Kirin Brewery Yokohama

Great experience! I arrived on a Friday afternoon without a reservation and still managed to join the last tour of the day. The staff at the reception was very friendly and helpful. The entrance fee is 500 Yen. After paying the tour started quite quickly. The tour is unfortunately only available in Japanese but they are well prepared for foreign guests. They handed me a booklet with all the information written in English. So it was easy to follow the tour. The whole experience is quite informative. They allow you to taste three different types of beer at the end with a complimentary snack. Everything is included in that 500 Yen. I would say it was worth it. I can only recommend!

Kirin Brewery tour — reservation required. Great insight into the history and full beer brewing process. The storytelling made the final tasting session even more delicious. Free beers after the tour 🍺 — totally worth it.

Really fun tour even though I was the only English speaker. They provided an English manual and most of the videos had English subtitles. The tour itself was very informative At the end you received 3 full size beers of different varieties ! Amazing value for only ¥500

Amazing experience here. They walk and talk you through the entire process of their Kirin beer production, including tastings, for just 500yen per person. Though the tour is conducted in Japanese, they provide a manual in English for you to read and follow. Very informative, and at the end you can get to have up to 3 servings to taste (Kirin, Kirin Ichiban, Kirin Black, and some other non-alcoholic drinks). Remember to register for your timeslot early!

It was an excellent tour despite the language barrier. The tasting of 3 full glass of beers and the extra soft drink + snack were the highlights. Tons of motivated - responsible drinkers of all ages. The staff was kind and welcoming. Highly recommended.

Booked online. 500 yen entry fee. Tour in Japanese but videos have English subtitles. Entitled to 3 tasting glasses at the end. Non-alcoholic options available.

delighted to visit this brewery at yokohama with Kie and Ryuichi, Kirin beer being internationally acclaimed, Kirin brewery is located only ten minutes walk from Keikyu Namamugi station, or 15 minutes from JR Shin-Koyasu Station. Kie being late and the staff required us to wait to get in as a group, we pre-booked ticket online, the tour is interesting as it highlighted the uniqueness of Kirin's beer brewing process, we had a glimpse and briefing of the complete brewing process, from start to finish, ie, gathering ingredients, fermentation, to canning and bottle, we actually saw samples of the machines but these were not moving or in operation in the tour, we also saw a short movie at the beginning of the tour introducing the history and some of the process or workflow, and the guided tour finished with beer tasting, each of us got three cups of different complimentary beers from Kirin! there is a gift shop where you can buy some souvenir and snacks produced by Kirin, the girls at the wine taste hall and the gentlemen hosting the tour all along are all very polite and friendly, making the tour more enjoyable!

Enjoyed a wonderful tour of the brewery. The tour was conducted in Japanese but we were provided with English notes to follow the conversation. The staff were wonderful and the tasting at the end was worth the walk. Highly recommend this tour if you like your beer and are interested in the process involved. $500 yen ($5 Australian) worth every yen.

Fun tour. It's popular so I would recommend a reservation. It's only 500 yen. It's a 80 minute tour and at the end of the tour you get 3 full glasses of beer ! Japan has very strict laws for drinking and driving so they make you sign a waiver and you're not even allowed to smell the beer if you are driving. The staff is very nice and they bow every time they walk past you. You can try the non alcoholic tea and soft drinks if you are driving.

Omg this is the cleanest brewery on the planet. If you are able to make a reservation here long in advance for a tour. You get a beer education not just a tour. You get to sample the hops and smell the ingredients that go into making that perfect pour of Kirin perfection. The tour is a joy on your senses. At the end of your half hour to hour tour you get a fresh pour of Kirin light beer fresh from the tap onto a cold beer glass. After you drink your beer you will be seated in the classroom where they cart in a freaking beer flight of all their beer flavors for you to try. You get not one but four free large pours of beer. I left the beer factory and onto the Nissin Cup Noodle tour on an Uber drunk as a skunk. Touring the noodle factory completely drunk is an experience on to itself but that's a whole nother review for another day. Make sure you put this one on your bucket list of brewery's to tour around the world. Happy Yelping!

