Behind the usual assortment of fresh produce and their derivative goods at the UNU Farmers' Market in Aoyama last weekend, Tokyo Beer Week 2017, which runs through June 11, was quietly kicking off by offering nearly four dozen taps of craft beer from in and outside of Japan. This year's event spans venues in Tokyo and Kanagawa and is the biggest incarnation yet.
Early in the afternoon on its May 27 opening day, the crowd was a mix of Tokyo's hard-core beer enthusiasts and curious shoppers who had wandered over from the main market.
Two tickets redeemable for a beer each can be purchased for ¥1,000 from any of the eight trucks selling draft craft from local breweries like Far Yeast and those further afield, like Heiwa Craft in Wakayama Prefecture and Brussels Beer Project from the Belgian capital, which just last month opened a taphouse in Shinjuku. Bigger names were also on the menu, as import company AQ Bevolution was pouring an assortment from San Diego-based Ballast Point, and Kirin's craft venture, Spring Valley Brewing out of Daikanyama, had a half-dozen beers at its customized Airstream trailer, aptly dubbed the Beerstream.