Just a quick post today to mention the upcoming Keyaki Autumn beer festival (hope they don’t mind me using their picture above). The Spring version was my first Keyaki and since then I have been excitedly awaiting this edition. The Spring festival was great with loads of great breweries and beers and a really nice atmosphere with people just spreading themselves all over the plaza type area around the festival. This time they are moving indoors to the Saitama Super Arena. I suspect this has something to do with it being less at the mercy of the weather and perhaps also to do with toilet provision, which could have been my only complaint about the Spring event (the queue was pretty long so you had to end up predicting when the need would arise, and given that lots of beer was being consumed, this became quite often). I guess it might not feel the same indoors, but I am sure it will still be a lot of fun!
This edition of the festival is held from the 2nd to the 6th of October, each day opening at 11.00 and closing at 21.00 (apart from Saturday, which closes at 22.00 and Sunday, at 19.00 though, so be prepared). There are hundreds of beers to try, the vast majority of which are from Japanese Craft Breweries. You can check a list of some of the beers available here. There are some imports too as you might expect (mainly Belgian and US stuff from some of the regular importers). A lot of breweries do tasting sets so you can try a selection of their beers without having to drink a regular sized glass. And there is also a large range of food available. I guess exactly what you might expect from a beer festival.
The event should be pretty easy to find. Just get to either Saitamashintoshin or Kitayono station and head for the Saitama Super Arena. There’s no entry fee or buy a glass stuff, you just pay for the beers you want to drink which makes a nice change. I can’t think of a good reason not to go, and consequently will hopefully be making it to two days this edition. See you there!
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