11 best beer gardens in Tokyo to enjoy barbecue and a cold pint outdoors

You’ll get free-flowing Premium Malts beer, Japanese craft gin Sui, whisky, wine and more at the Ginza Sky Beer Terrace on the 13th floor of Yurakucho's Kotsu Kaikan.

There's also plenty of food to enjoy. For a light meal, try the one plate option (¥5,500), which gets you smoked salmon, potato salad, sausage, deep-fried lotus root and chicken with teriyaki sauce, spicy cheddar cheese tortilla, rice pilaf and more, plus a 90-minute all-you-can-drink deal. The standard plan (¥8,000), on the other hand, includes a two-hour all-you-can-drink deal and an additional plate with a few more options such as shrimp fritters, grilled seasonal fish with herbs, chicken terrine and fried burdock chips.

Those who want an even more substantial meal can upgrade to the ¥12,000 special plan, which comes with a slab of sirloin steak in addition to the aforementioned plates. This plan also includes a two-hour all-you-can-drink deal with sparkling wine and Suntory's high-end 'Master's Dream' beer.

Popular German craft beer brand Schmatz takes over the Lumine Ikebukuro rooftop with its annual beer garden serving modern German cuisine. The premium all-you-can drink plan features three original craft beers, plus a range of beer cocktails including shandy gaff, cassis beer, mango beer and even a peach weizen. Additionally, there are regular cocktails, highballs, wines and soft drinks to choose from as well. 

The standard barbecue plan with the premium all-you-can-drink option will set you back ¥6,500, and includes spare ribs, beef shoulder loin, specialty sausages, chicken, corn and an array of veggies to grill. If you're looking to save, the standard all-you-can-drink lager beer plan at ¥6,000 is worth considering too.

If you're looking to splurge on a beer garden experience, this is one to consider. Sekirei sits on the lawn of the stately Meiji Kinenkan hall, which is surrounded by the forest of Meiji Jingu Shrine. It’s a beautiful setting where a well-dressed crowd sip beer and wine while lounging in grand wicker chairs.

As you would expect from such a grand location, this beer garden is quite pricey. Beer starts at ¥1,300 and most of the food costs upwards of ¥1,500, with additional charges for seating and service (standard seats ¥1,000, cushioned seats ¥1,500).

At the outdoor terrace seats, you can enjoy a five-course meal (¥12,000) that includes dishes like roast beef made from domestic beef sirloin and vichyssoise soup with Kujo leek pesto. Roasted Iwate-grown chicken marinated with fragrant spices can be ordered at the time of reservation for ¥5,700. (Limited to four orders per reservation)

From this year, two-hour free-flow drinks will be offered for indoor seat reservations (from ¥9,000) for a separate fee of ¥4,000.

But don't let the prices scare you off – this is a summer experience worth paying for. Make your bookings in advance via the website.

The rooftop of Lumine Shinjuku has transformed into a Japanese matsuri-themed beer garden with a BBQ menu inspired by various cities and local cuisines of Japan. You can choose from Tokyo, Kyoto or Sapporo barbecue courses, all offered in light (from ¥5,940), standard (from ¥6,490) and premium (from ¥7,590) versions. The Around Japan BBQ Premium Plan offers a taste of all the cuisines in one go, for ¥8,690.

The Tokyo course comes with wagyu beef brisket in egg sauce, pork marinated in Edo-style miso, chicken marinated in salt-fermented rice koji, and sausages, accompanied by an assortment of veggies and sauces such as teriyaki, yuzu-shio and regular BBQ sauce. The Kyoto course features a beef short rib, pork marinated in Kyoto-style miso, chicken marinated in sake lees and an assortment of veggies. The Sapporo course comes with beef short-rib, Tokachi-grown glazed pork, Hokkaido-style deep-fried chicken, seafood options like scallops and shrimp, and special jingisukan BBQ sauce. All three sets include 90-minute all-you-can-drink deals where you get to choose from a list of 160 cocktails and soft drinks.

Taking over the expansive outdoor lawn within the children’s play area at Meiji Shrine’s Outer Gardens, the Forest Beer Garden distinguishes itself from other boozy events in town with its lush green surrounds and bubbling waterfall.

The popular two-hour all-you-can-eat (¥6,000) option includes everything from barbecue beef, pork and lamb to veggies, yakisoba noodles, grilled onigiri and even ice pops. It includes an all-you-can-drink selection of seven kinds of beers including Kirin and Heineken, in addition to whisky, sours, wine and soft drinks.

