Visited again to kill time before my massage appointment. It's very convenient that they are open even during the Obon holiday! The drum can table is casual and welcoming. The self-service style where you can open the fridge yourself is great. The young female staff members are friendly and welcoming. Since I was already full, I didn't have a meal, just drinks. Had a Vodka Sour, Tomato Juice cocktail, and Guarana cocktail. Grateful that they are always open for business! Will definitely visit again. Thank you for the meal!

A bar near my home that I would like to visit every day if possible. It's mainly a standing bar, but there are also chairs available. Similar to the Daitabashi branch, the appetizers are pre-cooked and lightly reheated according to the manual before being served. For shochu or whiskey, you can get a fixed amount by adding 300 yen. If you take soda or hoppy from the refrigerator and inform the staff, they will give you a bucket of ice with it. The alcohol is mostly self-service, so the place is always bustling with customers, but they manage with just one staff member. As a result, the prices are kept low. It's not as systematic as chain izakayas, but it's a reasonably priced place where you can go every day.

I didn't really understand the system and often found it full, so I couldn't go there easily. However, I really wanted to drink on the last day of the consecutive holidays, so I visited. I ordered bottled beer and got it myself from the refrigerator at the back. I told the staff about the snacks, and they recommended three types of dishes. When I asked for an additional highball, the staff gave me a glass, ice, and soda. I put 300 yen into the machine at the back and pressed the button. The highball was ready. The atmosphere was nice, so I will definitely go back again.

Used for a casual drink. Just like last time, I kept the bench seat in the back corner by the Coca-Cola sign. I had a Kinmiya shochu highball. It's mainly standing and self-service. It's 3 pm, but there are quite a few customers! I noticed an elderly couple. Maybe they are regulars? The staff this time was a young girl, different from last time. It's perfect for a casual drink. I might visit again. Thank you for the meal!!!

Hoppy, 2 drinks, smoked mackerel with quail for ¥1100. I think it's decent value for money. However, the quail is ¥100 each. That's 33 yen per piece! Don't dwell on it. My apologies. It might be nice for a light drink.

Located right near the Kozushima Station, this place is great for daytime drinking. It's a standing bar, but you can snag a spot on the Coca-Cola bench in the back! I heard that all the alcohol hanging inside is shochu. Highly recommended for shochu lovers. I enjoyed some plum wine and a Kinmiya highball while snacking on smoked dried squid. I felt like a proper old man! The casual atmosphere seemed to attract a lot of couples in their 20s, with a few solo drinkers here and there. It's a bit of a mysterious place. The staff, especially the young lady, was bright and cute. Thanks for the meal!

In Europe and America, smoking has been banned in restaurants for a long time. I remember feeling uncomfortable when I was taken to a Japanese sushi restaurant in Los Angeles around the turn of the 21st century, where there were many cigarette butts outside the store. This was evidence that they strictly enforced a no-smoking policy inside. Since I quit smoking in 2006, I have become quite sensitive to cigarette smoke. With the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as a good opportunity, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government implemented the Passive Smoking Prevention Ordinance in April 2020. Many restaurants have already started to go completely smoke-free. Under this ordinance, establishments that fall under one of the following criteria are subject to regulation: 1) customer seating area exceeds 100㎡, 2) capital exceeds 50 million yen, or 3) new establishments opened after April 1, 2020. In other words, existing small individual stores can still allow smoking. Similar to reduced tax rates, this law reflects the ambiguity of the Japanese people. As non-smoking restaurants increase, there will be a backlash with smokers flocking to establishments where smoking is allowed. This particular restaurant was a prime example of this. After drinking at a yakitori bar near the station south exit, I went to this standing bar for a second round. It opened in September 2018 and had a clean and neat interior. I ordered two servings of mitsutake oyuwari (480 yen + tax each) and pickled Chinese cabbage (180 yen + tax), but the ventilation system was poor, and despite sitting on a bench near the entrance, the purple smoke filled the air. Feeling like I was suffocating, I left 1,250 yen on the counter and quickly left.

I had been curious about SAKASA for a while now. Today, as I was thinking about where to go for the second round, I remembered this place. This street is lined with cool shops. It's a new SAKASA. First time here. There is a standing bar in the front and seating in the back. The wall of the kitchen is lined with a variety of tempting drinks. I ordered a lemon sour for 340 yen. It had a strong lemon flavor and even had a slice of lemon in it, which made it sour and delicious! There were various side dishes in a glass case in front of me, giving a casual vibe. The food came in small plates, perfect for standing and drinking. The smoked mackerel had a firm texture and was seasoned perfectly. I love it! It was a generous portion too. I ordered a few different dishes, but it was budget-friendly. The staff were friendly and made the experience enjoyable. I will definitely visit again. Thank you for the meal!

On this day, after showing filial piety to our parents, we headed to a long-overdue sibling drinking session. We quickly parked the car and made our way to Chitokara, a place we haven't been to in a while. This time, the choice of the restaurant was made by the siblings who arrived first. The place had only one review (as of April 6) and seemed a bit unknown. We visited for the first time on a Saturday just before 5 pm. We sat at the counter and started with a small bottle of Black Label for 380 yen, cheers! The original glass was cute and stout. We ordered grilled new bamboo shoots for 380 yen and quail eggs marinated in white miso for 180 yen as our snacks. For additional drinks, we tried the Kodama Citric Acid Sour for 450 yen, which was similar to Hoppy, and added a refill of Kinmiya (Naka) for 250 yen. This place doesn't charge for seating or table charge. The alcohol prices were average, and the snacks were reasonably priced starting from 180 yen. As we are in the same age group, we talked about our parents and other usual topics such as offline meetings and discussions related to Tabelog. After about an hour, as usual, we started discussing where to go next. We set our sights on a specific place, and we left the restaurant with excitement. Thank you for the meal!

