Tokyo Ginza Lion - Oldest Japan Beer Hall Guide + Photos

Kanpai – or should that be ‘Prost’? We’re raising a glass to Ginza Lion Beer Hall in Tokyo, Japan’s oldest beer hall (and of the best nights out in the city too).

A trip to Tokyo Ginza Lion Beer Hall is like taking a step back in time. A world away from the shiny skyscrapers and sleek shopping malls just metres away, this top Tokyo beer hall is one of the most memorable things to do in Ginza.

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Tokyo Ginza Lion - Oldest Japan Beer Hall

We’ve been to Tokyo’s Ginza Lion Beer Hall several times and had a blast every night from trying Japanese beers and pub style food to enjoying the atmosphere of the after-work crowd and craft beers consumed by the salary men and women.

From the history to gorgeous interiors, the menu to the prices, here is our ultimate guide to visiting the Ginza Lion Tokyo Beer Hall in 2024.

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Table of Contents

Ginza Beer Hall History

Built in the 1930s and now a listed building, Ginza’s gorgeous beer hall is very similar to the beer halls of Munich – it is almost like a little piece of Germany in Ginza.

Tokyo Ginza Lion - Oldest Japan Beer Hall entrance

It will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2034 and even manage to survive the second World War, after many Tokyo buildings were destroyed by bombs.

It even became a beer hall and pub for the occupying troops before returning back to its public status in the early 1950s.

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A grand old ‘lady’ of Ginza, this top Tokyo beer hall has outlisted many around it and has even led to several other Ginza Lion beer halls nearby (although none have as much character as the original).

In 2021, the beer hall was designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan by the Agency of Cultural Affairs (kind of like a Grade listed building in the UK).

So no matter how much the Ginza neighbourhood develops and changes in the future, it is good to know Ginza Lion Beer Hall will be around for future generations to enjoy and drink beer in!

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How to get to Ginza Lion Beer Hall in Tokyo

The best way to get to the oldest Tokyo Ginza Lion Beer Hall is by Tokyo public transport and walking (because drinking and driving is never cool!)

By Subway

By train, the nearest station to Ginza Lion Beer Hall is Ginza Station on the Ginza Subway Line. Exit and it is around a 3 minute walk from the station to all that Sapporo beer and more.

By JR Train

Alternatively, Ginza Lion Beer Hall 7 Chome is a 5 to 10 minute walk from both the JR Shinbashi Station or JR Yurakucho Station.

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Arriving at Ginza Lion Beer Hall & Interior

When you first arrive at Ginza Lion Beer Hall, the first thing you notice (apart from all the plastic food and beer recreations in the window)* is the incredible interiors and noise emanating from all the happy drinkers.

Once through the double doors, you are greeted by serving staff, all of whom are impeccably dressed, wearing the classic black and white waiting outfits or smart suits – so far, so very nice.

Tokyo Ginza Lion - Oldest Japan Beer Hall mosaic wall

The interior across the two floors has pretty much remained unchanged since the beer hall opened its doors in 1934. The downstairs is more of a beer hall whilst upstairs is a restaurant and events space.

The wonderful wooden interiors intermingle with red brick malls and lots of harvest style murals on the wall – the centrepiece is the beautiful bar area at the front and also be sure to check out the tiled poillars.

All in all, the Ginza Lion Tokyo Beer Hall kind of feels like a church of craft beer or historic palace of pints! How can one beer hall have so much character?

* Fun fact – There is a dedicated Kitchen Street (Kappabashi Street) near Asakusa that has shops dedicated to selling plastic models of food and drink, like big plastic pints of beer – you can even do workshops on how to make your own fake fruit or plastic food. Try making Japanese fake food here >

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Atmosphere

We visited Ginza Lion Beer Hall in Tokyo both by day and night – even at lunchtime, it is a popular place for pints and drinking with a few ‘business lunches’ and older people enjoying food with a beer (or three).

Ginza Lion Beer Hall really comes alive at night, when the predominant audience and attendees are after work groups and a surfeit amount of salarymen and women – it really makes for a great atmosphere and convivial way to enjoy craft beers or draft pints in Tokyo.