To mark its 40th anniversary, the beer garden is offering a special menu option (¥7,000) this year, with all-you-can-drink craft beer from Spring Valley Brewery and an all-you-can-eat seafood platter. Despite being one of the largest beer gardens in Tokyo with a capacity for around 1,000 people, the event can get extremely busy at weekends, so advance bookings are recommended via the website.

Wildbeach Shinjuku at Lumine Est is an annual beer garden venue that opens from April 11 to October 31. Despite being on a Shinjuku rooftop, this urban oasis will make you feel like you’re by the beach with its tropical decor.  It features five different areas: the Runway Beach with blue tables, benches and parasols; Luxury Terrace with comfy couches in the shade; Private Sofa area with an extendable canopy; vacance sofa; and the anniversary sofa area with a campfire surrounded by green comfortable sofa seats.

The menu varies depending on where you’re seated, but you can choose to dine on an all-inclusive barbecue plan (from ¥5,456) or choose to bring your own ingredients for a cheaper price (from ¥3,828). Best of all, a standard two-hour all-you-can-drink plan only goes for only ¥550. However, it’s worth ordering the premium plan (¥1,100) for the specialty cocktails, Asahi Super Dry beer and shandygaff.

Feast on Korean food at the rooftop beer garden of Ikebukuro Parco. The standard Korean barbecue course (from ¥4,800 for 100 minutes) will get you a plate of sampgyeopsal pork belly slices, bulgogi beef, chicken, sausage and tteokbokki to grill, plus marinated veggies, Korean chijimi pancakes and plenty of condiments to complement the meal. If all these dishes require you more time to consume, opt for the longer 150-minute plan for ¥5,600. All meal plans come with an all-you-can-drink deal, where you’ll get makgeolli (Korean rice wine), soju and more.

Shinjuku has its fair share of beer gardens, but Keio's rooftop spot edges most of the competition with its impressive night views, number of seats and affordable set menus. Their affordable happy-hour plate (¥2,970) is available only to those who arrive before 5.30pm, and includes 90 minutes of free-flow drinks along with roast pork, cucumber, and tortilla chips. 

The more complete eight-course menu, complete with two hours of free-flowing drinks (¥4,400/person) is recommended for groups of two or more, while the slightly more extravagant nine-course menu (¥5,830) with grilled chicken and cocktail shrimp is perfect for special occasions.

Reservations are essential and can be made online.

The very classy Marunouchi Hotel moves into the beer garden business in summer, but as you'd expect from this nearly century-old venue, it's a much more stylish affair than the boozers on department store rooftops across town. A standard course (¥8,500) will get you a salad, garlic shrimp and a smoked salmon with ravigote, plus 120 minutes of unlimited beer, wine, cocktails and sours. Meanwhile, the upgrade course (additional ¥1,000) includes premium drinks like sparkling wine and craft beer from Tokyo Sumidagawa Brewing. You'll be sitting on the eighth-floor terrace, which is decorated in blue and white and boasts fantastic views over the neighbouring Tokyo Station.

Futako-Tamagawa Rise shopping centre is once again turning its open-air Chuo Hiroba Plaza into a beer garden. This year, you can enjoy four kinds of Suntory Premium Malts (from ¥750) and Suntory Master's Dream beer (from ¥800). There’s also tropical beer cocktails (from ¥750), which are a mix of beer and fruit such as mango or coconut, plus other cocktails such as the Waikiki Piña colada (¥750), non-alcoholic beer (¥600) and mocktails (from ¥650). Pair your drinks with a large platter of spare ribs, garlic shrimp and fries (¥4,500), a poke bowl with salmon and yangnyeom sauce (¥1,380), a steak Loco Moco on rice (¥1,380) or spicy chicken BBQ (¥1,100).

Tokyo Tower's alternative to the ubiquitous summer beer gardens is welcoming the outdoor drinking season with a double dose of whisky highballs. Head to the terrace at the base of the tower near the main entrance for a lengthy menu of highballs combined with a variety of drinking snacks (think karaage and grilled bacon).

There's also a meatier option on the roof of the Tower Foot Town building. The Tokyo Tower Rooftop Highball Garden serves up all-you-can-eat jingisukan, the Hokkaido-born lamb barbecue named after the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan.

Two hours of all-you-can-drink alcohol and limitless jingisukan can be had for ¥6,000 (teens aged 13-19 ¥4,000, primary school students ¥3,000, children aged 4-6 ¥2,000, all with non-alcoholic drinks, of course).

The Tokyo Tower Cho-Ten Highball Garden at the base of the tower is open until September 28, from 4pm-10pm on weekdays and 12noon-10pm on Sat, Sun & holidays.

The Tokyo Tower Rooftop Highball Garden is open until October 13, from 5pm-10pm daily. Make your reservations here.