The last time I visited Japan, I made it a point to visit the Sapporo Beer Museum in Hokkaido, which I previously thought was the only beer museum in Japan. During a recent family trip, I found out that there’s another smaller museum dedicated to one of Japan’s oldest beer Yebisu, which is easily accessible by train from any point in Tokyo. There’s no admission fee to visit and you can easily just walk in without making reservations, making this a good stop for beer-lovers.

Yebisu Garden Palace

The Museum of Yebisu Beer is just one of the spots within the Yebisu Garden Palace, a commercial complex consisting of roughly a dozen buildings and skyscrapers. Unlike most of the popular shopping districts in Tokyo (like Shibuya), I found this area very pleasant and uncrowded with lots of traditional brick buildings, a cafe and bakery, and other museums in the area.

Getting here is pleasant five-minute walk from the east exit of Ebisu Station, one station south of Shibuya Station on the JR Yamanote Line. It’s connected with the station by the well marked “Yebisu Skywalk”.

The Museum of Yebisu Beer is an attraction located on the grounds of the former brewery where visitors can learn all about the rich history of Yebisu Beer. This premium brand was first brewed in Tokyo in 1890 and continues to be enjoyed by beer lovers to this day. You can find the beer served in restaurants and bars and sold in grocery stores and convenience stores around Japan like Family Mart and Lawson.

The museum itself is made up a Yebisu gallery, communication stage, tasting salon and museum shop.

Yebisu Gallery

The museum’s gallery showcases the rich history of Yebisu Beer from its origin to the present. If you’re a beer geek, you’ll enjoy reading trivia and interesting facts about the brand. Thankfully, the exhibits are presented in both Japanese and English.

The beer brand gets its name from Yebisu, the Japanese god of fishermen, good luck and working men, and also the guardian of the health of children. Considered one of the Seven Lucky Gods he’s also known as “The Laughing God.” He’s often depicted wearing a tall hat — the Kazaori Eboshi and holding a fishing rod and a large sea bass.

According to the exhibit, the fact that the train station and place were named after a beer brand is pretty rare. Because of increasing shipments, a freight station exclusive for Yebisu Beer was built on the brewery site in 1901. This was later changed to include passenger services.

The gallery also includes vintage beer advertisements and shows how bottles and labels have evolved over the years. Admittedly, the gallery section is pretty small but it’s well-curated. It will take most people an average of 20 mins to circle the main gallery.

Yebisu tour

Guided tours are currently offered in Japanese only, so I recommend English speakers just walk in to check out the exhibits and move to the tasting salon. The guided tour includes explanations from experts on the history of Yebisu Beer plus interesting tidbits about Yebisu.

The tour concludes with a tasting of 2 varieties of Yebisu on the Communication Stage, only accessible to tour participants. There’s a beautiful copper brewing kettle that was actually used at the Yebisu brewery until 1987 located right in front of the stage.

Museum shop

The museum’s souvenir shop sells some rare and original goods unavailable elsewhere. They have cool Sapporo Beer shirts, cell phone straps and chain charms, beer mugs and glasses, and beer snacks for sale. But you can easily buy canned Yebisu beer from grocery stores and convenience stores.

Tasting salon

The highlight of the Museum of Yebisu Beer is their tasting salon, where all visitors can enjoy a variety of Yebisu beer. To order, visitors have to exchange their Japanese Yen to special Yebisu coins at vending machines. The exchange rate is 400 yen = 1 Yebisu coin. I think the vending machines add a cool touch.

The tasting salon serves Yebisu Beer, Yebisu Premium Black, Kohaku Yebisu, Yebisu Stout Creamy Top, Yebisu Premium Mix and Yebisu Beer Cocktails for 1 Yebisu coin (¥400) each. Non-alcoholic beer drinks, soft drinks, finger foods, and snacks are also available.

• The Perfect Yebisu: Original beer that is matured 1.5 times longer than regular beer.
• Kohaku Yebisu: A strong tasting beer with a reddish hue and fragrant aroma of caramel from roasted malts.
• Yebisu Premium Black: A dark beer with a strong aroma and lots of body.
• Yebisu Premium Ale: Beer with an elegant fragrance that makes use of carefully selected cascade hops.
• Yebisu Meister: Brewed with 100% fine malt and expertly selected hops.
• Yebisu the Hop: A satisfying and balanced beer that makes use of expertly selected hops.
• PineMelonade Beer Cocktail: An original beer cocktail that combines Yebisu Beer with pineapple syrup and melon syrup.

They also serve appetizers and bar chow like smoked mussels and black olives, roast chicken slices, oil pickled feta cheese, four kinds of sausage, assorted smoked meats, beef jerky, three kinds of cheese, snack mix, pork putty and cracker for 1-2 Yebisu coins (¥400-800) per dish.

I ordered the Yebisu Tasting Set, which cost 2 Yebisu coins (¥800). This comes with sampler sizes of Yebisu Beer, Kohaku Yebisu and Yebisu Premium Black only served with a small portion of beer snacks.

The classic Yebisu beer is characterized by its rich and smooth taste. It’s the most drinkable or sessionable of their variants. The Kohaku Yebisu is more distinctive in terms of aroma and taste, with its amber color and rich flavor. It’s made with 100% malt. The Premium Black makes use of charcoal-roasted malt and has a very rich aftertaste.

If you like beer at all and happen to have some free time in Tokyo, visiting this museum makes for a nice afternoon activity after a day of sightseeing. I suggest you head here around 5:00 pm since they close early. Entry is 30 minutes before closing time (7:00 pm) with last orders taken at 6:30 pm.

Sapporo Beer Station

I was still feeling a bit beer-deprived after the museum visit, so I decided to have dinner at the Sapporo Beer Station within the same Yebisu Garden Complex.

The building looks a bit intimidating and expensive from the outside, but when I checked the menu, I found they serve a lot of value-for-money dishes and draft beer.

Some plastic food replica dishes are displayed with suggested beer pairings right by the entrance.

The large beer hall serves international dishes like roast lamb, schnitzel, mashed potatoes and corned beef, steak, pasta and more in the ¥1000-2000 price range.

The resto also serves several variants of Draft Premium Yebisu Beer and Sapporo Beer Black Label and local specialties like sausages.

I ordered a very filling “Genghis Khan” Mongolian Barbecue from Hokkaido’s Sapporo Beer Garden (¥ 930) and another regular glass of Yebisu Beer, and this turned out to be one of my favorite meals of our Tokyo trip.

The Sapporo Beer Station is a great place to cap your beer museum visit and socialize with friends and family, but isn’t a bad place to dine or drink even if you’re alone.

Location

• Museum of Yebisu Beer. Inside Ebisu Garden Terrace at Ebisu 4-20-1, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
• Admission fee: Free of Charge (¥800 for beer sampler)
• Yebisu Tours: ¥500 for adults (age 20 and over, includes beer tasting), ¥300 for juniors (includes soft drink), Free for elementary and school under (includes soft drink)

• How to get there: From JR Ebisu station (Yamanote, Saikyo and Shonan-Shinjuku lines) and from Ebisu subway station (Hibiya line), use “Yebisu Skywalk” covered moving walkway to go to the entrance pavilion of Yebisu Garden Palace. The museum is a three-minute walk from the pavilion.
• Open: Tuesday to Sundays: 11:00 am – 7:00 pm (last entry at 6:30 pm)
• Closed: Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a public holiday), New Year’s holiday, special holidays
• Inquiries and Reservations: Tel: 03-5423-7255
• Sapporo Beer Station restaurant hours: 11:30 am–3:00 pm, 5:00 pm–11:00 pm