Craft beer drinkers have a hard time in Japan. Due to restrictive Japanese laws (which have changed, slowly, over time), it’s been difficult to become licensed to brew beer in Japan. For years, you had to be a big company with big equipment to be able to legally sell your product. As a result, it’s hard to get anything very unique to drink. Most bars and restaurants, even in Tokyo, have a limited selection of the same four or five big-brand Japanese beers.

After a while, you might begin think that there is simply no place for craft beer lovers in Japan.

But you’d be wrong.

Craftheads is proudly different. They’ve got craft beer – lots of it – from all over the world. In fact, the selection of beer here is so good, there are things on the list that I can’t even find at home (northern Virginia) closer to where they are actually made – beers from Alesmith, Three Floyds, Founders, and Stone, among many others, including some Japanese microbreweries. The food is special, too… you’ve got real pizza, beef hamburgers and other rarities (for Japan).

We made our way to Craftheads with our friend George, who lives near Tokyo. Starting near Shibuya crossing (we had just eaten delicious noodles at Suzuran), we wound our way around Shibuya’s back streets to the small alley that leads to Craftheads.

We passed a popular meeting spot – the head statue “Moyai,” which has sat here outside the train station since 1980. The other side of the station is home to Hachiko, another statue (of a dog) and another very popular meeting spot.

Down some side streets, and finally a small series of alleyways…

A sign…

Aha!

At last, the stairs lined with kegs, leading down to craftheads. The sign reads “Welcome to Craftheads. Enjoy Beer.” We will.

Craftheads is very comfortable and cozy inside; the look is composed of wood and warm colors mixed with exposed reinforced concrete. The bar is adorned with custom tap handles for tonight’s drafts. It’s lively but not overly crowded on the night that we have chosen to visit. We take an open table across from the bar and have a look at the menu.

The printed menu is extremely promising, and the walls are lined with blackboards filled with even more choices. Prices are a bit higher than other beer bars nearby, due to the exotic selection, but the drafts are fairly reasonable. It’s definitely a place to drink quality, not quantity.

There are just so many beers to choose from. The influence of Koji’s other bar, Sal’s, is also apparent in the variety of whiskey and bourbon available.

We opted for some Alesmith “Speedway Stout,” a beer I love and that’s very hard (well, impossible really) to find at home. It was expensive, but I wanted George to have a taste. After that, we tried a very good draft IPA and then, at the bartender’s recommendation, some Stone “Old Guardian” barleywine, which was intense and delicious.

 We also tried the pizza, which came out piping hot and delicious. It went perfectly.

Koji, the owner of Craftheads, clearly knows and loves beer. He is credited with helping to raise interest for craft beer in Japan by shipping in beer from the United States personally before imports became official. When he opened his bourbon bar in Kawasaki, years earlier, his search for quality bourbon led him to the U.S. to talk with distillers here. During that time, he tried a craft beer in New York, and the rest, as they say, was history. He opened Craftheads in 2009.

We really enjoyed ourselves, spending a couple of hours there chatting, drinking, and enjoying the food. I talked beer, video games and old times with George and couldn’t have asked for a better night. The staff was friendly and Koji was in attendance behind the bar, talking with customers. It was just like I hoped it would be.

Shibuya stays up late, and the walk home is always full of little surprises. This sidewalk band was a neat little find on the way back.

Craftheads
Japan, 〒150-0041 Tokyo, Shibuya, Jinnan, １丁目１３−１０
+81 3-6416-9474