Tokyo isn’t known for being a cheap place for eating or drinking but if you look hard enough, or follow BeerTengoku, then you may have come across some craft beer bars that are cheap and are worth visiting. The only problem though is that there may be hidden costs or disadvantages: table charges, tax not included, or smoking throughout. In this article about drinking on the cheap, we’re going to list the ten cheapest craft beer bars in Tokyo; however, these will not appear in any ranking or order as bars are a subjective thing – how can bar X be better than bar Y if you have to stand up?
The only constraints for the following bars are
- that they have to be cheap throughout the day so no special happy hours are included in this list of cheap bars(that’s another article coming up soon) as we know that not everyone can get to a bar at say 5pm if they finish work at 6:30pm;
- have to be located in Tokyo’s 23 wards;
- we have to have visited them so we know that the prices are cheap and if they do, or do not, include tax.
Without much further ado:
1) Shinshu Osake Mura
A perennial favourite among craft beer fans – offering cheap cans and bottles of beer from the Nagano region of Japan, along with snacks and finger food from the area too. It’s open from 11am, has a massive range of bottled and canned beer from Nagano, with two taps of draft beer. The only major problem with Shinshu Osake Mura is that it is standing room only, so gets busy later on in the day. and closes early.
Beer Cost: Varies from beer to beer but generally 600yen a US pint, cans and bottles same as direct from brewery.
Review: Shinshu Osake Mura in Shimbashi, Tokyo
2) Craft Beer Market
A chain of craft beer bars that offers US pints at 780yen throughout the day, though you do need to add on a table charge (~¥320) and add on tax to the prices as well. If you go, then go for three pints or more to keep the price down a bit. There’s plenty of choices of which one to go to, but our favourite tends to be Jimbocho Terrace or Otemachi, mainly because both have seating areas outside.
Beer Cost: Small (270ml) ¥480 / Large (470ml) ¥780
Review: Craft Beer Market Jimbocho Terrace in Jimbocho, Tokyo
3) Craft Beer Bar iBrew
A small little self-styled dive bar near Ginza-icchome station – looks like a run down shop but step inside and the hustle and bustle behind the counter makes it look different. Along with the sister bar Craft Beer Bar Wired and Craft Beer Bar iBrew in Shimbashi, which focuses more on imported craft beer, beers are cheap and the prices include tax. One of the main downsides is the smoking area sometimes fills up and overflows.
Beer Cost: Regular (220ml) ¥421 / Large (450ml) ¥745
Review: Craft Beer Bar iBrew in Yurakucho/Ginza, Tokyo
4) Bakushu Kobo
T
he bakushu kobos are a chain of brewpubs across Tokyo, that started out in the western area and have slowly spread along the JR Chuo line, making their Yamanote line debut in 2016 in Takadanobaba. While the quality of the beers, and pours, does vary, they offer cheap beers throughout the day. They all have their own feeling, with Koenji’s neighbourhood setting being particular endearing. There seems to be no end of how far they are spreading either, with places opening up twice a year.
Beer Cost: Regular (350ml) ¥410 to ¥700
Review: Koenji Bakushu Kobo in Koenji, Tokyo
5) Ushitora
A strange choice considering our review said that the non-Ushitora beers were expensive but 
pop along for their own beers and it turns out to be reasonable. 900yen for a US pint with prices that include tax and no table charge. Make sure you do stick to their in-house beers though, otherwise the session could become expensive.
As of December 2016, the bar has moved to a new location on the west side of the train tracks.
Beer Cost: Small (270ml) ¥630 to ¥680 / Large (470ml) at ¥900. Others Small ¥730 to ¥930 / Large from ¥1150 to ¥1500
Review: Ushitora in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo
6) Craftsman
Like Craft Beer Market, Craftsman is a chain of bars with locations in Kichijoji (under the name of Craft and Romance), Gotanda, and Yokohama. Their prices are quite reasonable, at 830 yen or so but prices don’t include tax and there is also a table charge to think about. The bars are non-smoking too as well. Our favourite is the Kichijoji location, mainly because on a sunny day, looking over the area with a cold pint in hand is nigh on impossible to beat and it’s the cheapest of the three branches.