Such an amazing experience! The entire factory was absolutely spotless, the tour guides were all so friendly and helpful.

Honestly, I've never been to a beer factory tour but I find it hard to believe that any tour in the USA could top this one. Also, can't beat the fact that the tour is absolutely free! I made the reservation on their website (thanks, Google Translate). My friend and I rushed here from Yokohama and still were a few minutes late, but once we entered and signed in at the counter, they let us proceed to the movie room to catch up. I'm not sure what would happen if you are way later on your reservation, but at least a few minutes late seems okay. Not only did they let you try and smell the hops and beer at different stages of the process, this tour is pretty high-tech. At one point, there is a mini VR experience as you go through the factory line from the viewpoint of a beer can. Although the tour is in Japanese, they had a packet of the tour in English so you can kind of follow along. At the end of the tour, you can have samples of their beers or other non-alcoholic drinks and they provide you with some snack crackers. The gift shop was pretty cool; I was sorry I couldn't spend more time here. I did end up buying some Kirin-flavored Pretz, though, and they also had an awesome set of vintage label coasters.

Hey, for a free 40-45 minute tour, this one topped all brewery tours I have been on. Most brewery tours are some guy whose beard has the aroma of the years of beer vats he has worked over and who is bothered you're taking him away from that as he explains a couple things and asks "uhh yeah any questions?" Meanwhile, this tour, while certainly a promo for Kirin Ichiban beer has you taste the actual barely they use, smell and touch the hops, sip their first wort and second wort (huuuuge difference!) and see some neat factory equipment. Then, at the end, you get 3 free beers per person! KANPAI!

Free tour/tasting!!! Was really cool to learn the history and see the behind the scenes of how Kirin beer is made. Additionally, at the end of the tour you have the opportunity to taste three beers (full servings in 20 minutes) or non alcoholic options if you choose. Factory was clean, staff were courteous and knowledgeable. Very happy to have done this tour!

God damn this place sets a high bar. Head to the counter on the right side as you walk in to book your free tour. Safety first though, you have to sign a waiver that you will not be driving! Enjoy the small museum on the left while you wait patiently for your tour to start. The free tour lasts about an hour. Your tour guide will walk you through high tech and artsy informational videos, interactive games, tasting of unfiltered beers, the life of a can going through packaging, and of course the "beer tasting". The "beer tasting" is more like"beer drinking". You get about 20-25 min to taste four kinds of beer that are about 16 ounce glasses each. You may refill to your hearts desire! Remember to browse the gift shop on your way out, then walk the gardens until you're sober. Take a cab, walk, train, or bus!

This is a fun tour for those who want to focus more on tasting the beer than on the process of it. They do explain their processes, but lots of it is based on graphics and videos. At the end of the tour, however, they do a 20 minute tasting where you can select up to 3 different drinks that they have available. They explain the proper pour, etc. It's kind of a pain to get to. It's a 20 minute walk from Shinkoyasu station, and 30 minute walk from Oguchi station through hills and back roads.

Was a great experience. Free bus ride to the factory. Tour was about 30 minutes long. You are able to try 2 glasses of beer free at the end.

