JR Ikebukuro Station East Exit (North) is a 3-minute walk away, located on a street one block away from Meiji Street. It is marked by a slightly tropical yellow sign that doesn't look like a typical izakaya, and a wooden terrace outside the store. The interior is mostly standing counters with some table seats, and outside there are terrace seats. The menu consists of mostly appetizers at a uniform price, with a wide variety of alcoholic beverages available. The prices are clearly set in a cash-on-delivery format. ・Dried squid (2023.5.30) - Further grilled surume squid is served, accompanied by mayonnaise and shichimi chili pepper. The flavorful dried squid is fragrant, and goes well with the richness of mayonnaise. ・Highball (2023.5.30) - You will be asked to choose between bourbon and scotch. The bourbon is Four Roses, with a slightly sweet taste. The scotch is Cutty Sark, with a dry and refreshing flavor. This is a very deep, insider izakaya. It is open until late, making it a convenient option for a second round. Thank you for the meal. ◆History◆ 2023.6.3 - Registered 5 photos and a new review I have a blog on Ameblo: https://ameblo.jp/ameblo-bob22/entry-12805915483.html

Today, I went out for drinks in Ikebukuro after a long time. We started off lightly at the first place. Although we usually sit outside, this time we tried sitting inside for the first time. We had to put cash in a basket first for cash on delivery, then we ordered a lemon highball to cheers! With no price display, everything was reasonably priced at 400 yen each. For food, we tried the Thai-style omelette that my companion ordered from today's Thai menu. It's different from the Japanese-style omelette, but it was delicious in its own way! After having two lemon highballs, we moved on to the next place.

Ikebukuro Higashi-guchi. After a meeting with a client, we decided to have a drink. We stumbled upon a standing bar with a sign that caught our attention, so we decided to check it out. The atmosphere inside was nice and cozy. The menu is simple, with everything priced at 400 yen. There are also some items for 300 yen and snacks for 100 yen. I ordered a highball (unfortunately, they didn't have my favorite brand) and we had some pickles and seasoned fish eggs as snacks. I had two drinks and that was it. This place is cash-only, so make sure to bring some cash with you. There are many regular customers' baskets hanging on the wall. Smoking is only allowed in the outdoor terrace seating. Even though it's a standing bar, there are chairs available if you prefer to sit.

Today I went to Ikebukuro. After finishing work in Ikebukuro, I dashed to a bar. It's a standing bar, but there are outdoor seats with chairs where you can sit. There are also some seating areas inside. I first ordered a draft beer. Paying in cash. It was very cold and very delicious. For food, I had the following: - Bean sprout kimchi - Frankfurters - Grilled thick tofu, and more The bean sprout kimchi was refreshing and went well with the beer. The frankfurters were 400 yen for two, and the grilled thick tofu was delicious with plenty of ginger. Thank you for the meal. I will visit the drink stand again.

[Ikebukuro Exploration Adventure Part 67] (Exploring the East Exit 1/2) Today in Ikebukuro, we are exploring the East Exit! I searched for "Hoppy" on Tabelog and found many new restaurants that I haven't been to yet! Among them, my acquaintance and I chose to visit "Tachinomi Kojima" today. I couldn't help but want to call out, "Is Mr. Oshima here?" upon arriving at this shop! We arrived at 16:50. There was one person sitting at the outdoor terrace seat and a couple inside the shop. The interior of the shop had a layout reminiscent of an old snack bar, with only one small table. We looked at the menu and ordered the following: [Menu for Today] - Hoppy (extra) x2: 300 yen each - Hoppy (regular) x6: 300 yen each - Motsu (tripe stew) x2: 400 yen each - Thai-style omelet: 400 yen We received a cash basket and first ordered Hoppy. The regular Hoppy seemed a bit less in quantity, so we adjusted the concentration by adding the extra Hoppy. We each had three glasses. [Motsu (Tripe Stew)] The owner's special tripe stew is slowly cooked over 2-3 days, so it's a lucky find when available! "It's delicious, so savor each piece!" I thought they would be small, so I ordered two. The dish that came out was slightly larger than a saucer. It had a sweet miso-based seasoning with a delightful aroma. The tripe was incredibly tender and melt-in-your-mouth, and the vegetables like burdock and daikon were also soft and flavorful! The soup was so delicious that I ended up finishing it all. [Thai-Style Omelet] According to the owner, it's an omelet with fish sauce! It includes onions and tomatoes, giving it a unique twist. I forgot to mention, it's a dish from a certain region in Thailand. It's delicious on its own, but dipping it in sweet chili sauce enhances the Thai flavors even more! [Recommended Dish] - Motsu (Tripe Stew)! The owner's special tripe stew is undeniably delicious. However, after finishing the soup, I already felt quite full!? [Editor's Note] - Tabelog Score at the time of visit: 3.28 - The owner seems a bit imposing, doesn't he? - The tripe stew was great even with just one serving. It was delicious, so I'll consider it a win! - It seemed like all the customers who came later were regulars. - The Hoppy seemed a bit pricey, didn't it? [Ratings for Today] Overall: 3 Taste: 3.5 Service: 3 Atmosphere: 3 Cost Performance: 3 Drinks: 2.5 Thank you for the delicious food. Itadakimasu! Next time, it's Butter Raisin (lol). I'll be back.

