For a few months every year, Tokyo hauls tables onto its roofs. Department stores, hotels and station-front malls open beer gardens (ビアガーデン, biagāden) from late spring through autumn, and then, when the season turns, the chairs disappear and the roof goes back to being a roof.
The thing that catches most first-timers off guard is how you pay. A Tokyo beer garden usually isn't a place where you order one drink at a time. You buy a course: a fixed price, a fixed block of time, unlimited drinks included (nomihodai, 飲み放題). You'll see it advertised exactly like that — "Two hours, all-you-can-drink, ¥7,500." I checked eight venues in and around Tokyo against their official sites and press releases, and seven of them sell that kind of timed course. Only GARDEN WHITE in Ebisu lists no time limit at all.
Two on this list aren't strictly rooftops: Takao-san Beer Mount sits on a mountain, and the Tokyo Prince Hotel runs its beer garden as an outdoor barbecue at ground level. Both belong here anyway, because the point is drinking outdoors in a Tokyo summer. If you're building an itinerary around other summer events, start from Tokyo Summer 2026: Every Festival & Fireworks Show, in Date Order.
The 8 Tokyo beer gardens, summer 2026
Prices are per adult and include tax. SKY BBQ is the only one that puts a service charge on top of that. The table runs by which one closes first.
Two of them end early — Ginza Sky Beer Terrace on August 29 and the Tokyo Prince Hotel on September 12. Arrive after mid-September and those two are already out. If you're here in October, your options narrow to SKY BBQ, GARDEN WHITE and Takao-san Beer Mount; the Hilton, Matsuya Ginza and Keio all close on September 30.
Venue (area) | Dates (2026) | Price (adult, tax incl.) | Time limit | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ginza Sky Beer Terrace (Yurakucho) | Jun 17–Aug 29 | ¥4,950–¥13,000 | 1.5–2 hrs | Recommended |
Tokyo Prince Hotel (Shiba-koen) | Jun 5–Sep 12 | ¥11,000–¥13,000 | 2 hrs | Required |
Hilton Tokyo (Nishi-Shinjuku) | May 15–Sep 30 | ¥7,000–¥8,500 (¥7,500 / ¥8,500 in Jul–Aug) | 2 hrs | Not stated (bookings taken) |
Utsukushikunaru Beer Garden (Matsuya Ginza) | May 20–Sep 30 | ¥6,000–¥16,000 | 2–3 hrs | Required |
Keio Sky Beer Garden (Shinjuku) | May 28–Sep 30 | ¥2,970–¥5,830 | 90–120 min | Not stated (from 2 people) |
SKY BBQ (Tokyu Plaza Shibuya) | May 8–end of Oct (planned) | ¥7,000–¥13,000 (+ service charge) | 2 hrs | Not stated (bookings taken) |
GARDEN WHITE (Atre Ebisu) | Apr 24–Oct 31 (planned) | ¥5,500–¥7,500 | Not stated | Not stated (bookings taken) |
Takao-san Beer Mount (Mt. Takao) | May 30–Nov 29 | ¥5,000 (¥4,500 early-bird) | 120 min | Not needed |
The cheapest is the Keio department store roof at ¥2,970. Then comes Takao-san Beer Mount's early-bird rate of ¥4,500 (conditions below), the Ginza Sky Beer Terrace off-peak plan at ¥4,950 (Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays only), and Mt. Takao's regular price of ¥5,000. The hotel and restaurant plans run from ¥7,000 into five figures, and what you're paying for, broadly, is the food.
If you only have one evening, SKY BBQ is the easiest to arrange from abroad: an English site, English bookings, doors open at 11 a.m., and it's a short walk from Shibuya Station — as long as you don't mind the service charge on top. If the bill matters more than the view, the Keio roof at ¥2,970 does the job.