Beer Cost: Small (240ml) ¥500 / Regular (470ml) ¥800
Review: Craft And Romance in Kichijoji
7) Craft Beer Server Land
Not an easy bar to find but again, cheap beers on offer if not for the table charge, which is one of the most expensive in Japan. The menu is wide and varied, with about 20 taps of craft beer on at any one time, with an English menu available too. The prices do include tax though so there isn’t too much of a surprise. Moreover, it’s pay as you go drinking.
Beer Cost: Medium (250ml) ¥500 / US pints (473ml) for ¥840
Review: Craft Beer Server Land in Iidabashi, Tokyo
8) Campion Ale
One of the first places reviewed on BeerTengoku and still one of the cheapest, if not the easiest to get to. Campion Ale is a working brewpub specialising in British style beers, and the beers come in UK sizes too. All the prices include tax and there is no table charge. While the menu might not be that wide, with there usually being four beers on tap at one time, the styles are varied.
Beer Cost: Small (268ml) ¥600 / Medium (379ml) ¥750 / Large (568ml) ¥1050.
Review: Campion Ale in Asakusa, Tokyo
9) Wiz Craft Beer Bar (Previously: Le Petit L’Ouest)
2018 ushered in a new year for this place with a decrease in their prices outside of happy hour – prices outside of happy hour vary are 420ml servings ranging from ¥780 and 240ml servings starting ¥450, making Wiz a definite new contender for cheapest beer in Tokyo. With one location at the moment, it looks like they cut prices to get new customers due to the Craft Beer Markets that are in the area – so go along and take advantage of these prices. I know we will be as they tend to have some great beers on tap throughout the week and regularly update their tap lists.
Review: Wiz Craft Beer and Food in Awajicho, Tokyo
Thankfully, the rain cover worked and kept us dry.
10) Vector Beer
Two bars for the price of one here, with pints at 750yen including tax, though you have to add on table charge for this place. Also, both of the bars are fully smoking, so if you can, get to Vector Beer and sit outside for some ventilation. A shame really as we would go here more often due to it being one of, if not the, cheapest place in Shinjuku for craft beer.
Beer Cost: Small (250ml) ¥450 / Regular (470ml) ¥750
Review: Vector Beer in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Have we not included a bar that you would recommend? Let us know in the comments below.
5 comments
Hmmm.
Kobo sucks balls. At least it always did. Disclaimer havent had the courage to.throw.my.money at them for a long time. Vector smoking sucks too, as you rigjtly mentioned, shame. Outside is also a smoking area so thats no.fix.
Where is beer ma?
Berg?
Antenna?
Deguchiya?
Id not put ushi tora on there. Might as well list taprooms or titans with their nonbei,cards or the good happy hours like saurus or briimer beers at faucets.
Looking for cheap beer gives you more option and IMO if you restrict yourself to.normal.peices in bars then you are doing just that. Happy hours, discount cards, bottle shops, events, lots of ways to get good beer at better prices. Some of the places you wmbtiobed also have nomihodai deals. Others you havent do too. More than one way to skin a cat.
Yes, im a cheap drinker. Dont have much choice.
If its 1000a pint is value, im surprised devil craft isnt on there for their house beers which IMO arw better than.ushi toras.
Now we are brining beer selection and quality into the mix. If it wete simply cheap craft thwn.just drink aooni or yona yona in the park.
I think quality and selection, alongside value is what we are talking about.
Damn my typos.
Thanks for the comment.
We’re focussed on Japanese beers and bars and this article was used to point out bars that are cheap outside of happy hour times.
There are plenty more articles coming up in the future, with best happy hour bars, best point card systems, etc.
As for.value for.money, shout out fir wstering holes 4beer ¥1000taster set. Hard to.beat that.
Table charges suck and unless you are having at least three beers make a big difference to the cost per pint. Please include that info in your pint price summation. Tax included is a good note to have. Smoking, wif, selection, qualit, service also can factor into the decision to go there. I much prefer cheaper places with no charge. Not so hard to do cheap bar crawl in.tokyo. much easier if there were no damn table.charges.
Thanks for the article. Not my top ten but good to.give people options
So far I’ve been to 5 out of your 10. Being a bit of a budget conscious drinker I will have to visit a few more of these. Thanks for the list.