Odakyu Beacon: The Cat & Cask Tavern

Early into my trip, while browsing Metropolis I came across an article on The Cat & Cask Tavern which immediately caught my attention; as a British-style pub in Tokyo serving ji-biru I imagined a potentially interesting place to grab a few pints at. Always being one to thoroughly cross check my references before spending precious beer-money - I ran a quick search and was directed to BeerInJapan.com, a local beer-site also posting a positive article on this peculiar pub. With two inspiring reviews and some spare cash in my pocket I was all ready to get out of the apartment and onto the train to Ikebukuro.

Oddly, The Cat & Cask Tavern is located in a residential area, a setting a far cry away from where anyone would expect a bar to be. As I navigated off the main street and into the residential neighborhood, the street lights faded away and a sense of intrigue crept into my mind; though before I knew it I had arrived, standing infront of an ordinary house with only a small seal representing that this was indeed the place.
Deep breath and open the door...

Immediately upon entering all notions of this being an ordinary house were left outside; what I found inside was an absolutely charming pub!

Owned & operated by the resident of the house, Wayne - a British gentleman who came to Japan in the early 80's and has remained here - realized his life dream of owning a pub only just recently, but obviously the wait was well worth it. Beautifully dark stained wood paneling define the decor which is complimented with wooden tables and chairs. On the walls hang what you would expect to find in a British pub: various posters and mirrors of UK beers, which are decorated tastefully and sparingly to compliment the fresh stain of white painted walls. And notably there there is a coat tree, oh how very English indeed! It's the small details which create the pleasant atmosphere.

While Wayne is master of the bar, his wife, Yuko, works the kitchen and creates the food menu; also notable is Lonnie a neighbor to the pub, loyal patron, and the bar's in-house jazz musican.

The Cat & Cask offers four taps: 3 local japanese microbrews, and the fourth being a mainstream larger serving the purpose of being more affordable and palatable to some. The following is just some of the beers I have had there (i.e. those which I was able to document):