My fiancé and I made it to the Kirin Brewery tour! All guides have recommended to make a reservation to take the tour. To do this, we went to the closest tourist information center in Yokohama where they were able to place a phone call for us to reserve a time to come in. I don't think they take walk ins as we had to register our name and where we were staying at with the factory. The factory is walking distance from the train station, but it is a good 10 minute walk so be sure to factor in extra time to get there. There were no signs directing us either so thankfully we had our google maps up! It is on the main road though and you'll know you're in the right spot when you see a huge Kirin Beer sign in front of the factory. FYI, the tour is in Japanese so you're SOL if you don't speak the language. However, they provide an English pamphlet so you can kind of get the gist of what's happening. Our tour guide spoke excellent English though and we were able to ask her questions after. You get the point though because the videos and demonstrations are visual. Plus, everyone pretty much understands what beer is, what it tastes like, and how it is made so it wasn't too much of a big deal in the end. :) It was very cool to walk around and see their process from start to finish. At the end, there was a gift shop and 4-5 people at the bar offering perfect pours of special Kirin beers only found in Japan. It was basically a complimentary all you can drink for 20 minutes, with some bar snack crackers to accompany your beer. Also, for those who weren't interested in drinking alcohol, they had a selection of soft drinks and teas in a fridge that you could also try. They are very very strict about the 20 minutes though, so get what you want before your time is up! The gift shop was cool. I was able to pick up some "beer jelly chocolate" that was a hit with my coworkers, as well as some mugs as souvenirs. It was a fun way to spend a couple of hours learning about one of Japan's most famous beers.

I've been to the Sam Adams Brewery and the Ballast Point Brewery in America. These tours can't even compare to this. First of all, we don't just do a lame tour and see a bunch of metal tanks like most tours. There are actually a bunch of interactive bits that are quite high tech in this tour. Make sure you make a reservation in advance and arrive early. They have moving walls that reveal samples of the malt before fermentation, there's projectors playing videos of the brewing process on top of the actual machine, etc. The service for the samples is extraordinary. They don't just hand around some pitcher for you to sample. There are dedicated people to pour you a cold one for each sample. For people who don't want to drink alcohol, Kirin actually makes a lot of soft drinks. I think their apple juice is actually pretty good. They rotate the selection of beers to showcase new flavors, so the ones I had will probably be different in the future. One thing I found interesting was that in the US, I noticed that a lot of people try to pour beer with the least amount of foam. In Japan, there is a specific nozzle to make sure you actually experience some head.

This is my type of museum - it's a free educational tour, and they give you 3 free beverages at the end :D We had a lot of fun. We were the only tourist on our tour - everyone else were stay at home moms with their 3 year olds. The little ones were extremely cute. It was surprising and cool seeing the mom drink their beers - they're fast, like frat boy fast. And don't even phase them. The little kids had soda. The snacks they provide are also tasty, we tried to find it in the gift shop but couldn't find it. Took off a point because it's kinda far from Tokyo. Like an hour - hour and a half from city center. Then another 20 min from subway station. This was a day trip.

Cool tour. Most of it was in Japanese, but the videos and pictures help you understand what they are talking about. BIG TIP: FREE all you can drink beer (for 20 mins)!!!

I loved this place! It's honestly probably one of the coolest, most fun things I've done since I moved to Japan. The tour is completely free and they have some really neat things to do and see while you wait. You watch a short video and then are taken on a tour of the brewery. They give you a helpful English guide book to look at during the walk through so that you can keep up. The tour guide is always willing to help you if you can't find your place in the guide book and they go out of their way to give you a little extra explanation in English. At the end of the tour, you get the chance to sample 3 different beers in 20 minutes. Beware that you can't bring your beer out of the room so you have to finish it within the time allotted. The Kirin Brewery is a must for those visiting Japan and for those who live here. My family had the best time here when I took them and they said it was definitely a highlight of the whole trip. Go to the Kirin Brewery for a tour, you won't regret it!

Really cool brewery tour. We didn't understand anything they were saying because we don't speak fluent Japanese, however we've been to brewery tours before so we know the jist if the brewing process. They let you sample the beer in the early stages of the process, it doesn't even taste like beer at all but you can slightly taste honey in the sample. We samped 3 of their beers at the end and I have to say all of them were phenominal. This was my first time trying any Kirin beer and it was so good. My husband and I also ended up buying 2 Kirin beer glasses for about 5 American dollars. Unfortunately they didn't have any real food, they only give you a bag of pretzels but overall it was a fun tour.