Yona Yona Beer Works in Tokyo

Yoko and I were so excited to find that one of Yoho Brewery's tap rooms in Tokyo was right in our hotel! We waited until our very last night in the city to go in for a beer, and looking back, I wish we wouldn't have. Yona Yona Beer Works was so great -- we should have gone every night. Yoho Brewery was founded in Nagano prefecture in 1996, and is one of the most established and popular craft beer breweries in Japan. The former head brewer studied the craft at Stone Brewing in San Diego, and all of their beers come in cans or kegs; they do not release their beers in bottles at all. The cans are all well-designed and unique -- as a result, they are some of our top selling beers at Umami Mart. Especially Wednesday Cat! Yona Yona is Yoho's signature ale, hence their tap room is called Yona Yona Beer Works. The room was inviting and cozy on this cold winter night. It was late on Sunday but customers streamed in throughout the evening. The illustrated menu was bilingual and offered delicious pub bites and more substantial meals like ramen (under "Yummy Carbo" of course): Potato salad: Fried sardines in a sweet onion sauce. This was awesome! Bagna cauda. The underdog of pub fare! I'd stay at this hotel again for its proximity to Yona Yona. The space was lively and welcoming, and the food was excellent. We went up the elevator and said good night. YONA YONA BEER WORKS Tokyu Plaza Akasaka Second floor 100-0014 Chiyoda-ku Tokyo Nagatacho 2-14-3 T: 03-5510-4789 *Photos by Yoko Kumano