This mixed-use complex, on the site of the original Yebisu beer brewery, has two worthwhile attractions: Yebisu Brewery Tokyo, a new brewery and taproom, and Tokyo Photographic Arts Museum, one of the only museums in the world with a focus on photography. There’s also an attractive central plaza, which regularly holds markets and arts events.
Yebisu Brewery Tokyo
Yebisu, now a popular premium label under Suntory, is one of Japan's oldest beers. It was first brewed here in a redbrick factory in the 1890s, giving the neighborhood its name: Ebisu is a modern spelling of Yebisu. While the original factory closed in the 1980s (making way for Yebisu Garden Place), beer-making returned to Ebisu in 2024 with the opening of Yebisu Brewery Tokyo.
The craft-sized facility produces Yebisu Infinity, a new "prototype" beer for the label, which you can try alongside other Yebisu brews, including limited edition and seasonal beers, at the in-house taproom. Free, 20-minute tours feature vintage footage from Yebisu history (no booking required). Meanwhile the gift store has branded merchandise you can only get here.
Tokyo Photographic Arts Museum
TOP Museum is a local cultural institution and another Ebisu highlight. The museum stages a dozen or so shows a year across three gallery spaces; each is charged separately, so you only have to pay for what you want to see. This makes it easy to drop in for an exhibit, which might be a retrospective of a major artist or a survey of up-and-coming ones.
In February the museum puts on the Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions, which includes film screenings in the basement cinema. There's a branch of the excellent art bookshop Nadiff here, too.
The Central Plaza
Part of what gives Yebisu its chic image is the large covered plaza at the center of Yebisu Garden Place, where events happen most weekends. These include the organic farmers market, Yebisu Marché, held on the second and fourth Sundays of the month, and seasonal events such as a European-style Christmas market. Live music events are held a few times a year as well. From early November through the New Year, there are dazzling winter illuminations here in the evenings, considered among the best in the city.