◼️"Drink Stand Kojima" All drinks are 400 yen including tax, cash-on style. You can enjoy a quick drink or stay longer in this friendly master's shop! ◆Nira Tamago Salt - strong flavor, quite flavorful. Is there garlic in it? Definitely worth a repeat visit!! ◆Draft beer Asahi Super Dry - served with a wet towel instead of a coaster. ◼️The shop has in-house tax, no cover charge. Items without prices are 400 yen. Cash only. Change is returned in a basket, and the master settles the bill from the money in the basket for each order. BGM with 2 TVs playing different channels. There is one seat outside the main area with separate sound. There are also ethnic dishes like Thai cuisine, as the master's wife is Thai. The walls are lined with baskets for regular customers. ◼️It used to be a flat rate of 300 yen, but prices have gone up. Hoppy is 300 yen inside and outside, so it can be a bit more expensive, but it's a good place to consider the menu before ordering. The master is friendly and says, "Come back again!" ===========

Second visit to the small island ♥︎(｡☌ᴗ☌｡) It's still bright out, so it must be before 5:00 PM. There are no customers around. It's probably just a coincidence. I'm meeting my dad at 6:00 PM, so this is a perfect way to kill some time. Started with a classic bottled beer, some snacks, grilled pork heart with salted persimmon, and finished with a sweet potato on the rocks for a total of ¥1900. Recently, my lower back has been hurting, so this short hour was just right. The walls of the restaurant are filled with the regular customers' "My zaru" (personal sake cups). I hope to become a "My zaru" lady someday, even if it takes years to achieve that goal. I will do my best! (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و

I was curious about this standing bar and decided to have a quick drink there. I saw a post mentioning Thai or Filipino menu options, and indeed they had Chang and Singha beers available! They also had a "Thai-style omelette" as the dish of the day, but other than that, there was no Asian influence at all in this mysterious place. So, I enjoyed a Chang beer and snacked on grilled squid for 200 yen. It wasn't bad. You can enjoy everything cheaply with cash-on-delivery. Above all, the character of the master was too strong! It was a fun place!

Ikebukuro Exploration♥︎(｡☌ᴗ☌｡)〜Drinking Spot Edition〜Part 1 As I was walking towards Sunshine City, I found it - a place I love! Its name is "Kojima." The name itself exudes a no-frills, straightforward attitude. I visited around 9 PM after my visit to Sunshine City. I started with a bottle of beer, and the coaster was a cloth napkin - how cool is that! And then, I couldn't decide what to eat for the longest time, but the guy next to me recommended something special - the "Thai-style omelette." It goes really well with sweet chili sauce, a fantastic dish. I'm grateful to the young man for his recommendation. The place is run by a mama-san and a couple of young, beautiful girls. I heard there's also a master, but he doesn't stay late. There are also a few female staff members. The customers all seem friendly and the atmosphere is very cozy. It's the kind of place where you feel like saying, "I'm home!" I definitely want to become a regular here. Ikebukuro exploration - first time at a drinking spot and it's a big hit! My intuition is amazing. I'll definitely visit again. Thank you♪ So crowded and lively⁽⁽٩(๑˃̶͈̀ ᗨ ˂̶͈́)۶⁾⁾ ♥

