October 19, 2008 [ Updated March 20, 2009 ]
what can you say that hasn’t been said before? great selection, although more of a focus on higher alcohol brews, particularly from the US. good prices and you will always find something surprising. If you’re spending an extended period in japan then this is the place to get hold of your beer. I would like a few more german and english beers, but this is a small quibble. enjoy...

July 25, 2008 [ Updated May 12, 2009 ]
Best bottled beer selection for a store in Japan, as far as I know. Great selection of American Micros and Belgians, at reasonable prices; many things I have seen no where else in this country, and some I have never found anywhere (Bush Prestige!?). About 40-50 Japanese micros as well (yes, the supermarket cooler is rather uncool). Just a few meters from the Mejiro station, so it’s a good place to stock up before heading home, wherever that is. The staff is getting better, maybe, but still can be unhelpful. Have had to beg for bubble wrapping most times. Still, I head here whenever I’m in this huge ugly city.

June 1, 2008 [ Updated November 19, 2009 ]

April 7, 2008
A truly outstanding store: 500 beers, about 90% of them foreign. All in coolers with cedar lining. Gorgeous method of display. The staff tries, but barely speaks english. About 400 high-end sakes, if you’re into that (which I am). They have Dogfish Fort, Utopias at about $160/bottle, Cantillon vintage lambics stored on their sides, a Traquair Jacobite (!) for $6, and rare scottish brews like Ossian and Inveralmond Sunset. They carry the Baird line plus about 30 other rare Japanese micros. No sapporo, asahi or macro stuff. brbr Don’t get lost - take the JR Yamanote line to Mejiro. Once you emerge, the store is on Shin-Ome-Kaido Ave. to your left (West) on the South side exactly 75 paces from the exit to Mejiro Station. It is in a basement, so it’s easy to miss the sign and the stairs down. Remember: 75 paces from the exit of Mejiro.

February 19, 2008
I had really high hopes for Tanakaya. In fact I intentionally went there at the end of my trip, figuring it would be the go-to store for major bottle shopping before returning to the US. I won’t say it was disappointing, but as others have noted it was really lacking in the local craft selection department. And I mean REALLY lacking. There was probably no more than 20 Japanese craft beers total. And this is a world-class beer store? Sure they had a lot of cool stuff from Belgium and the states, but many of their other selections from Germany & the UK were sub-par based on my travels elsewhere in the world. I suppose if you live there it’s pretty awesome, but as a traveler it was just pretty good. I will say that they take tremendous care in their storage. This place is more about scotch & sake. One thing I found odd (humorous) was that they had Baird beers in the US micro section, not in the local Japanese section. While Brian Baird is a white guy from the states, he lives, brews, and operates his pub in a small town in Japan. Racial profiling in a beer set? C’mon guys.

August 30, 2007
Check out my article for pics and comments about this well-stocked liquor store: http://www.ratebeer.com/Beer-News/Article-687.htm

June 18, 2007
Wow, what a great store. You would never know Japan has serious beers from the ratings, but I think this store shows we need more Japanese rate beer members from Tokyo. Some 4-7 yr old Japanese barley wines. No english (that`s OK, I speak a little Nihongo). Lot of Cantillion, 5 Alesmiths (at >$20 bottle). I bought an Abbey des Rocs Brune, Lindemans Tea Beer, and a 2003 Gales Prize Olde Ale. Gales went out of business in March 2006, so it was cool to get this one.

May 7, 2007
This place is amazing. Really nice interior--it felt more like a museum or art gallery, not a liquor store. A huge selection of beers from all over that were (for the most part) reasonably priced. More Belgian than Japanese beer. There is also a large selection of wine and different types of liquor. I was overwhelmed by the selection, and had a difficult time making up my mind. There were many obscure beers there that I had never actually seen "in person" (including Vintage Gulden Draak). If you are anywhere near Tokyo, you must spend some time here!

March 18, 2007 [ Updated December 9, 2007 ]
Beautiful wall to wall ceder colored wood and temperature controlled storage areas for there beer and wine. Certainly a class act of a liquor store. Out of the approximately 400 beers present there may have been 10 macros all together. A decent amount of Japanese micros and a ton of assorted beers from around the world. Pricing was a bit erratic as can be expected. Where some things had a decent markup (even for Japan) there were certainly deals to be found especially amongst the Belgians. Out side of the beer they also boast a rather large collection of wines, single malt scotches and bourbons, as well as boutique rums and other assorted spirits. Worth going into even if you will not be in the area long, you never know what you will find.

February 3, 2007
Absolutly beautiful store. The beer selection is very nice. Many belgians and a good sslection of American micros as well. I was hoping for more Japanese micros than they had, but It’s still the best I’ve seen so far. The wine and liquor stock is very nice as well. Many scotches available. Had a nice glassware selection as well. The best place I’ve seen in Tokyo, will be spending too much time and money there I’m sure, ha.