Beer Factories & Karaoke

While we do see some craft beers in Japan, they are generally pretty expensive and not as wide spread as back home. However, you will find draft beer in just about any restaurant, usually serving one of the 4 major brands. (Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo or Suntory). We were able to make reservations on a weekday to go do a factory tour!

Kirin

Kirin Factory Tour starts with a free shuttle from the train station in Kobe. The tour was only 500yen ($4 USD) and included about an hour of videos, guided tour and a run down of the process of making beer.

Kirin’s premium product Ichiban-Shibori was the main event, but much of the factory was under maintenance so the machines weren’t moving. We did get to see a lot of shiny metal.

After the tour, they served us a full glass of beer and a snack, then surprised us with a additional tasting of 3 versions of their premium brand. I did like the dark beer, which is not nearly as common in Japan. They also threw in a couple of beer glasses to take home, so the whole experience ended up being an amazing deal!

We were a bit tipsy by the time we polished off the beers, so we sat down at their restaurant to have lunch. Needless to say, I had a nice nap on the train ride home!

Suntory

Originally started in Osaka, Suntory also offers a beer factory tour for free! Free as in beer! The location is a bit of the outskirts of Kyoto, but walkable from the train station.

Much of the tour is the same, but the factory was running so it was neat to see the canning machine cranking out hundreds of beers a minute.

A similar setup after the tour, a full glass of their “Premium Malts” beer and a sampling of 3 versions of that brand awaited us at the end. I personally liked the “Master’s Dream” edition which tasted a bit more full-bodied. (One of the far right.)

Unfortunately, there is no restaurant on site, and the pickings were slim around the factory. We did find a mom/pop shop nearby though, then checked out some neighborhood shrines. The nap on the train ride home was swell.

Karaoke

Karaoke boxes are still popular in Japan, you can find plenty wherever there is nightlife. We actually hadn’t been to one yet since our stay in Japan, but M likes to sing so we went to Jankara in our neighborhood. I learned a few things that I didn’t know before!

• Many places are 24-hour, so people sometimes sleep there after the trains stop running.
• This place allowed outside food, as well as served their own and drinks. Some folks were ordering Uber eats to their room too.
• Day time prices were relatively cheap, like 300yen per hour, per person. This includes free soft drinks/tea. Cheaper and more space than a Starbucks?
• They sell alcohol too, including all you can drink plans.
• Some people were there to practice their musical instruments (violins/trumpets etc). Perhaps a nice alternative if you don’t want to bother neighbors with any loud activity?

M enjoyed singing her Disney and pop songs, maybe next time we’ll order drinks and bring some bentos. Our location is also fully contact-less. I guess it’s an honor system where you don’t just walk out the door without paying:).