The Keyaki Hiroba Spring Beer Festival in Saitama has an unrivaled showcase of local Japanese beer. A world-class and surprisingly cheap selection of craft beers awaits only a 30-minute train ride from Shinjuku Station.
Numerous micro breweries hailing from Hokkaido to Hyogo offer gratifying craft beers for as little as 300 yen per glass; making the prospect of getting slightly sloshed far easier than at the seemingly ever-present (and ever-expensive) Oktoberfests that multiply throughout Tokyo during the summer months.
Held outside the Saitama Super Arena, the festival is a great chance to enjoy a variety of locally produced beer and soak up the spring sunshine. The breweries will be bringing their most popular beers as well as seasonal specials and one-off tipples created especially for the festival.
There’s also a selection of imported brews, as well as a few stands selling mainstream beers of the Yesbisu and Sapporo variety, all of which can be washed down with an array of festival foods.
