Beer Garden!

In Japan, when summer rolls around, rooftops suddenly become a very exciting place to be.  That’s because summer in Japan is beer garden season, and these beer gardens tend to set up shop on the roofs of department stores, hotels, and other buildings. 

 

There are few things Japanese people love more than to eat and drink outside.  Barbecue and hanami are two fine examples of that tradition.  Beer garden is another.  Visitors to beer garden can typically expect to pay a flat rate of somewhere between ¥2000 and ¥5000.  

The particulars will vary somewhat depending on the place, but usually beer garden is all-you-can-drink and all-you-can-eat.  You are given a mug to pour yourself the drink of your choice from a tap, and all the food is laid out on trays for the taking.  Everything is self-service.

The beer garden itself is usually a patio-like setting.  There are many tables and chairs around, and you can sit wherever you like, as long as the area isn’t reserved.  And much of the area may well be reserved, particularly if you visit the beer garden on a holiday when the weather is nice.  Beer garden is a very popular destination for large gatherings such as office drinking parties.

Japanese people have a reputation for their shyness, but as anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time in Japan well knows, those walls quickly come down when alcohol is imbibed.  As such, beer garden can be the site of some interesting interactions from time to time.  Everyone is outside drinking in the same space, and the atmosphere is very festive.  In addition, there are no booths or walls separating parties as in the standard izakaya.  So don’t be surprised if a stranger decides to pay you and your group an impromptu visit!  It’s all in good fun.

Recently, during a slight reprieve from the constant downpour that has been the rainy season this year, a couple of friends and I decided to visit the Asian Beer Garden located on the rooftop of Lotz in Fukuyama.  For residents of Fukuyama, the beer garden on the roof of Lotz is a standard destination in the summer.  The price and location (near Fukuyama Station) are convenient, and the view is pretty good too.

Open from roughly mid-May to mid-September each year, the cost of Asian Beer Garden is ¥3500 for adults and ¥1000 for children.  It’s open every day 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.  The theme of the beer garden is Asian Cuisine, and usually you can find some dishes from Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, and other countries under the section labeled “Asian Cuisine”.  On this particular day, there was some tuna-kimchee concoction to be found there, among other things. 

Next to the Asian Cuisine section is the “Fried Food” section.  Here you’ll find izakaya staples such as fried potatoes, karaage, and korokke.  There is some dessert, too.  None of the food is a revelation, but it is about as good as you’ll find in most izakaya, and you’re probably there mostly to drink anyway.  Unfortunately, the only brand of beer available is Asahi Super Dry.  But they do offer black beer.  There are also soft drinks, and some shochu and nihonsyu.

My visit to beer garden this time was a good experience, as usual.  It was a nice day, with a gentle breeze.  Because it was a weekday, it was also a very calm, relaxing atmosphere with few people around.  If you go on a weekend, prepare for a much more lively experience!  If you’re going with a large group, I would probably make reservations.  I highly recommend beer garden to anyone wanting an authentic Japanese experience.  You may even make some new friends along the way!