The owner of the shop seemed to have such a story as well. In other words, the day before the encounter with Okku, I had a healthy day, swimming in the pool in the morning and donating blood in the afternoon, which is not appropriate for a 50-year-old man next year. I called my partner... or was I called... I don't remember (laughs), but on such a perfect day for flower viewing, my partner said, "I want to go to Tanukiya." "Oh, that place closed down." "Eh?!" Well, whether it's curry croquette soba or something else, there seem to be too many of those things lately. At a turning point in time, various things seem to be coming to an end. Certainly, after about 75 years since the end of the war, it's a time when it wouldn't be strange for a person to be born and die. Even if a shop is established and disappears after 2-3 generations, it's not unnatural at all. Rather, if a shop like Shino-san's was run by a fool, they would run away in 3 days (laughs). In Chitokara, where there are distinctive shops, our shop opens from 3:30 p.m. Of course, it's probably a strategy to open a little earlier than other stores and attract customers, and that's the policy of such a shop, Shino-san jumps into the fire... (laughs) It's an interesting shop. On the display case on the counter, there are various vacuum-packed side dishes lined up. On the wall at the back of the counter, the owner's proud alcoholic beverages such as shochu and whiskey are lined up upside down - that's probably the origin of the shop's name. I first had something like umeboshi and pickled ginger, which reminded me of the plum jam sold at a candy store. It's reminiscent of the soy sauce senbei from old school fairs without any complaints. Everyone will probably think the same way. And when I was tasting the sake with the pickled Chinese cabbage, my partner arrived. Although I felt like I drank together a lot during the year-end and New Year holidays, counting it, it's been about 2 months since the last time - since we drank at Yonmeya in Shinjuku. I ordered quail eggs and bamboo shoots and made a toast again. The snacks here are cheap but well-made, which I appreciate. Initially, because there was an image of saba miso in the early reviews, I mistakenly thought the name of the shop was SAKANA (fish). My partner also liked the bamboo shoots and ordered seconds. The number of lemon slices in the hoppy glass increased as we ordered.

Sakasa in Musashisakai, Urawa is an izakaya known for its shochu and whiskey. They have recently started serving distilled spirits, which is great news! Their gin, Sakura Min, and other spirits like Kimi no Bi are delicious. There is no cover charge and they have a self-service water station. The modern and clean interior is a plus, and they offer a variety of drinks like Ichiro's Malt, Hanyu, Maou, and Muroi. They also serve a variety of small dishes including oden and curry.

I think it's a great place for when you want to have a quick drink. The appetizers are cheap and delicious.

At the end of March, the timetable for the Keio Line was revised, causing disappointment among all users of Fuchu Station. The once unique pride of being a stop for "Special Rapid" trains was lost as Sasazuka and Chitose-Karasuyama now share the same status, essentially erasing the difference between these two stations in the suburbs and the city center. There used to be a sense of camaraderie when riding the Semi-Special Rapid train, with the understanding that stopping at Sasazuka and Chitose-Karasuyama would make the journey slower. However, from now on, every Special Rapid train stops at these two stations without fail. On a certain day at the end of the fiscal year, I was invited to a quick drink near Chitose-Karasuyama and decided to take a Special Rapid train from Shinjuku. I got off midway and found myself at a simple modern-style standing bar tucked away in an alley behind Fukutokuji Temple. The self-service bar offered a selection of bottled beers, and I chose Akahoshi. The owner, who seemed to be the sole staff member, handed me a glass, and I enjoyed my drink with a side of kimchi tofu for 100 yen. I then exchanged some coins for a 300 yen bill and poured myself a highball from the automatic dispenser, mixing it with complimentary carbonated water. I spent about an hour sipping my drink, snacking on dried squid and nuts, before heading back to the station just in time for the Special Rapid train to arrive. Surprisingly, it was quite convenient to reach Fuchu on any Special Rapid train, making me see the benefits of the timetable revision. A short and quick drink like this might actually be a good choice. When I revisited the bar later, I followed the same drinking routine and the bill came to around 1,000 yen. It felt like being a grown-up at a candy store. As I gazed at the entrance of the bar with slightly blurred vision, I noticed a small dog playing around. Apparently, dogs are allowed at the standing area by the entrance, creating a neighborly atmosphere in the standing bar salon. Although Mamezou's reviews mention a smoking area, the bar is currently smoke-free. It offers a clean and straightforward experience at an affordable price. The menu includes daily specials and small dishes to accompany your drinks. As the name suggests, the bar sells a variety of shochu and other liquors in one-liter bottles for shot sales. It's a bright, affordable, and more casual standing bar, similar to Ryoma. I might find myself getting off midway again for another visit.

There is no appetizer, but the prices are reasonable. Many customers come in for a quick drink and then leave. It would be even better if they had delicious food available.

It's nice that there's no cover charge and it's good for the first round of drinks too.