This standing bar has been around for quite a while, maybe about 20 years. It stays open pretty late and can get quite crowded, overflowing onto the street. The storefront has a simple, old-fashioned look, but inside it's a typical standing bar. You pay in cash. The prices have gone up by about 100 yen since I last visited a long time ago, which made me feel like time had passed. A beer set costs 600 yen. Nakamata, a small dish, costs 300 yen, which is a bit on the higher side. I usually enjoy the leek and egg dish here. The leek and egg have a nice flavor on their own. The atmosphere is cozy and welcoming, with a good distance between customers. It's nice to find these kinds of places away from the hustle and bustle of the station area. But now, with the pandemic, all restaurants are struggling. I hope these long-standing places can hang in there. I just happened to stop by today while in the area, and it felt like fate. I'll definitely come back if I'm nearby again. Thank you for the meal.

[Location] 4 minutes walk from Ikebukuro Station East Exit [Date/Time] October 31, 2020, 3:40 PM, no line [Food/Price] One item for 300 yen each (excluding some items), total of about 4000 yen for two people (including tax) [Impression] A Hawaiian-style standing bar near Ikebukuro Station East Exit. It's nice that they open for daytime drinking on weekends at 12 pm and weekdays at 3 pm. Even though it's a standing bar, there are chairs at the tables outside the shop where you can sit. They offer a variety of drinks and snacks with a multicultural atmosphere, including Thai and Filipino dishes, all of which taste homemade and quite delicious. The clear pricing of 300 yen per item (excluding some) is also good.

A standing bar in Ikebukuro East Exit. A few years ago, a friend took me to this place once. This time, we decided to go back on a whim as our second stop of the night! We started with a toast at the standing bar counter. You put money in a basket and pay as you go style! Luckily, they had simmered throat fish on the menu that day! It was recommended, so I decided to try it. It had a nice texture and flavor, perfect for drinking. And it was surprisingly affordable. As we were leaving, I ran into the friend who had brought me here before (laughs). It was another surprise. It's a great standing bar.

In between gourmet tours, I stumbled upon a standing bar called "Kojima-san." The owner is the main chef, and I heard his daughter also helps out at the shop. When I went in, they told me they had just made a simmered dish, so I decided to try it and it was delicious! I had three highballs and then headed out.

I was always curious about this shop with a bright yellow sign and a somewhat run-down appearance. I visited it as the second stop after aiming for a low-key, secret goal at the Banpaiya Ikebukuro Higashi-guchi branch. I wanted to sit down, so I thought about sitting at the outdoor seats in front of the shop... but then a table right by the entrance was available! It was just before 7 pm on a weekday, and there were about 4 male customers inside, all standing at the counter. There is only one table in the store, which is an unusual shape. It seems like it can seat 3 people, but it's recommended for 2 people. Perhaps because it was early October, the door was left wide open throughout my visit. There are two TVs in the shop showing different channels. The staff consisted of a Japanese male and a foreign woman with bright pink hair (in my mind, she looked like she could be Russian, but that's just my imagination). The menu was on small strips of paper posted on the wall. Items without prices are all 400 yen (tax included), while other items have their prices listed. This system and the strips of paper are just like at "Isaan" in Jujo. I wonder if these strips are sold somewhere? Because my eyesight is poor, I couldn't see the strips at the back from my seat, so I had to keep going to check them, which must have seemed suspicious. Payment is made in cash. No table charge, appetizers, or wet towels. I toasted with a weak plum sour and a green tea highball. The dishes I ordered were: - Camembert Cheese 400 yen - Teppan Hormone Yaki (grilled offal on an iron plate) 400 yen - Salt-grilled Pork Kalbi 400 yen I planned to go to another place after this, but ended up having some tempting shochu plum wine and ginger highballs. The plum wine here is much lighter on the shochu compared to another place, so I felt safe and at ease. Just as I was about to post this review, I noticed something. Until July, all items were 300 yen, but now they are all 400 yen. Did they raise the prices by 100 yen after the October tax increase? Paying in cash can be a bit of a hassle with the exact change, but a 100 yen increase is quite something! It was a relatively cozy and laid-back atmosphere, making it a pleasant place to hang out. ...And that's it for the review. It was a delightful experience!

