Tokyo’s Best Craft Beer Bars
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In Tokyo for a few days or moving to Tokyo? This is Beer in Japan’s selection of the best bars to hit, chosen for their variety of fantastic craft beers. None of the bars have paid or requested to be included here – these are my choices for the places I’d hit on a short trip to Tokyo. These bars are not you typical “foreign” bars – go to these places expecting good beer, not for “action”.
Be sure to check out the Tokyo Beer Map to get an idea of where these are located on the Metro/JR, and also to find other bars in the area you might be staying. Also check Boozelist for an idea of the current beers on tap and Jourdan for planning your route.
All the bars listed here are smoke-free (except Ushi Tora which is partially smoke-free).
Hops Heart
If there’s one bar you shouldn’t miss it’s Popeye. With between 50-70 beers on tap, you’ll find a consistent range of Japanese and Import beers – IPAs, porters, weizen, pale ale, brown ale, etc. They also have hand pumped beers and a unique “Hops Heart” where they’ll serve two small glasses of one beer, each one poured through different hops. It’s sometimes possible to find the same beer on CO2 draught, hand pumped, and through Hops Heart – four different ways of drinking the same beer!
Popeye closed Sunday, so plan accordingly. It may seem like a hassle to get to being out in the east, but it’s worth it.
Visit the Popeye website for a coupon (usually 50% off half a pint). If you’re there between 5 and 8pm, every beer you order with a “crown” next to it on the menu gets you a free small plate of food – and you can order as much as you like. If you’re going to be visiting Popeye more than once, sign up for their free membership card and you get a 3% discount from your 2nd visit.
Make sure you say 'Awa chotto' in Ushi Tora otherwise this is how your beer might come out
Five minutes from Shibuya by train in Shimokitazawa, Ushi Tora was – to me – nothing special until they opened up a second bar in the same building. Now between the two bars there’s 30+ beers on tap – the second largest range behind Popeye.
The setup is a bit weird – each bar has about 15 beers each and you can’t take beers between the two bars. The old bar is larger and allows smoking – the new bar is a non-smoking standing bar. Unless there’s a particular beer I really want, I tend to stay in the new bar – it has a really friendly informal atmosphere, and it’s often possible to get talking to the other punters – mostly Japanese – drinking there.
The old bar is open every day, but the new bar is closed Monday so it’s better to hit this bar on a day other than Monday. Beware that this is one of the most expensive places to drink in Tokyo at upto 1600yen a pint – Popeye is a little cheaper, but if you get to Popeye at happy hour or use the coupon, you can offset the cost slightly.
Just a few minutes walk from Ushi Tora is Bar Rock – a great quiet little bar which has about 6 beers on tap and a great range of bottles. If you have time, check out Beer Rock also (I always eat at Beer Rock rather than Ushi Tora).
The taps at The Aldgate
In the heart of Shibuya, a few minutes from HMV, The Aldgate has been one of my favourite bars since moving to Tokyo. No smoking with 19 beers on tap and free WIFI. Japanese and British beers are usually around the 950-1100 yen mark, with Nagano Trading’s American imports like Stone and Green Flash going up to 1500 yen. Their Cornish Pastie remains one of my favourite bar meals in Tokyo.
The Aldgate is a great place to visit on it’s own, but it also makes a good pre or post Ushi Tora visit since you’ll probably be passing through Shibuya anyway to get to Ushi Tora.
Inside Dry Dock, Shimbashi
Dry Dock is one of my favourite little bars. It only has a few guest beers so you’re more relying on luck here than you are at other places – but sometimes it has some crackers, and at reasonable prices. The beers are also in excellent condition – though you may have to ask them for a small head. If you’re going, it’s worth phoning in advance and reserving a table upstairs – it’s 500 yen per head, but you feel so luxurious when everyone is standing downstairs! Closed on Sundays and the third Wednesday of the month.
5. The Cat & Cask Tavern, Kanamecho
The Cat and Cask Tavern at night
Hidden in streets of Japanese residential area, it’s unlikely anyone who doesn’t live in the area would stumble upon The Cat and Cask Tavern by accident. Popeye and Ushi Tora may be the places to go for a large range of exotic beer – to sample what’s new and what’s unusual – but the Cat and Cask Tavern is the place I go to when I just want a good quality pint of Japanese craft beer. While there’s only 3-4 taps, they are well chosen and in good condition, and it’s very rare there’s not something I like. Maybe I just have the same beer taste as the owner Wayne?
A small friendly bar, it’s one stop from Ikebukuro. There are direct trains also from Shibuya. Just make sure you print a map beforehand, because this bar really is hidden! Closed Wednesdays and the third Sunday of the month.
6. Not a bar, but… Special mention: Tanakaya, Mejiro
Inside Tanakaya
Google Map here. SunnyPages listing here.
Tanakaya isn’t a bar – it’s an off-license/liquor store, but what a store it is. Fridge after fridge of hard to find imported bottled beer – if there’s something you really want to drink, the chances are it’ll be here if it has been recently imported to Japan. There’s also a fair selection of Japanese craft beer too. Grab some beers here, take them to a park (or home with you), and enjoy them.
Tanakaya is closed Sundays. It’s in the basement next to McDonald’s on the main street, just a minute’s walk from the JR station.
Honourable mentions:
Beer Rock – Mentioned above in the Ushi Tora section, Beer Rock is the kind of bar I’d love as a local. With 7-8 beers on tap at about 1000 yen a pint and an excellent selection of bottles, it’s a quite place to enjoy a few beers (except Saturday nights when there’s an hour of live music). Like Aldgate, the ~1000 yen price range means you wont get the Stone’s of the world, but they often have Rogue and Hitachino.
TY Harbour – The only major place in Tokyo to make beer on premises. Next to the river at Tennozu Isle, it’s an enjoyable place to eat food too. Be sure to check the website for opening times though.
What about Yokohama?
Thrash Zone, Cheers, Pivovar/Yokohama Brewery, and Craft Beer Bar are my top picks for Yokohama. Check Bar listings in Tokyo and Yokohama for more details.
Further afield?
Check out Finding good beer in Japan.
