Beer Guide to Japan: From Asahi to Craft Breweries
If you are traveling to Japan and think the only beer options are Asahi and Sapporo, think again! Japan’s beer scene has exploded in recent years with local craft breweries, regional specialties, and limited-edition releases you won’t find anywhere else.
Whether you are grabbing a draft beer in a local Izakaya or looking for taprooms and breweries, I made this beer guide to Japan post to share my love of beer and my journey of sampling craft beers and finding hidden gems throughout the country.
In this Beer Guide to Japan, I’ll cover some of the important phrases to learn, go over the basics, and share some of my favorite brews and breweries in Japan. Kanpai!
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ビール (Biru) = Beer
Pronunciation: Bee-roo
Simple and Easy. Works everywhere – restaurants, bars, and convenience stores.
生ビール (Nama Biru) = Draft Beer
Pronunciation: nah-mah bee-roo
This one is important! You’ll get a fresh beer on tap at an izakaya or restaurant.
かんぱい (Kanpai) = Cheers!
Pronunciation: kahn-pi
Basically saying cheers, locals say it to before everyone takes their first sip.
杯 (Ippai) = One Glass
Pronunciation: e-pie
Nama biru ippai kudasai is a polite way to say One draft beer, please.
飲み放題 (Nomihodai) = All you can drink
Pronunciation: no-mee-ho-die
Common at izakaya’s. It’s usually 90 – 120 minutes with set menus.
The Big Four Japanese Beers: Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory
Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo, and Suntory, these beers are basically your Budweiser’s and Coor’s of Japan.
These four beers are very popular all around Japan and one or two of them will be found in almost any izakaya, restaurant, bar, or even vending machines throughout Japan.
Honestly, by itself, I am not a huge fan of these beers, but when you are drinking with friends at a local izakaya and they bring you ice cold glasses of beer, it doesn’t matter what brand, it’s delicious!
Asahi
Asahi has been around since the 1890’s but didn’t begin mass production until the 1960’s. Asahi’s Super Dry is the most popular beer in Japan. Asahi Super Dry is your typical lager.
Asahi is found in most restaurants on draught. You can also find the Super Dry in bottles and cans.
Kirin
Kirin technically began around 1885 after a previous brewery, Spring Valley Brewery. It wasn’t until 1907 where Kirin got their true identity and began to expand.
Kirin purchased ingredients from Germany and even hired German brewers to manage the process and production. Prost!
Kirin is considered one of the world’s largest and most successful multi businesses as they have expanded past just brewing beer. Kirin also owns restaurants, transportation services, sport complexes, etc..
Kirin Ichiban and the Kirin Lager are the most popular beers brewed by Kirin.
Sapporo
If visiting Sapporo, I highly recommend visiting Sapporo Brewery. The brewery atmosphere is really cool, you get a tasting, and learn about the brewery. Not to mention they have an amazing yakinku restaurant.
Sapporo Brewery was founded in 1876 and is considered Japan’s oldest brewery.
Sapporo’s most popular beers are the Sapporo Premium Beer, Sapporo Draft Black Label, and Yebisu. You can also fine Sapporo Classic when visiting Sapporo.
Suntory
Suntory started in 1899. Suntory has succeeded in brewing beer and they make Japanese Whiskey among other beverages.
Suntory’s most popular beers include their Kinmugi Rich Malt and The Premium Malts.
What is Happoshu?
We are all familiar with typical beer styles like Lager, IPA, or Ales. If not, I got you covered! I wrote a post on My Favorite and Most Surprising Beer Destinations that outlines some popular styles.
I use the Untappd app to check in and keep track of my beers. When logging in many cheap Japanese beers, I noticed the style was listed as Happoshu
Happoshu is a beer-like beverage and has a low malt content, somewhere around 67% or less. Because of the low malt content, Happoshu is cheaper then regular beers due to Japanese tax laws on alcohol.
Craft Beer in Japan
If you think beer in Japan begins and ends with Asahi and Sapporo, you are missing out on one of Japan’s most exciting food and drink trends. In recent years, craft beer in Japan has exploded with breweries popping up in in most towns and cities.
