Very cool tour experience that's a fun and affordable excursion from Tokyo if you are into beer. Visited in October 2025. The tour is only conducted by tour guides in Japanese, but 30-some page booklets are available for international guests, which translate all of the information that is being said and shown during the tour, with multiple languages available.
After the tour is a beer tasting where you can taste three different Kirin beers and get a small snack. There is also a gift shop where you can purchase beer and some fun Kirin merch. All in all a great experience for only ¥500 ($4.33 CAD / $3.15 USD at the time of writing this review in April 2026), that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to any beer enjoyers.
The brewery grounds are also pretty to walk around in, and the nearby Kirin Beer Hall restaurant is good for a meal or snack before or after your tour.
My husband and I came here in August and September 2026 for the beer factory guided visit. It's totally worthwhile and I plan to visit again. The price will go up from 500円 to 1000円 from October 2026.
Although the tour is all in Japanese, there are English subtitles on the video elements. As of September 2026 they have replaced the translated booklets with a QR code giving translations in many languages.
You must reserve in advance on the website and pay. There are 9 time slots of 90 minutes each starting from 10:00AM until 2:40PM, depending on the day. There are two kinds of tours: in orange those only allowing people 20 and older, and in yellow those also allowing people 19 and below. You can make changes to your reservation (i.e. number of people) without penalty up to 30 minutes before the tour.
You are asked to arrive at least 10 minutes in advance so you have time to stash any bags in the coin lockers (100円, returned) and sign a waiver. There is a nice lobby and a rundown of Kirin history while you wait for the tour to begin.
Then, the tour begins. There are short films about the company's history and philosophy, and manufacturing processes. There are interactive elements like tasting malt and smelling hops, as well as a chance to try the first and second press "wort" (kirin ichiban shibori only uses the first wort). You can view the actual factory from above, although the bottling section was not running due to maintenance (will start up again from April 2027). It's all very cool to see!
Of course, the end of the tour and the chance to taste test different kirin beers is the grand finale. For those who cannot drink, there are juices and soft drinks available. First, everyone lines up to try the Kirin Ichiban shibori. After that, you can try premium, kuronama, and for a limited time the 100th anniversary special beer, with up to 2 refills. They also supply kakinotane. The caveat is you only have about 20 minutes to drink all this, and you cannot share your "portion" with someone else. I think it's wise.
Our tour guides Ichiroku-san and Shikano-san were so enthusiastic, kind, and quick-thinking. Of course it is difficult to resist the gift shop after the kindness of the staff and drinking all that beer, but I found the prices reasonable, even after sobering up. My colleagues particularly enjoyed the beer jelly chocolates and mustard sausage flavoured Pretz.
A year ago, our tour/museum adventures took us to the Suntory Musashino Brewery, so this year, we thought why not head to the Kirin Brewery? It was interesting to compare the experiences. First impression, Kirin’s facilities are more aesthetically pleasing and the workers are so friendly!! You see, the sidewalk to the facility entrance is lined with greenery including these really vibrant hydrangeas that were simply gorgeous. So pretty in fact, that my wife and I wanted a picture in front of them and the employees that were tending to the greenery offered to take photos for us.
Kirin was established in Yamate, Yokohama but the factory was destroyed during the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. Although there were considerations to move their brewery to Tokyo, Yokohama was near and dear so they remained in Yokohama and moved their factory to Namamugi, and this year marks 100 years since its relocation.
The staff inside of the facility were extremely professional and pleasant, and the first floor lobby had plenty of displays to keep you occupied until the start of the tour. During the tour, we sniffed hops, nibbled on malt, sampled the difference between a first press and second press wort. Kirin is known for their first press wort beer (ichiban shibori) and whoa, what a difference - it was far more flavorful, aromatic, and sweet. When in the mashing area, the blinds closed, the lights darkened and there was a short, dramatic presentation involving projection mapping. The beer is stored for 1-2 months, fermented for a week, and then goes through filtration. As you exit, the factory thanks you with a crack and pssshht sound of a beer can opening, so cool. The visit ends in the tasting room where you can enjoy up to 3 glasses of beer (non-alcohol and soft drink substitutes available) with a tasty snack.
Compared to Suntory, the use of technology to showcase the beer production process was more advanced and entertaining and there were more fun photo opps. I felt that overall, there was more effort and detail put into the Kirin facility tour. English translation using an app on your phone is offered and most displays/signs had English translations. If you want to choose one to go to, I prefer Kirin.
First Time visiting this beer brewery in Yokohama I was looking at the Internet and looked for things to do around Tokyo and found this Kirin Beer Factory tour. It’s very easy to get to as the train station is nearby and only a short walk. The building is huge and very clean. The staff are very knowledgeable and very very friendly. I got there an hour before my appointment to take a tour and they let me in early. Also there is a translator app that will translate into your language from Japanese and you can also listen to it as well as read along. There are beautiful gardens outside and at the end of the tour there’s a gift shop and you get to taste a couple different types of Kirin Beer. I will definitely go back and it’s well worth the trip.
We had a fantastic tour at the Kirin Brewery. The tour was really interesting and interactive not just walking around looking at machinery. Learning about the history of Kirin and the brewing process was fascinating, and the tasting at the end was great as well.
The staff at the entrance were incredibly helpful and managed to fit us in last minute, which we really appreciated. Our tour guide, Nishiguchi-san, was excellent and made the experience even better.
The tour is in Japanese (of course), but they provide a very good real-time translation app, which made it easy to follow along and enjoy the experience.
Highly recommend visiting if you’re interested in beer!
