When you think of Japanese beer, brands like Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo and Suntory immediately come to mind. You can order these beers easily from any restaurant in Japan, find them in convenience stores, or even purchase them directly from vending machines.
These days, the craft brewing culture is very much alive in Japan. Tokyo is home to many small breweries and micropubs, so it can be overwhelming to decide where and what to drink.
The last time I was in Tokyo in 2019, I checked out the Museum of Yebisu Beer and Sapporo Beer Station (which was closed for renovations as of June 2023). On our recent trip, Art and I did some beer hunting around a few Tokyo bars in between museum visits and sightseeing.
We managed to find some craft beer at supermarkets, select convenience stores, and souvenir shops like Don Quijote. The most common craft beers we spotted included Yona Yona Pale Ale (American Pale Ale), Suiyoubi no Neko (Wheat Beer) and Aooni (American IPA style beer) by Yo-Ho Brewing Company.
PRICE: Beer from convenience stores and groceries usually cost around ¥250 to ¥400 per can. Mainstream beers like Asahi and Kirin are usually cheaper at around ¥185 in supermarkets and around ¥240 from vending machines.
There were some other other interesting Japanese beers we tried like Rokko Beer’s Hazy Session IPA, Kamakura Samurai Beer IPA by Kamakura Beer co., Biere de Rydeen and Raiden Kanuki IPA by Oh! La! Ho Brewery, which had cool can art.
Here are some of the beer highlights from our recent Tokyo trip.
Baird Beer Harajuku Taproom
Lonely Planet’s Global Beer Tour Book, a guide to the beer tasting at the world’s best breweries, describes Baird Brewing Company as the “granddaddy of American-style craft beer in Japan.”
From a 30L brewhouse in a fish market, Baird Beer has become one of Japan’s most well-known craft breweries. Its distinctive labels and beers like Rising Sun Pale Ale and Suruga Imperial Pale Ale can now be found in pubs and bars worldwide.
Beer enthusiasts can pay homage the well-loved Japanese brand at their Harajuku Taproom, a traditional wood-lined izakaya pub that dishes out delicious yakitori (like skewered scallops, mushrooms, chicken skin and beef) along with core beers and seasonal specials.
One of their most distinctive beers is the Wabi-Sabi Japan Pale Ale, which is infused with Japanese wasabi and green tea. During our visit, new seasonal beers included Hop Havoc Imperial Pale Ale and Cool Breeze Pils.
PRICE: Regular 250 ml glasses of beer cost ¥600 while the 500 ml glasses cost ¥1,100 each. Sampler sets of 3 beers in tasting glasses costs ¥1,100
Asahi Beer Tower and Asahi Beer Hall
While staying in Asakusa, we took a leisurely walk along the Sumida River to visit a couple of famous beer-shaped buildings. From the other side of the river, you can get a great view of the famous Tokyo Skytree, the tallest structure in Tokyo, as well as iconic buildings of Asahi that actually look like beer.
The tall golden building that looks like a beer pint made of LEGO blocks is the Asahi Beer Tower. From afar, you can see the top of is lined with white, like foam on top of a glass. The Asahi Beer Tower has four restaurants located on the 21st and 22nd floor where diners can enjoy stunning vistas over the city. This includes Restaurant Alaska for French fine dining; Mochizuki, a traditional Japanese restaurant with multi-course meals; stylish Italian restaurant La Ranarita; and the the Asahi Sky Room, a cafe lounge for beer and cocktails.
Right next to the Asahi Beer Tower is the Asahi Beer Hall, a smaller black building shaped like a beer mug topped with a golden sculpture known as Flamme de ‘Or (French for Golden Flame). According to Asahi Breweries the flame designed by French designer and architect Philippe Starck completed in 1989 represents “the burning heart of Asahi Beer”.
Originally the flame was supposed to stand upright, but due to complaints that the structure would block the view from other buildings, it was put on its side instead. Because of its unusual shape, locals have reportedly dubbed it “the golden turd” or the “poo building.” The sculpture has also been likened to a tadpole, a whale, or a blob of mustard.