At first, when I moved to Japan, the craft beer scene was still pretty limited. Now you can find breweries everywhere. They are becoming experimental and you can find hoppy IPAs, stouts, and seasonal flavors.
Unlike the big commercial lagers like Asahi that Japan is known for, local breweries experiment with regional ingredients like yuzu, matcha, and even Sakura flavor. Devil Craft in Tokyo makes one of the best Yuzu beers I’ve ever had.
If you enjoy trying local craft beer like I do and finding taprooms and breweries, Japan is a great place for it.
List of My Favorite Craft Beer Places and Breweries in Japan
Isekado Brewery (Ise, Mie Prefecture)
This is becoming one of my favorite breweries in Japan. Almost every beer I’ve had brewed by Isekado has been outstanding. They brew Neko Nihiki, which is one of my favorites and their Hazy IPA is definitely my favorite Hazy IPA in Japan.
Their brewery is just as great as their beer. It’s in an old traditional house. The brewery is also known for their oysters. Of course, we couldn’t pass up a nice oyster set meal to go along with our flight of beer at Isekado Brewery.
Kumezakura Daisen Brewery (Maruyama, Tottori Prefecture)
We had an incredible experience here. After hiking Mt. Daisen, we stopped by this brewery for a few drinks and lunch.
This brewery had incredible beer at an even better price. Not sure if we came on a special day or if it is always like this, but the brewery had an All-You-Can-Drink special (Nomihodai) for ¥1000 which is less then $10.
I was so surprised by this I asked the server multiple times if I heard that right. Aside from having great beer, they made food that was just as good.
Miyajima Brewery (Miyajima, Hiroshima Prefecture)
I’ve been to Miyajima Brewery several times. The brewery is conveniently located in the heart of downtown. They have a booth on the first floor and a restaurant on the second floor.
Miyajima Brewery had some pretty unique beers like an Oyster Stout or Yuzu Ale, both great beers!
Wolfbraü (Naha, Okinawa Prefecture)
Across the street from Shuri Castle in Naha is Wolfbraü. Wolfbraü is a local brewery that is run by a German brewer.
I managed to try a few of their beers and it brought me back home to Germany.
I drank their hefeweizen and a Marzen beer, both very good, but the hefeweizen was my favorite.
Since Jill was driving, the brewer gave her a glass of there non-alcoholic beer and we were both amazed by how good it was!
Y. Market Brewing (Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture)
Nagoya is known for Nagoya Castle, food, and Y. Market Brewing.
Their beers were heavy on the IPAs, which I am a fan of. Out of the 5 beers I had here, 3 of them were IPAs. I rated their Lupulin Nectar as their best beer on tap that night.
Yamato (Nara, Nara Prefecture)
Another one of my favorites in Japan is Yamato Brewery. Yamato Brewery was downtown Nara not far from the world famous Nara Park and the Bowing Deer.
We found this place on accident, we were just looking for a place to eat and escape the rainy weather. Glad we came here as the service was great, the food was incredible, and the beers were pretty good.
I highly recommend their pizzas here and karaage (type of Japanese fried chicken).
Devil Craft (Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture)
Devil Craft in Tokyo is quickly becoming one of my favorite hang out spots in Japan. I try to come here every time I visit Tokyo.
Devil Craft specializes in Chicago-style Pizza and craft beer. Both their pizzas and beers are out of this world.
When it comes to beer, Devil Craft knows what they are doing. Their Hazy IPAs are amazing, their Imperial beers rival those of other breweries, and they have a Yuzu beer that is easily one of the best in Japan.
Mahowbrew (Naha, Okinawa Prefecture)
In my opinion, the best brewery in Okinawa is Mahowbrew in Naha. Mahowbrew is fairly new but they’ve already won awards and my respect.
My favorite beers from Mahowbrew are the Juliet, Entry of the Wizards into Valhalla, and Orodruin the Furious.