After leaving the liquor shop Tokiwa, the second stop was at a standing bar called Kojima, which I had wanted to visit for a while. I moved from the west exit of Ikebukuro Station to the east exit side. The shop was located on the first floor of a building in an area crowded with restaurants and men's shops. Inside the shop, everyone purchased their favorite alcohol with cash. I ordered a shochu (distilled spirit) water split with sweet potato shochu (300 yen). I decided to sit at the terrace seat as it would be more pleasant outside. Although the idea of going to a liquor shop for the second stop was ruined, as it was not a liquor shop, as long as we could enjoy drinking, it was fine. For snacks, we ordered fried leeks with eggs, fried chicken, yakisoba (fried noodles), motsu-ni (simmered pork offal), yakisoba noodles (each 300 yen), and dried squid. Everything tasted delicious when enjoyed with alcohol outside. There was a men's shop in the basement of the building across from us. The women in our group were checking the customers entering and leaving the shop attentively. If I were a customer, I would probably feel intimidated by their stern gaze and not enter the men's shop. Now, let's head to the next shop. Thank you for the meal.

I left Tokiwa and went to the next standing bar. This place offers snacks for 300 yen and drinks for 300 to 500 yen. You can sit outside the entrance, and right in front of those seats, it seems they will make you feel good for a certain price per hour. I thought this kind of place would have mostly older men, but it's different! I enjoyed people-watching while drinking. They serve simmered dishes, yakisoba, leek and egg dish, fried chicken, fried udon, and dagashi. It's cashless, so they collected 1000 yen from me here too. The alcohol is weak, and the fried chicken is probably frozen. I think they make the rest of the dishes though. The 300 yen fried chicken was a bit disappointing, only 2 pieces. I wish they would at least give 3 pieces. But it's nice to chat and have fun with everyone while drinking. It's good for enjoying a lively atmosphere. It's a bar-hopping experience, drinking and eating quickly. It was fun to watch people coming and going even before entering the shop.

After exercising at Tobu Nerima, I had a daytime drink here. It's the usual casual bar that I've been neglecting lately! It really suits us older guys, I think. (laughs) It was just before 3 PM on a Sunday, and despite that, there were two beautiful women on the terrace and one man at the back of the store, standing and drinking. However, there was a table available near the entrance, so I used it. You pay cash as you go, putting money in a basket provided, which automatically covers your bill - it's reassuring. We toasted with white Hoppy and lemon sour. The Thai-style yakitori was flavored with nam pla, with a sweet and slightly spicy sauce, similar to sweet chili. I sprinkled a lot of shichimi pepper on it - delicious, I might like this. The thinly cooked version of the nira tamago looked like a Dutch baby? It was lightly flavored, but tasty on its own. The heart-shaped stirrer didn't quite suit the old man, but it was cute. My companion, who doesn't usually drink much, drank like a manly man! Did he become stronger than me? We enjoyed adding raisin butter and gulping it down. The Dattan soba tea mixed with Hoppy after was refreshing and delicious, and it went down easily. The waitress was friendly, kind, and we had a fun time. Thank you for the meal.

I had some time to spare before my next appointment, so I stumbled upon this standing bar. When I asked if I could drink here, they said it was okay as long as it was just a little. It operates on a cash-on system, with prices ranging from 300 to 400 yen, tax included. Regular customers seem to receive some sort of keychain with their drinks. The drink menu is quite extensive. Food options range from snacks to dishes, all priced at 300 yen. It's a great place to kill time, chat, and relax.

=H31.2= It has been 2 years and 9 months since my last visit, and this time I drifted around the neighborhood starting from a cheap standing bar chain nearby and ended up at a small island at 5 pm. It was not crowded. The bill was clear, and the prices were almost all around 300 yen at this long-standing establishment. They offer a choice of 2 types of Scotch. Since I had a White Horse highball earlier, I chose a Cutty Sark highball this time. I also ordered the Thai-style omelette from today's recommended items. It seems like the owner is off today, as a fluent Japanese-speaking foreign staff member was serving us.

I visited this restaurant with a friend on a weekday night after already having a few drinks, so we decided to go easy on the alcohol. The owner's wife seemed to be Thai, as they served Singha and Chang beer along with some Thai snacks. We enjoyed simple dishes like Thai-style omelette with tomatoes, pak boong (stir-fried morning glory), and instant Pad Thai, which surprisingly turned out to be delicious. It was a great experience that matched the casual atmosphere of the standing bar with the laid-back attitude of the Thai people.