Hirashima Saketen

The first time I went to Hirashima, I was pretty underwhelmed with their selection, and when I went back this week, their supply of ji-biru was even shorter. They had one cooler sparsely stocked with about a dozen or so different beers from four, maybe five different breweries (not counting the big four): Hakkaisan, Echigo, Ishigakijima, and Ozeno Yukidoke. All of the Echigo beers - they had the Stout and the Weizen - were a few months past their best by date. Everything else was either a Dunkel, a Hefe, a wit, or a pilsener. Pretty boring, but at least they have any ji-biru at all, and if you want to try a few obscure brews from faraway places like Okinawa and Gunma, by all means stop by. But beer-for-beer, I think this place actually has LESS variety than your average convenience store. Then again, it's more of a ji-zake store, and their selection of Nihonshu is very, very good but that's beside the point).

The staff is friendly, but not as helpful as they are at Hiromatsu or DeLi. Their specialty is sake, not beer, so they don't offer much assistance in that department.

Hirashima is worth a look if you're in the area, but if not, don't go out of your way. Try the Isetan in Kokura or Hiromatsu in Kurosaki for a more exciting selection.