We’ve only (so far) drank in the ground floor beer-hall but there is another beer bar and restaurant on the second floor, plus some izakya style bars and Japanese restaurants on the upper levels. In total, there are six floors of food and drink at the beer hall.

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Ginza Lion Beer Hall Tokyo – Drinks and Beer Menu

The Ginza Lion Beer Hall is operated by Sapporo Brewery so as you’d expect, most of the beers served here are standard Sapporo Beers. However they often have seasonal specials or beers that are exclusive to the beer halls across Tokyo or Japan.

beer at Tokyo Ginza Lion - Oldest Japan Beer Hall

We tried the special ‘beer-hall’ limited edition lager when we visited the beer hall last time for 600 Yen a pop – be sure to look out for posters or leaflets on the tables.

Popular Ginza Beer Hall Tokyo pints include Sapporo Draft Black Label beer, Yebisu beer (another Sapporo brand), Yebisu dark beer (premium black), Edelpils (a pilsner style Japanese brewed German beer) plus Shirohonoka, a Hefeweizen wheat beer.

beer hall set menu at Tokyo Ginza Lion - Oldest Japan Beer Hall

Wine, sake, shochu, whiskey and beer cocktails (!) are also available to buy at the beer-hall. So whatever your choice of booze / tipple, you’ll be in for a night to remember (or even forget, if you have too much!).

Last orders are usually around 10pm at the weekends and a little earlier in the week.

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Ginza Lion Tokyo Beer Hall Food Menu

Whilst there are Japanese restaurants and izakaya style offerings on the upper floors, the famous beer hall serves hearty style European fare like sausage platters, soup and bread or spicy fried lamb short ribs.

food at Tokyo Ginza Lion - Oldest Japan Beer Hall

The Ginza Beer Hall Menu in Tokyo varies seasonally – we went for a sausage platter and karaage – to be honest, we didn’t really mind our food but it wasn’t sensational. The sausages were pretty chewy and gristly. That said, we were mainly here for beer so who cares after several pints of Japanese lager!

Their recommended dishes include a sausage platter of six different types of sausages, Ginza roast beef plus the famous beer hall stew – all best accompanied with large beers (now that is our kind of serving suggestion).

Cold dishes include cheese platters, smoked salmon, pretzels and marinated herring. Hot plates include fish and chips, Ginza minced beef cutlets and fried oysters.

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Ginza Beer Hall Tokyo Prices

Beer prices are Ginza Beer Hall in Tokyo are pretty reasonable for Japan starting at 600 Yen for a small glass of beer (660 Yen with tax).

beer menu at Tokyo Ginza Lion - Oldest Japan Beer Hall

A medium mug of beer costs 780 Yen or 970 Yen for a big mug of beer; this is based on Sapporo Black Label beer and excludes tax; Ginza Beer Hall Tokyo beer prices are correct as of February 2024.

In terms of food, when we visited Ginza Tokyo Beer Hall in 2023, an oven baked sausage served with sauerkraut cost around 880 Yen plus tax or spicy fried lamb ribs cost 780 Yen plus tax.

Food and beer prices at Ginza Beer Hall in Tokyo are reasonable – better still, it is free entry to the beer hall with no cover charge (so very different from many other Tokyo bars like in the Golden Gai area).

Ginza Lion other locations

Whilst this article refers to the original Ginza Lion Beer Hall & Chrome (located here), there are actually another couple of newer Ginza Lion Beer Halls in the area.

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Other things to know about the Ginza Lion Beer Hall Chome 7

There are lots of other things to do on the same street as Ginza Lion Beer Hall such as the flagship 12 floor Uniqlo store, Itoya stationary store and Hakuhinkan Toy Park.

There are around 280 seats available in the beer hall and the whole venue is no-smoking (apart from the German style smoked cheese)

Reservations are accepted in the first floor restaurant but not generally in the main beer hall

The main thing to know about the Ginza Lion Beer Hall in Tokyo – just go there and have a good time!

If you can’t get into the beer hall but fancy a European style drinking experience, try going to one of the several Hub Pubs in Ginza, a British pub and real ale experience with branches all over Japan

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