While the dining options at the Asahi Beer Tower are more formal, the Asahi Beer Hall serves casual food like sausage, kushiyaki style chicken kebabs, scallop pie, beer steamed mussels, that you can pair along with your beers.
Tokyo Sumidagawa Brewing
The Asahi Annex right next to the two main Asahi Buildings contains Tokyo Sumidagawa Brewing, a cozy brewery that specializes in craft beer and gourmet smoked meats. This is managed by Super Dry, one of the subsidiaries of the beer maker Asahi Beer.
The bar serves four regular varieties of beer: a German style weizen or wheat beer, an aromatic kolsch, an American style pale ale, and a bitter stout. Taster sets are available so diners can get a beer set of 4. We tried the Weizen and the Asahi Nama Beer paired with a smoked food assortment of shrimp, chicken, mackerel, and pickles.
The first floor of the building is a casual bar area with a view of the brewing tanks, while the main restaurant is located on the second floor. Aside from beer, the bar serves beer pairing dishes like sirloin steak, roast chicken, assorted charcuterie, German style sausages, craft beer steamed mussels, and more.
This is a classy and quiet spot for afternoon drinking if you want to take a break from all the walking.
PRICE: Draft beers cost ¥700 to ¥1,050 a mug each, while the beer set of four costs ¥1,880.
Hoppy Street (Nikomi Dori)
We stayed a couple of nights in the Asakusa area just walking distance from Hoppy Street, a famous street where you can enjoy Tokyo’s downtown nightlife. This narrow street near Sensoji Temple is lined with cheap old-fashioned taverns with outdoor side-seating known locally as izakaya. The whole area offers a festive atmosphere to drink at night though it can get crowded with locals and foreign tourists
Most izakayas serve alcoholic drinks and cheap street food like yakitori and stew. In fact, the street is also known as Nikomi Dori or “Stew Street” because many spots serve nikomi, a kind of cheap stew made from beef tendons and vegetables.
Hoppy Street is named after the Hoppy drink, a cheap almost non-alcoholic beer that’s been around since 1948. While the old-school bottles look similar and the drink itself tastes like beer, Hoppy has a very low alcohol content of 0.8%.
According to local travel guides, “Hoppy mixed with shochu (a much stronger distilled alcoholic beverage) is seen as a nostalgic drink and a part of local culture.” Hoppy is also used as a mixer for other cocktails with sake. It comes in two varieties: White Hoppy (which has a lighter flavor) and Black Hoppy.
We had this with a great meal of teppanyaki and grilled scallops at Shiraiwa, in an arcade area in Asakusa near Hoppy Street. The restaurant also serves okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and lots of other appetizers. This was one of the best meals we had in Asakusa and we ended up going to the same restaurant the next day to try their other dishes on the menu.
PRICE: Hoppy is priced from ¥550 to ¥700 per bottle, with additional mixers as add-ons. Most restaurants along Hoppy Street require diners to order a minimum of 1 drink and 1 food dish per person while dining in. Some izakayas also have a table charge.
Shitamachi Highball Festival
While walking around Ueno Park during our last full day in Tokyo, we chanced upon a local festival featuring different Japanese alcoholic drinks and street food along with stage performances.
The Shitamachi Highball Festival held last June 23-25 had stalls serving highball, sake, shochu, whisky, and craft beer. Highballs are a popular alcoholic drink in Japan, made of a base spirit (often whiskey) and a non-alcoholic mixer like carbonated drinks.
There were a few craft beer stalls including Tokyo Craft Beer (Beer Medel Tokyo), Black Tide Brewing, Zumona, and more.
We tried a few including the taster set from Tokyo Craft Beer which had Pale Ale, Honey Ale, and Peach Ale. One of our favorites were beers from Vector Brewing, which had cute cat-themed beer labels and names including Wheat Neko Punch, Back the Classics, and Tomcat Hazy IPA (highly recommended!).
PRICE: Beer at the highball festival were priced at around ¥600 to ¥1,500 depending on the size, while tasting sets of 4 cost ¥1,400.
Since we didn’t have time to visit other bars, this was a great introduction to some of the newer craft breweries and other alcoholic drinks. I look forward to hunting down more breweries and taprooms the next time we visit Tokyo.