6 Beer Factories and Museum Easily Reachable from Tokyo
At these beer factories, you can not only watch the production of delicious beer, but also taste freshly brewed beer as well! You can enjoy them with just 1-2 hours of free time, so they're great as sightseeing spots with your family or significant other. Here are 6 that are easily accessible from Tokyo.
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1. Suntory Musashino Beer Factory [Tokyo]
At Suntory Musashino Beer Factory, you can enjoy a tour of the beer brewery and try The Premium Malts.
After the tour of the production factory, you can check out the packaging process from filling up cans and kegs to boxing.
After you finish the tour, you can try freshly brewed The Premium Malts. After the tour and the beer tasting, you can take a photo with a Malts panel and buy original goods that can only be found here in the shop. It takes about 70 minutes, and is free.
[About Suntory Musashino Beer Factory]
Opening Hours: 9:30-17:00
Closed: End of the year holiday, when the factory is closed (including special holidays)
Price/fee: Free
Access: 10 minutes by shuttle bus from Bubaigawara Station, 15 minute walk from Fuchu Honmachi Station
Address: Yazakicho 3-1, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo (Google Map)
HP: www.suntory.co.jp/factory/musashino/ (Japanese Only)
2. Yebisu Beer Museum [Tokyo]
Yebisu Beer Kinenkan is a place where you can have a tour and a tasting for 500 yen. You can also learn about the secrets behind the creation of Yebisu Beer and the history presented in the Yebisu Gallery.
Yebisu experts will guide you around the brewing machines. You can learn how Yebisu is made by seeing the factory sights that are normally unseen.
After the tour, you can taste fresh Yebisu Beer or Kohaku Yebisu Beer. There's also a shop so you can buy souvenirs. This factory tour is recommended for date nights.
[About Yebisu Beer Museum]
Opening Hours: 11:00-19:00
Closed: Mondays, end of the year holidays, special holidays
Price/fee: Starting at 500 yen
Access: 5 minute walk from Ebisu Station
Address: Inside Ebisu Garden Place, Ebisu 4-20-1, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (Google Map)
HP: www.sapporobeer.jp/brewery/y_museum/access/index.html(Japanese Only)
3. Kirin Beer Yokohama Factory [Kanagawa]
At the Kirin Beer Yokohama Factory, they have various 80 minute tours, including one of the secrets behind the deliciousness of Ichiban Shibori, one focusing on the blessings of nature, or a family tour.
You'll learn all about the production processes and the secrets behind the deliciousness of Kirin Ichiban Shibori through the tour and the guide's explanation.
After you take the tour, you can taste the difference between barley juice that's filtered once and filtered twice as well the actual barley wheat. On the tour about the blessings of nature, you can walk around the garden and a biotope while learning about the history of Kirin Beer.
[About Kirin Beer Yokohama Factory]
Opening Hours: 10:00-17:00
Closed: Mondays (if it's a holiday then it's open and will be closed the next weekday instead)
Price/fee: Free
Access: 10 minute walk from Namamugi Station and 20 minutes from Shin-Koyasu Station
Address: Namamugi 1-17-1, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa (Google Map)
HP: www.kirin.co.jp/entertainment/factory/yokohama/access/(Japanese Only)
4. Asahi Beer Kanagawa Factory [Kanagawa]
At the Asahi Beer Kanagawa Factory, you can enjoy a 90 minute tour of the production factory and taste freshly brewed beer.
During the tour you can learn about Asahi Beer's initiatives through a video, and you can also see the preparation and filtering rooms as well as the fermentation and bottling/canning processes. You can also see a 360° angle video of the production line as well as a model of the huge wings of the windmill used for wind power generation as well as the quality control room.
After you finish the tour, in the guest hall you can taste freshly brewed Asahi Beer. You can try Super Dry, Super Dry Black, and Dry Premium. After you finish the tasting you can buy novelty goods and souvenirs at the shop and take a walk around the bio-garden. It's a great place to spend time with your family or significant other.
[About Asahi Beer Kanagawa Factory]
Opening Hours: 9:00-17:00
Closed: End of the year holidays
Price/fee: Free
Access: 20 minutes by bus or 15 minutes by taxi from Shin-Matsuda Station or 10 minutes by bus from Daiyuzan Station
Address: 1223 Nuda, Minamiashigara-shi, Kanagawa
HP: www.asahibeer.co.jp/brewery/kanagawa/(Japanese Only)
5. Roti's House [Chiba]
At Roti's House, you can tour the brewery and enjoy a beer tasting of local Maihama beer.
At the Harvest Moon brewery, you can learn about the production process from a master certified by the Japanese Beer Association. You can also see the brewing process up close for a precious experience.
After the tour, you can enjoy tasting Harvest Moon beer at Roti's House. After the tasting, you can enjoy beer and rotisserie meals that go perfectly with the drinks. This is a popular area where you can enjoy not just beer but delicious meals too.
[About Roti's House]
Opening Hours: 11:00-23:00
Closed: Never
Access: 1 minute from Maihama Station
Address: Ikispiari 4F, Maihama 1-4, Urayasu-shi, Chiba (Google Map)
HP: www.ikspiari.co.jp/harvestmoon/rotishouse/index.html(Japanese Only)
6. Sapporo Beer Chiba Factory [Chiba]
You can enjoy a Black Label tour at the Sapporo Beer Chiba Factory for 500 yen. You can hear all about the great attention to detail used in the ingredients and production process for Black Label, tour the factory, and try freshly brewed Black Label beer afterwards.
You'll be able to enjoy the beer production process and facilities up close and it will deepen your understanding of beer.
After the tour, you can taste freshly brewed Black Label as well as check out panels detailing the history of Black Label and watch commercials. There is also a shop where you can buy Black Label goods that can only be found here.
[About Sapporo Beer Chiba Factory]
Opening Hours: 10:00-17:00
Closed: Mondays, end of the year holidays, special holidays
Price/fee: 500 - 1,300 yen
Access: 15 minutes by taxi or shuttle bus from Tsudanuma Station, 5 minutes by taxi from Shin-Narashino Station
Address: Takasecho 2, Funabashi-shi, Chiba (Google Map)
HP: www.sapporobeer.jp/brewery/chiba/(Japanese Only)
These 6 beer breweries are accessible from Tokyo, and all of them are either free or very reasonably priced for tours and tastings. They also have shops selling original goods and you can go with children, so please try to visit them if you can!
The information in this article is accurate at the time of publication.
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