Kanpai Kawasaki! Beer and Night Travel in Kawasaki
Whether it’s for holiday travel or a business trip, if you’re planning on travelling for a fun night out to try out local beers and explore hidden gems near Tokyo, then you should visit Kawasaki City (川崎市 Kawasaki-shi). Located just a 12-minute train ride from Haneda Airport, Kawasaki City is full of many craft beer breweries and night spots, perfect if you’re a night owl in search of delicious drinks.
Have you been to Kawasaki before? Join us on a journey to explore a new side of Japan!
Tokaido BEER Kawasaki-shuku Factory
Tokaido BEER Kawasaki-shuku Factory. (Image credit: Tokaido BEER Kawasaki-shuku Factory)
Tokaido BEER Kawasaki-shuku Factory (東海道BEER川崎宿工場) is one of the best craft beer breweries in Kawasaki City. At their cosy and stylish adjoining bar, they offer about 4–7 types of beers and some snacks.
Enjoy beer and snacks. (Image credit: Tokaido BEER Kawasaki-shuku Factory)
The concept of their beer is “KAWASAKI”. With your five senses, thoroughly enjoy the past, present, and future of KAWASAKI, which has four different faces: Tokaido, Kawasaki-shuku, barley fields, and factories.
Did you know? This brewery was chosen as part of the Japanese KUKAN DESIGN AWARD 2019 longlist. With a calm and relaxing atmosphere, you can enjoy various types of craft beers and relax after a long day.
Tokaido BEER Kawasaki-shuku Factory (東海道BEER川崎宿工場)
Address: Honcho Corpo 1F, 1-4-1, Honcho, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 210-0001
Access: 7-minute walk from Keikyu Kawasaki Station, or 9-minute walk from JR Kawasaki Station (川崎駅)
Opening hours:
Weekdays: 17:30–22:00
Weekends: 12:00–22:00
Closed on Tuesdays
Tel: +81-44-272-3639
In order to give you a better understanding of Kawasaki Beer, let us introduce you to Kawasaki City with three keywords:
Keyword 1: Kawasaki-shuku
Kawasaki City across the Tama River. (Image credit: (一社) 川崎市観光協会)
Located on the Tōkaidō Road (東海道), one of the most important roads during the Edo Period that connected Kyoto with Tokyo, Kawasaki City is situated next to Tokyo, and has been known for its convenient transportation since the old times. The Tōkaidō Road was a coastal road with 53 stations (宿場 shukuba), and in the past, people called the city Kawasaki-shuku (川崎宿).
Kawasaki City and Tokyo are separated by the Tama River (多摩川 Tama-gawa), so the city has long history as shukubamachi (宿場町), a post town where people would stop by to rest before and after crossing the river.
Ukiyo-e of Kawasaki-shuku. (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)
So important was Kawasaki-shuku that Utagawa Hiroshige (歌川広重), one of the most prolific artists of ukiyo-e (浮世絵) Japanese traditional woodblock prints, drew the view of Kawasaki-shuku in his work “53 Stations of the Tokaido” (東海道五十三次).
In Kawasaki City, you can check out the ukiyo-e collection at the Kawasaki Ukiyo-e Gallery near Kawasaki Station.
Kawasaki Ukiyo-e Gallery (川崎浮世絵ギャラリー)
Address: Kawasaki Station Front Tower ReverK, 3F, 12-1 Ekimae-honcho, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 210-0007
Access: 2-minute walk from Kawasaki Station (川崎駅)
Opening hours: 11:00–18:30
Admission fee: ¥500/adults (Free for high school students and younger)
Tel: +81-44-280-9511
Note: Please do not visit the Gallery after drinking alcohol.
Keyword 2: Tokaido GLASS
Tokaido GLASS. (Image credit: Tokaido GLASS)
If you prefer to try out a special hands-on experience related to Tokaido, we highly recommend you to get your original beer glass at Tokaido GLASS (東海道GLASS).
Tokaido GLASS is located just a 3-minute walk from Keikyu Kawasaki Station, and offers hands-on workshops of "Kiriko" (切子), a glass engraving tradition with more than 400 years of history.
Tokaido Kiriko glass. (Image credit: Tokaido GLASS)
You can not only purchase professionally-made Tokaido Kiriko glass crafted by famous artists, but also make your own original one. At first thought, making your own glass might seem complex, but it is a beginner-friendly activity, and you are allowed to practice in the workshop. Start slowly by getting used to the sensation of cutting glass. The pieces you create can be taken home, which make them the perfect souvenirs.
Glass-making activity at Tokaido GLASS (東海道GLASS)
Address: Isago Iwataya Building 2F, 1-4-9 Isago, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 210-0006
Access: 3-minute walk from Keikyu Kawasaki Station (川崎駅)
Opening schedule: Saturdays and Sundays (Registration is open from 10:00–16:30)
Activity duration: Around 1–1.5 hours
Activity fee: ¥3,500/adult (excludes glass fee of ¥500 for clear glass or ¥1,000 for coloured glass)
Tel: +81-80-9391-9140
Note: Reservations are required for this activity, so please check the reservation page on Tokaido GLASS’ website before visiting. For your safety, please refrain from drinking alcohol before making glass.
Keyword 3: Kawasaki Factory Night View Cruise
Cruise around factories at night. (Image credit: Kawasaki City)
In this modern era, one of Kawasaki City’s most important strongholds is the bustling Keihin industrial area, with over 26,000 companies and factories situated there. While this does not sound like a typical tourist spot, did you know that you can take a cruise around the factories…at night?
Kawasaki’s brightly lit industrial area. (Image credit: photoAC)
If you join a Factory Night View Cruise (工場夜景クルーズ), you can fully enjoy the rare sight of numerous industrial factories and tanks gleaming in the moonlight, and also beautiful light-ups along the canal. The fantastic, brightly lit view gives the illusion of a cyberpunk game show. Tours are usually 1.5 hours and cost around ¥4,000.
Closing
Sunset at Kawasaki City. (Image credit: photoAC)
Positioned between the two metropolitan cities of Tokyo and Yokohama, Kawasaki City is an industrial powerhouse that can easily be reached in under 15 minutes from Tokyo. Though often overlooked as a tourism destination, this city in Kanagawa Prefecture is a place where tradition meets modernity, and we hope you have learned more about it through this article, and will insert it into your future travels!
For more information on Kawasaki City, visit the following websites:
This article is written in collaboration with Kawasaki City.
Header image credit: Tokaido BEER Kawasaki-shuku Factory
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