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Yamagata City, the castle town of Kasumi Castle (Yamagata Castle), known for Yamadera Temple (Risshakuji Temple) and the Yamagata Hanagasa Festival held every summer, is home to many popular bars, including stand-up bars
In this article, we will introduce five of our most recommended restaurants
Yamagata City is home to a variety of establishments, from standing bars to pubs, and many of them offer a wide selection of sake, including some where you can enjoy local sake at reasonable prices, such as the nationally popular Yamagata sake Juyondai
Autumn is the season for Yamagata's famous "imoni" (simmered sweet potato), so why not try some "senbero" (cheap drinking) while savoring some imoni?
What is the definition of "senbero"?
Originally, the term referred to a bar where you could get completely drunk for 1,000 yen, but now it has a stronger meaning of a bar where you can have some snacks and two or three drinks for 1,000 yen
In this article, we have defined the criteria for certifying a bar as a "senbero" bar as follows:
You can order two drinks (any type and amount) and one snack in addition to the appetizer for under 1,000 yen
There are set prices of less than 1,000 yen, such as "Senbero Set"
Family restaurants where you can enjoy "senbero" (cheap drinking) are excluded from the scope of this rule
Please note that we also introduce sets under 1,500 yen as "high-end senbero," but we hope you will forgive us for this
Unless otherwise specified, prices in the article include tax and are current as of the end of September 2023
Standing bar Yen
Located just a 2-minute walk from Yamagata Station, where many izakayas are lined up, this standing bar offers Mokkiri, a local Yamagata sake, for 550 yen.If you tell them your preferences, they will help you choose a local sake that suits you
Appetizers are also reasonably priced, with potato salad and ham cutlet costing 300 yen, whale bacon and grilled squid guts for 630 yen, and seasonal mountain vegetable tempura and Yamagata specialty taro stew for around 500 yen .
You can opt to skip the 220 yen appetizer, but depending on the season, you may be served rare dishes such as "Oka Hijiki," a seaweed unique to Yamagata, so it may actually be better value to think of it as being able to enjoy a delicacy for 220 yen
It's a standing bar so it's not suitable for long stays, but it is a "senbero bar" where you can enjoy local sake while enjoying once-in-a-lifetime encounters with other customers at the counter
Standing bar Yen ＜Information＞
Store name: Standing bar Yen
Address: 1-6-1 Kasumicho, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture
This is also a standing bar located in the downtown area , about a 3-minute walk from the east exit of Yamagata Station. It is a slightly unusual establishment, with a large amount of shelled peanuts as an appetizer and a large number of LP records and jackets displayed inside the store.
As the name of the restaurant suggests, they mainly serve grilled pork skewers, with grilled skewers starting from 180 yen, and the classic vegetable-wrapped skewers, made with pork, costing 280 yen. If you order the chef's choice platter, the price per skewer will be slightly cheaper
Our recommended drinks are the various highballs , which they boast are "the best in Yamagata!" and can be enjoyed at reasonable prices, with a Kaku highball costing 450 yen and a Torys highball costing 300 yen.
There are also great value set menus, where you can choose from the popular minced meat cutlet, fried liver, or stewed beef tendon with a glass of highball. The Kaku Highball set is 950 yen, and the Torys set is 800 yen .
Standing bar Manekiton ＜Information＞
Store name: Standing bar Manekiton
Address: 2-5-1 Kasumicho, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture
Kigaruni Taisyu Sakaba is a popular bar located in front of Yamagata Station, where there are many izakayas, and it specializes in ``Yamagata Chicken Shumai.'' The name ``Yamagata'' comes from its shape and the fact that it is a Yamagata shumai.
The chicken shumai, priced at 99 yen each, is juicy and the juices overflow into your mouth when you bite into it. Other popular items include the unusual shumai (5 for 682 yen) and pork seiro (836 yen).
Drinks are generally in the 500 yen range, but what we would like to recommend to "senbero" lovers is the self-service all-you-can-drink highballs and lemon sours for 550 yen per hour.
This is a great pub where, when you add five chicken shumai, the price is almost the same as "senbero" (cheap drinking)
Kigaruni Taishū Sakaba ＜Information＞
Store name: Kigaruni Taishū Sakaba
Address: 2F, 1-1-1 Kasumicho, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture
When it comes to Yamagata's famous B-grade gourmet food, many people probably think of "dondonyaki."
"Dondonyaki" is a type of okonomiyaki that is made by placing ingredients such as nori seaweed, green laver, and fish sausage on wheat dough, grilling it, and then wrapping it around chopsticks and coating it with sauce
This restaurant is located near the west exit of Yamagata Station, near Kasumi Castle Park, the ruins of Yamagata Castle, and is a dondonyaki specialty restaurant with an eat-in area inside the store during the day.
, it transforms into a pub where you can enjoy "senbero" (cheap tasting drinks), with dondonyaki and draft beer.
From Oyatsuya Sakaba's official Facebook page
The recommended evening drink set includes two mugs (draft beer, highball, or sour), meat and tofu, and two small side dishes of your choice for 1,300 yen, and even if you add dondonyaki (starting from 280 yen), it still comes in under the "2 Senbero" price .
Oyatsuya Sakaba ＜Information＞
Store name: Oyatsuyasan Sakaba
Address: Bellcity Kasumi Castle, 2-6-16 Jonancho, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture
Phone number: 023-646-1344
Business hours: Sunday and Monday 9:30-19:00, Tuesday-Saturday 9:30-21:30
Finally, we will introduce liquor stores that offer "Kakuuchi" (drinking at a counter) service, where you can enjoy local sake at a "senbero" price, although the atmosphere is slightly different from that of "Senbero Sakaba."
Located between the west exit of Yamagata Station and Kasumigaoka Park, this 106-year-old liquor store offers local sake and wine from around Japan in a corner bar .
Alcohol and wine are priced from 200 yen per glass, and snacks start from 100 yen, so you can casually drop in during the day and enjoy some "senbero" (cheap drinking)
Not only local residents, but many tourists also use the bar to take a break from sightseeing in Yamagata city or to sample local sake before choosing a souvenir, and reservations can be made in advance when there is less waiting time for the Shinkansen.
Kanamori Liquor Store＜Information＞
Store name: Kanamori Liquor Store
Address: 1-9-10 Jonancho, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture
Phone number: 023-647-2484
Business hours: Monday to Saturday 10:00-19:00, Sunday 10:00-18:00
Recently in Yamagata City, the number of "senbero" bars has been increasing in the downtown area in front of the east exit of Yamagata Station
In addition to the items introduced here, there are many other canned goods lined up inside the store, and there is also a canned food bar where you can enjoy "senbero" with these snacks, and it is fast becoming one of the leading "senbero" towns in Tohoku
All of these places are within walking distance of Yamagata Station, so why not try some bar hopping?
I'm a former Edokko man who loves Morioka and the six Tohoku prefectures, and I also love history, food, travel, sports, alcohol, and singing. I'll be introducing you to the interesting, delicious, and great things about Tohoku!
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