Spring Valley Brewery Tokyo

Spring Valley Brewery Tokyo is inside LOG ROAD Daikanyama, a commercial complex built on the former Tokyu Toyoko Line railway site in Daikanyama. It is Kirin's flagship craft beer location.

That's where it gets interesting. The name 'Spring Valley' actually comes from one of Japan's oldest beer breweries, which was in Yokohama in 1870. It's a project that carries the name of the starting point of Japan's beer industry and aims to combine the technological strength of a major company with the freedom of small-scale brewing. It opened in 2015.

The brewmaster is Senior Master Brewer Tomohiro Tayama. And the brewing equipment is visible through glass walls; Tayama says, 'It's probably the first in the world for the mash kettles and fermentation and storage tanks to be glass-walled.'

Exactly. Their signature beer, Houjun <496>, is an India Pale Lager. It's designed to be rich yet clean on the finish, and when poured with their independently developed 'New Sugo-awa Tap,' the foam turns fluffy and creamy. It also won a bronze medal at the 2024 Australian International Beer Awards.

After the 2024 renewal, the first floor became 'Beer Street,' a casual bar, and the second floor became 'Beer Stream,' which is completely reservation-only. The first floor has 12 to 15 beers on tap at all times, including the store-exclusive amber ale 'Ichigo Fukaku' and a Japanese saison called 'Tokujou ~Shirokoji Aae~,' made with white koji.

At the pairing counter on the second floor, staff with beer coordinator certifications match the courses with the beers. Taking a walk along the green path on the former railway site and enjoying craft beer in Daikanyama makes the whole experience feel especially complete.