachi, which is slow paced and laid back, Kiyamachi gets more lively the further north you get, and from Shijo up through to Sanjo it gets quite wild and noisy later at night! Whichever part of Kiyamachi you look at, however, you get to see the Takasagawa that runs throughout it and, to repeat what a French friend once reflected to us, “the Takasegawa is the charm of Kiyamachi”.
We have long wanted to build a beer stand somewhere in Kyoto, one where you can rock up to, buy a pint, and chat to either the person behind the counter or those standing next to you - a bit how people like to do in our taproom. But we were also hoping that we would be able to open one in a part of Kyoto where you can also take advantage of one of the city’s many charms - whether that be the Takasegawa, the Kamogawa, or one of the other wonderful outdoor spots.
We won’t deny that 2 years or so ago, when Mikkeller opened their Kyoto spot just south of the Hulic Gatehouse Hotel right along the Takasegawa, we were a little bit jealous. It fitted the description of the place we imagined our first in-town spot might be. Casual and approachable, with some on-site standing and seated space, and also a great location for just buying a beer to take out, from there easily strolling up the Takasegawa or along the Kamogawa.
A few months ago, when catching up with our friend and head of Mikkeller Japan, Hamilton, a conversation got going that resulted in our agreeing that Kyoto Brewing would be taking over their spot, and we are naturally delighted to be upon the eve of that coming a reality, right from this weekend.
The venue will have an intimate bar counter and 4 counter seats plus a little extra standing room on one side, whilst on the other there is space for around 4-6 people to sit. To the South on the outside, there will be a couple more tables and seating space, as well as again space to stand if people prefer. To the North, there is the large grassy shared area that runs along the Takasegawa, where people can enjoy sitting out with their beers until 8 p.m.
This Saturday we will be opening our doors to the public, opening from 2 p.m. and running through to 11 (last order being 10:30 p.m.). This is still a soft open, given the sudden nature of our taking over, and for now we will be limited to our 8 taps of draft beer, a small range of merch, and some light packaged snacks.
The look of the store will for the beginning remain largely as it was before. We don’t plan to stop there, however, and look forward to a larger update with a colour and general vibe revamp, as well as eventually cans to purchase for takeaway as well.
From this Saturday, though, the most important elements - beer and people - will be in place! We will connecting a range of our year-round beers along with our limited releases. While we hope Saturday will be a fun party for all who arrive, we will continue from there onwards 7 days per week, operating 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. (L.O. 10:30) on weekends and public holidays, and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. (L.O. 10:30) on weekdays.
