I know of three (premium) sake bars in Kyoto: Nihonshu Bar Asakura, Jizake Bar Zen, Sake Bar Yoramu. How about you?
I highly recommend Nihonshu Bar Asakura and Jizake Bar Zen, and highly don’t recommend Sake Bar Yoramu.
Asakura 日本酒BARあさくら (full name: Nihonshu Bar Asakura)
ENGLISH SPOKEN! FRIENDLY OWNER! SOLID SAKE SELECTION!
The owner speaks English very well and lavishes attention on foreign customer to assure that they have a wonderful sake experience in Kyoto. Asakura has a broad and varied collection of premium sake, including very rare aged sake. (We had 21 and 23 year old aged sake — sake is usually drunk fresh, within 6 months to a year.)
location: Asakura is just south of the Kiyamachi Street and Oike Street intersection in the Kiyamachi neighborhood near the Kamo River. Walking south from the intersection, take the first street left. Up the little lane you will notice a large red wooden sculpture of a sake carafe (tokkuri) — this landmark is NOT Asakura. Walk just past the red tokkuri and on the right will be the steps of nondescript building. Take this flight of stairs to the second floor. Asakura is on the right, immediately at the top of the stairs.
hours: 7:00 pm – 2:00 am (Closed Tuesday and ‘sometimes’ on Sunday and Monday. Call first to be sure.)
Asakura only seats 11 people, so you might want to call about seating too.
OpenKyoto article: https://openkyoto.com/dining/sake-bar-asakura.html
website: http://ameblo.jp/sakebar/ (no English)
tel: 075-212-4417
address: Kyoto-shi, Nakagyo-ku, Kiyamachi Oike-sagaru, Hitosujime Higashi-iru, Daikyu Building 2F (京都市中京区木屋町御池下がる一筋目東入る大久ビル2F)
map: Nihonshu Bar Asakura@KyotoFoodie/OpenKyoto Map
Jizake Bar Zen 地酒BAR 膳 Jizake (Local Sake) Bar Zen
Excellent jizake (local sake) selection. Jizake literally means local sake or regional sake, but you can think of it as artisan or craft sake too. Jizake Bar Zen is located in exclusive Gion nightlife district and is run by an interesting character nick-named Punch. Previously Punch was a truck driver and has a ‘punch perm’ like yakuza often sport in Japan.
location: Near subway Oike Station. From the Sanjo-Karasuma intersection walk west on Sanjo Street to Muromachi Street, the first street on the left. Look for the ugly building on the south-west corner. Most of the buildings in the neighborhood are ugly, but they are short and ugly, not 5 stories tall.
hours: (approx) 6 pm – 12 mid-night, or later. Closed ‘sometimes’.
website: http://www9.plala.or.jp/zizakebar/ (no English)
map: http://www9.plala.or.jp/zizakebar/sub-1.html (no English)
Punch’s Punch Perm (blog article) http://zizake-wataribune-50-1950.blog.eonet.jp/default/2009/07/post-4d28.html
tel: 075- 241-4007 (no English) mobile: 090-3494-7214 (no English)
address: Kyoto-shi, Nakagyo-ku, Muromachi-dori Sanjo Nishi-iru, Koromonotana-cho 61-1 Mikasa Bldg 5F (京都市中京区室町通三条西入衣棚町61-1 三笠ビル5F)
map: Jizake Bar Zen@KyotoFoodie/OpenKyoto Map
Sake Bar Yoramu 酒バー よらむ
The owner is an Israeli resident of Kyoto who loves sake. In 2000 he has made his ‘ideal’ bar, where you can try several good quality sake by small portions with just right kind and amount of food. Eight people can sit at the counter and there is a small table for 2 or 3 people. Yoramu only serves ‘junmai’ sake, or pure rice sake without added brewers alcohol. (This is the only kind of sake that should be made in my opinion.)
This same space is a soba noodle restaurant during the daytime, run by a different person.
location: “Sake Bar YORAMU is on Nijo-dori, south of the Imperial Palace Park (Gosho).
The cross street is Higashinotoin-dori, which is two streets east of Karasuma.
The closest subway stop is KARASUMA-OIKE (#1 exit).
Turn left upon emerging from the subway exit, and keep going past the first cross street (Oshikoji).
Turn right at the next street, which is Nijo-dori.
Go past the first cross street, and Sake Bar YORAMU will be the third building on your right.
Slightly further but also less than a ten-minute walk away
is the subway’s MARUTAMACHI station.” (source: Yoramu website)
hours: 6 pm – 12 mid-night. Closed on Sunday, Monday and Tuesdays.
website: http://www.sakebar-yoramu.com/index_eng.html
map: http://www.sakebar-yoramu.com/access_eng.html
tel: 075-213-1512
address: Kyoto-shi, Nakagyo-ku, Nijo-dori, Higashinotoin-sagaru, Minamigawa (京都市中京区二条通東洞院東入る南側)
Our experience at Yoramu:
Yoramu is quite small and only seats 8 or 9 people at the counter which was full when we arrived. We were offered a little table and told the clear the magazines, a fan and so on off ourselves. We had to hunt around for some little stools — all self-service. Then, Yoramu told us that he was busy and that we should wait a bit before ordering. THEN, he noticed that the door hadn’t closed after we came in and asked us to go and close it! DUDE! No way!
Yoramu only serves premium sake so it is not going to be cheap. That kind of service is unacceptable — anywhere, least of all Kyoto, Japan. I would love to recommend and support a fellow foreigner running a business in Kyoto, but with this kind of service, I would have to say to give Yoramu a miss. Too bad.