The Hilton Tokyo does not admit anyone under 13. Only two venues publish a children's price: Takao-san Beer Mount (¥1,800, elementary school age) and the Tokyo Prince Hotel (¥5,500, elementary school age and under). Setting the Hilton aside, the other five say nothing about children on their official pages, so ask before you bring them.
The venue write-ups below run by area, not in the order of the table. If you already know where you'll be, look for the name.
Shinjuku: Hilton Tokyo Beer Garden — 7th-floor terrace, no under-13s
A rooftop terrace on the 7th floor of the Hilton, right among the Nishi-Shinjuku skyscrapers. Two hours, unlimited drinks, and a chef's platter rather than a buffet. From July through August it's ¥7,500 Sunday to Thursday and ¥8,500 on Friday and Saturday, tax and service charge included — which not every venue spells out. In May, June and September each price drops by ¥500. The season runs May 15 to September 30, 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. No one under 13 is admitted.
Book online through TableCheck or by phone (03-3344-5111); in July and August there are two seatings, at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. The Hilton is also the clearest venue about bad weather: rain or strong wind means cancellation, and the call is made at 3 p.m. that day. Nishi-Shinjuku Station (西新宿駅, Marunouchi line) is a 2-minute walk; Shinjuku Station's west exit is about 10 minutes.
Official site: ヒルトン東京7階のルーフトップテラスにて、夏の風物詩ビアガーデンを今年も開催します。
2026年ビアガーデン｜東京・新宿のホテルなら【ヒルトン東京】
Shinjuku: Keio Sky Beer Garden — the cheapest of the eight, at ¥2,970
On the roof of the Keio Department Store (京王百貨店), a minute's walk from Shinjuku Station. The 90-minute Happy Hour course, drinks included, is ¥2,970. The 120-minute Sky Beer Garden course is ¥4,400, and the Special course is ¥5,830. From July 16 to August 19 they add a summer festival course (縁日コース) at ¥3,850 for 120 minutes, built around the food you'd find at a festival stall.
Every course comes with unlimited drinks, and they're self-serve: you walk to the counter and pour your own. The season runs May 28 to September 30, from 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. on weekends and holidays, closing at 9:30 p.m. (last order 9 p.m.). Minimum party of two. Heavy rain can mean cancellation or shortened hours.
Official site: 5/28(木)→9/30(水)：西新宿の夜景を楽しめる、駅チカの屋上ビアガーデン！仕事帰りや休日に飲み放題付きメニューでおいしく飲んで、食べて、盛り上がろう！
京王スカイビアガーデン 2026 | 京王百貨店 新宿店
Ginza: Utsukushikunaru Beer Garden — Mexican grill on the Matsuya roof
On the roof of the Matsuya Ginza department store (松屋銀座, 3-6-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku). The name (美しくなるビアガーデン) means roughly "the beer garden that makes you beautiful," and the food leans hard on vegetables and fruit. The 2026 theme is "A Touch of Mexican Spirit," so this year the grill is Mexican. From June through September, the Light plan starts at ¥6,000, Standard is ¥7,700, and the Luxury plan tops out at ¥16,000. Two hours is standard; the Luxury and the "three-hour relaxed" plan give you three.
The season runs May 20 to September 30 — 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, noon to 10 p.m. on weekends and holidays, with last bookings at 8 p.m. A reservation is required, through TableCheck. Deadlines differ by plan (the early-bird plan can't be booked same-day; the lunch plan closes at 8 p.m. the night before), so check the official site. They cancel outright in bad weather.
Yurakucho: Ginza Sky Beer Terrace — the first one to close, on August 29
An open-air terrace on the 13th floor of the Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan building (東京交通会館), a minute from Yurakucho Station. Not the top floor, but the view runs straight out over Ginza and Yurakucho at night. It's run by Tokyo Kaikan (東京會舘), which opened in 1922.