My Thoughts on Japanese Beer
I’m not a fan of your typical lagers and unfortunately they are still very common and popular here.
That being said, I’ll still drink an Asahi or Kirin at a local Izakaya and still enjoy the fresh and crisp taste. I just prefer my craft beer and would take a craft beer any day over your typical lagers.
I’ve tried over 800 different beers in Japan now and have found many great craft beers that I’ve fell in love with, some that could compete against stuff I’ve had in the United States.
I’ll be honest, it can be a challenge to find craft beer here. Typical liquor stores sell your traditional Asahi in a can and that is about it.
I’ve found that local grocery stores usually carry regional craft beer. Now every time I go to a new city I always pop into a grocery store and pick up a few bottles of local brews.
So far I’ve had incredible luck doing this. So my recommendation, is, go to a local grocery store in Japan and pick up a couple locals beers if available.
You can find taprooms in some of the larger cities. Generally they will have flights and pints of local beers around Japan. It can be quite expensive, but to me it is worth it.
Overall, I see craft beer and the love of beer heading in the right direction in Japan. Almost every brewery I’ve been to is full and you can start to see that craft beer is becoming more popular.
My Highest Ranked and Lowest Ranked Beers
I use the Untappd app religiously when it comes to checking in, rating, and discovering new beers.
This app is a great way to find beers, breweries, and keep track of what you are drinking. On the app, you can set filters. I set my filters to show my highest rated beers to my lowest rated beers.
The rating is a scale from 0 to 5. 0 being the beer was undrinkable and had to be poured down the drain and 5 being that the beer was outstanding and I definitely want to drink it again.
Below are a few of the Japanese beers that I have rated a 4 or higher.
Shiga Kogen The Far East Barrel Aged Imperial House IPA #6 by Tamamura Honten Co.
Neko Nihiki by Ise Kadoya Brewery
Shiga Kogen Sono 10 No. 10 Anniversary IPA by Tamamura Honten Co.
W-IPA by Arch Brewery from Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture
Cyonmage IPA by Yamaguchi Hagi Beer Ltd.
Kakuida Stout by Fukuyama Kurozu K.K.
Afterdark Lager by Spring Valley Brewery
Mango Ale by Helios Distillery Co.
Dosy Coyote by Cliff in Okinawa
Doppo Peach Pils by Miyashita Sake Brewery
Kokutou Sweet Stout by Sankt Gallen Brewery
Lupulin Nectar by Y. Market Brewing
Below are some of the beers that did not impress me and I ranked them as a .50 or below
Gokujo and Red Eye by Asahi
Fuyu Monogatari – Winter’s Tale and Mugi to Hop Single Malt by Sapporo
Barreal Toshitsu by Aeon Topvalu
Clear Free by Orion
Tanrei Green Label by Kirin
Godzilla IPA by Nanto Brewery
Okinawa's Orion Beer
I can’t really talk about beer in Japan without mentioning Okinawa’s Orion beer.
Orion is Japan’s 5th largest brewery and has been around since 1957. Orion is from Nago, Okinawa and the water in their beers comes from nearby springs.
Honestly, Orion’s most popular beer their lager, tastes just like the rest of the cheap lagers around Japan, It’s nothing special. But it is enjoyable on a hot Okinawa summer day.
Orion does have a craft series which I actually think is pretty good. So far I’ve seen and drank their 75Beer Pale Ale, Stout, Amber Ale, Fruit Saison, Weizen, and IPA. I do recommend trying these.
Conclusion: Kanpai!
Whether you are ordering a draft at a local izakaya or tracking down a specialty beer at a taproom or brewery, beer in Japan is far more diverse than most travelers would expect.
If you are visiting cities like Osaka or Tokyo, don’t just stick to the first lager you see, visit grocery stores, find breweries, or hidden bars selling craft beer, because they do in fact exist.
Please, if you have any recommendations on Japanese beers to try that I haven’t had or any cool breweries and taprooms, let me know
On that note, I think I’ll pop open a beer! Kanpai!
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