Meguro, Ebisu and Shibuya

Sarah in front of Ebisu Garden Place. Apparently the "experts" describe this area as an architectural disaster. It's all faux-European but in a really Japanesey way. Kinda pretty with all the garden and water features though!

This afternoon Mike and I caught the train to the end of the line in Meguro. There wasn't a lot to see there but it was the easiest way to get to Ebisu from our place. Between Meguro and Ebisu Stations we came across Ebisu Garden Place, which is where you can find the Sapporo Head Office and a whole bunch of cafes and restaurants. You can also find the Yebisu Beer Museum, which is where Mike and I were headed. The Beer Museum is open 10am - 6pm, daily except Mondays. When Monday is a "Horiday, Tuesday is closed." Everything is in Japanese but there is an English brochure which explains most things as you go. We were handed a "taster" (a medium-sized plastic cup, not much smaller than the ones you get at rugby matches) of Sapporo as we headed in the door - a good start!


We made our way through the various exhibits including a gallery of beer ads from 1952 - 2000s, which all seemed to feature beautiful women selling Sapporo. Next we saw the History of Beer Around the World where we learned that even in Ancient Egypt people had to carry home their drunken mates.

Another gem was the Magical Vision Theatre where a "wondrous 3D magic vision cut" told us "the mysteries of the good taste of beer in an interesting manner." Apparently it was the story of the King of Beer's battle with The Evil One. The winner (the one with the best tasting beer) won the heart of the Beer Fairy!

All this lead to the Tasting Room where we bought a ticket (from a vending machine, of course!) and exchanged it for a Beer Set, which included Major Weiss Beer Major Ale, Yebisu Beer and Yebisu Black Beer and Sapporo Beer Crackers. All for ¥400! Now we know why the Museum closes at 6pm - so that the local businessmen can't go and hang out and drink cheap beer after work!

After the Beer Museum we were both feeling a little tipsy so thought we'd better find some lunch. We ended up in a yakitori restaurant in the basement of Ebisu Garden Place. The food was delicious but the atmosphere was spoiled by the smokers who were sitting just down the counter from Mike and I. Very few restaurants are smoke-free in Tokyo!

Our walk from Ebisu to Shibuya was made a little easier by the travelators which took us from Ebisu Garden Place all the way to Ebisu Station. From there we walked to Shibuya through winding, narrow streets passing an unbelievable number of hair salons on the way. By the time we arrived in Shibuya we were feeling a bit sleepy (that early afternoon beer - oops) but we managed to wander around for a couple of hours.

Shibuya was crazy busy. Full of young people wearing crazy outfits (including the foreigners!), huge TV screens on the sides of buildings and Japanese homeboys cruising round in their flashy cars. Completely insane. Shibuya is also the home of the Love Hotel area, although Mike and I opted not to sample those! Love Hotels allow you to rent a room by the hour (or for the day/night) and apparently you can even choose whichever fantasy decor you desire.