Enjoy ice-cold draft beer in the hot summer! An inside report on the appeal of “Mori no Beer Garden,” an all-you-can-eat-and-drink BBQ boasting one of the largest scales in Japan 👀 @Meiji Jingu Gaien | We went

Hello! I’m Min from Social Relations Division 3, a second-year employee and a Korean resident of Japan born and raised here.
Let me start by saying this: This year’s Golden Week was hot!

Golden Week 2024 was marked by exceptional heat, with summer days exceeding 25°C recorded consecutively across the country. Incidentally, the summer is expected to be even hotter…

Did you know there’s a beer garden where you can enjoy ice-cold draft beer, perfect for the hot summer and upcoming season?

The 2024 season of Meiji Jingu Gaien “Mori no Beer Garden,” which started on April 16 and offers all-you-can-eat-and-drink BBQ, is actually operated by Royal Group, which also runs Royal Host!

Since joining the company, I have been in charge of PR for “Royal Holdings,” primarily promoting the appeal of “Shakey’s” with its all-you-can-eat pizza and “Sizzler,” a premium salad bar and grill restaurant offering high-quality ingredients. I visited the bustling “Mori no Beer Garden” and will report on what I found!

■ What is “Mori no Beer Garden”?

“Mori no Beer Garden,” which opened in 1984, is celebrating its 39th season this year. Royal Group has been operating it since 2006.

The number of visitors has been increasing year by year, with 120,000 people visiting during last year’s season.

Located in the heart of the city—approximately 5 minutes on foot from JR Chuo-Sobu Line “Shinanomachi Station” or Toei Oedo Line “Kokuritsu-Kyogijo Station,” and approximately 10 minutes on foot from Tokyo Metro “Aoyama-itchome Station”—”Mori no Beer Garden” has become a well-known summer tradition where you can enjoy all-you-can-eat BBQ and all-you-can-drink draft beer surrounded by lush greenery.

This year, “Mori no Beer Garden” aims to exceed last year’s numbers by attracting 160,000 visitors over 160 days from April 16 to September 23, with numerous upgraded highlights!

In addition, there are must-see recommended ways to enjoy the unique experience of “Mori no Beer Garden”!

The path to the reception looks like this. The lively atmosphere and delicious aromas are exciting.

■ Finally face-to-face with ice-cold draft beer! And introducing the serious commitment to beer

After checking in at reception, staff will guide you to your seat and provide a brief explanation of how to order and how to use the tongs.

The key point is that the starter set of food items is served first, so as soon as the explanation is finished, you can immediately go quench your thirst.

We also stood up immediately after being seated and headed here with our mugs in hand!

You might want to add a dramatic sound effect, but this is the essential “Mori no Beer Garden exclusive prefabricated refrigerator” jointly developed with KIRIN for serving ice-cold draft beer!

As the name suggests, the “Mori no Beer Garden exclusive prefabricated refrigerator” is a beer server that can chill entire kegs. The internal temperature is constantly maintained at 3°C.

Why 3°C? This temperature setting reflects a commitment to enjoying delicious beer.

Do you know what temperature is ideal for drinking beer?

The answer is 5°C to 7°C!

Assuming the temperature will rise by 2°C while pouring beer into a mug and returning to your seat in the heat,
the internal temperature is set to 3°C.

Furthermore, the mugs are not ordinary glasses but thermos-style mugs. No matter how hot it gets, the beer won’t lose its chill easily.

The commitment to serving delicious beer is incredible!

The draft beer lineup includes seven varieties: Kirin Ichiban Shibori, Ichiban Shibori Premium, Kirin Lager, Heineken, Braumeister, Kirin Ichiban Shibori Black Draft, and Heartland.

It’s great to have the most popular Kirin Ichiban Shibori and Heineken, which is easy for women to drink.

And new this year, the popular craft beer “Spring Valley” is available as an optional purchase (200 yen per bottle)!

Every Thursday from April 18 (Thu) to June 30 (Sun), there will also be sales by cute vendors!
* “Spring Valley” is available only to customers who order “Barbecue All-You-Can-Eat-and-Drink” and can be ordered during the course time.

It adds a leisure atmosphere like being at a baseball stadium, which you won’t find at other beer gardens.

■ Not just beer. From highballs to wine! Other drinks are also plentiful

While we have introduced the commitment to beer so far, the most noteworthy new feature this year is the addition of two new “Mori no Beer Garden exclusive prefabricated refrigerators” for sours and highballs!

Like the beer, the internal temperature is maintained at 4°C, allowing you to enjoy ice-cold highballs (White Horse), plain sours, and lemon highballs.

In addition, there is wine from wooden barrels (red and white), which pairs perfectly with meat!

Soft drinks include oolong tea, orange juice, apple juice, Kirin Lemon, and Mets Grapefruit.

The lineup is sufficient for those who don’t like draft beer or cannot drink alcohol.

■ Addictively delicious. Both meat and vegetables are excellent!

After selecting the first drink from the extensive drink menu and returning to our seats, the starter set was immediately brought out.

The starter set includes a three-meat assortment, BBQ plate, and fried food assortment.

The three-meat assortment features the newly introduced American Angus beef with tender lean meat and rich flavor, pork belly with delicious fat, and seasoned Australian lamb slices.

The American Angus beef has concentrated beef flavor, and when you bite into it, the juices overflow—delicious…

The compatibility with the two sauces, “BBQ” and “Ginger,” is excellent, and I couldn’t help but savor the happiness. Personally, I recommend the “BBQ” sauce.

Next, the BBQ plate features a vegetable assortment of cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, shishito peppers, onions, and pumpkin, along with satisfying long sausages and the newly introduced juicy thick-cut bacon.

When it comes to BBQ, onions are a must! Cut into large rings and carefully grilled on the griddle, they develop a strong sweetness and are very satisfying.

Also, the newly introduced thick-cut bacon is huge!

Biting into the well-grilled thick-cut bacon and washing it down with draft beer sent my satisfaction level soaring.

For additional orders, you can separately order “vegetable assortment” and “sausage and thick-cut bacon.”

The final item in the starter set is the fried food assortment with fried shumai, spring rolls, french fries, and edamame.

There are also proper snacks, making them essential when you want a change of flavor.

For this item, only french fries and edamame can be ordered additionally.

In addition to the starter set, the “yakisoba with choice of two sauces” is absolutely essential. You can choose from salt yakisoba sauce or Worcestershire-style yakisoba sauce.

This time, we chose the Worcestershire-style yakisoba sauce.

Why is yakisoba essential?

Have you ever heard the rumor that adding beer when making it is a BBQ trick that makes it delicious?

The method is simple: just add your preferred beer in your preferred amount when loosening the yakisoba noodles!

Since beer evaporates more easily than water, the noodles cook with elasticity without becoming soggy, and the richness and subtle bitterness of the beer elevate the yakisoba to a deeper flavor!

Yakisoba made at “Mori no Beer Garden,” with its strong commitment to beer… the ultimate finale is complete!
It’s an easy arrangement, so please give it a try!

■ Impressions Summary

How was it? At “Mori no Beer Garden,” you can fully enjoy the extensive drink and food menus.

As the weather gets hotter this season, why not visit “Mori no Beer Garden” with family, friends, or your significant other, experience ice-cold beer, and create wonderful summer memories!