What's Brewing in Tokyo at Spring Valley Brewery

Walking in the heat and humidity in Daikanyama and what do I see?

I don't think they would let me back in Oregon if I didn't at least check out Spring Valley Brewery.

While it's actually part of Kirin, they do actually brew beer here. Along with selling some kitschy items.

Not the best photo since I think the heat and humidity affected my camera's focusing much like my own. But here's a line up of beers they offered. Plus a warning that glass is fragile.

My interior photos did not turn out well but here's one of some of the equipment being used to process and brew their beer. One might wonder why Kirin would open a place like this. Novelty? Actually it's a good way to test new seasonal beers.

Nine beers on the menu. Decent range, nothing too extreme or unusual.

They also have several food options. Seriously you could lift this place out of Tokyo and set it in the Pacific Northwest and except for the kana on the menu no one would know this was a restaurant from Japan. I will say that it was very nice inside and the food that was being served looked good. My friend said she wants to bring people there.

I ended up just getting a pint of their Copeland Pilsner. This was a very nice pilsner, refreshing and just right for the hot summer. Funny thing is with all the heat I barely felt the effects of this beer.

Spring Valley Brewery has their own website here (in Japanese) and Beer Tengoku reviewed them here. We were there on a Friday about 3 pm and there were seats available. They have mostly good reviews on Yelp. I have to say it was a nice stop on that hot first full day in Tokyo. Although a little disconcerting to me because it felt so American.

And that was it for Daikanyama. We had come here in hopes of visiting the Kit Kat shop at T-Site but time was short, I was a bit tired from traveling and the weather was not helping. It was good to check out a part of Tokyo I had not seen before. It's why I keep going back.

Daikanyama

My first full day in Tokyo started with a bit of breakfast served by the hotel. It was a mix of things. Rolls, salad, miso soup, pickles, and a different rice dish each day. One day onigiri, another plain rice with shredded egg and other on top, curry another day. Then my tour guide for the day showed up and we were off to a place in the Shibuya area that had interesting things to explore. Daikanyama, where there grows a huge flower sculpture. It's located on Hachiman-dori if you are interested.

We first went to a more traditional Japanese building which I will post about later. Before and after that we walked through the neighborhood. Which had a decidedly more Western look.

 Although if you looked hard enough you could find a few things more Japanese like this takoyaki stand.

Despite all the concrete there were bits of color.

 Where you were not alone.

 Surprising little shops. I know a few people who would love this one full of pastels.

 Surprises like sunflowers growing in the middle of a street.

 There are a number of embassies in the area which could explain the Western vibe.

And the high number of shops that would fit in perfectly in Southern California. Of course it doesn't matter where you are from, people like different things.

And for those in Japan...

Daikanyama is definitely where you can feel like you have warped to America for a trip through what resembles our thrift stores.

One stop we checked out was the neat little art gallery Arts Rush. Their website is here.

Lots of pretty artwork including these lovely cut paper work pieces by Hina Aoyama. So delicate!

Overall an interesting place to visit on an extremely hot and humid day. I was worried I may have complained a bit since I was running on very little sleep after a rather long flight and it was extremely hot. Was running on sheer will power. We did stop in a couple places in Daikanyama so I will have photos from those in the next couple blog posts.