Four plans, all with unlimited drinks: the Sky Beer plan at ¥5,500 (90 minutes), the Standard plan at ¥8,500 (two hours), the "meat platter" plan at ¥13,000 (two hours), and an off-peak plan at ¥4,950 (two hours), available Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays only. The season runs June 17 to August 29 — 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. Closed Sundays and public holidays. Booking is recommended, and they shut for bad weather.
Official site: Ginza Sky Beer Terrace
Shibuya: SKY BBQ — the only one that adds a service charge
A rooftop on the 17th floor of Tokyu Plaza Shibuya, straight out of Shibuya Station. Three plans — CHILL ¥7,000, STANDARD ¥8,500, SUPERIOR ¥13,000 — each with two hours of unlimited drinks (last drink order 30 minutes before the end). This is the one venue on the list that adds a service charge on top of the listed price, so what you actually pay is higher than the number you see.
It has an English site, and bookings go through TableCheck (in English) or by phone. Hours are 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and the day before a holiday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays and holidays — an 11 a.m. open means you can start at lunch. It runs from May 8 to the end of October (planned).
Dates and prices confirmed via the press release: 株式会社ICONIC LOCATIONS JAPANのプレスリリース（2026年5月8日 12時30分）【CÉ LA VI TOKYO】渋谷の“特等席”で味わうBBQ体験、空と音楽に包まれる「SKY BBQ」今年も開幕！
【CÉ LA VI TOKYO】渋谷の“特等席”で味わうBBQ体験、空と音楽に包まれる「SKY BBQ」今年も開幕！
Ebisu: GARDEN WHITE — the one with no clock on your table
A rooftop terrace on the 8th floor of the mall connected directly to JR Ebisu Station. The terrace seats about 136, and the drink-inclusive plans run ¥5,500 (Casual), ¥6,500 (Standard) and ¥7,500 (Premium). From July 1 to August 31 they run a summer fair called SUNSET GRILL.
The season is April 24 to October 31 (planned), 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends and holidays, with last bookings at 9 p.m. Reservations are taken online. It's the only one of the eight with no time limit stated on its official page — the other seven run from 90 minutes to three hours.
Shiba-koen: Tokyo Prince Hotel — an outdoor BBQ, not a roof
Not a rooftop at all, in fact: this is the hotel's outdoor barbecue. The seafood BBQ is ¥13,000, the standard BBQ ¥11,000, and children of elementary school age and under are ¥5,500 (food plus two hours of unlimited drinks). All prices include tax and service charge, and all run two hours with unlimited drinks. There's an indoor party plan at ¥9,000 in the same period, but the prices in the table above are for the outdoor plan.
The season is June 5 to September 12, 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (last order 9 p.m.), closed Sundays and holidays. A reservation is required, through TableCheck or by phone (03-3432-1129; parties of 19 or more must call). Onarimon Station (御成門駅, Toei Mita line), exit A1, is a 1-minute walk. Typhoons and other severe weather can close it.
Official site: Tokyo Prince Hotel, Beer Garden
Mt. Takao: Beer Mount — the one that runs to November 29
An hour from Shinjuku, then straight off the cable car. You're 488 meters up on Mt. Takao (高尾山), eating with the Kanto plain spread out below you, and it costs ¥5,000 for an adult (junior high school age and up): 120 minutes, all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink, with more than 30 dishes on the spread.
Go on a weekday and there's an early-bird rate. For seatings from 2:30 p.m. onward on weekdays (Mon–Thu) in June and July, booking online at least seven days ahead brings an adult ticket down to ¥4,500 (¥1,650 for elementary school age) — the second-cheapest price on this list, after the Keio roof.
Children of elementary school age are ¥1,800. Pre-schoolers aged 3 and up are ¥500, though each paying adult can bring one of them in free, and under-3s are free. Extending your stay costs ¥500 per 30 minutes (¥1,000 on weekends and holidays in September and October).
It also runs the longest season of any on this list: May 30 to November 29, 2026. Standard hours are noon to 9 p.m., but on Mondays through Thursdays and Sundays in May, June and November it's a daytime-only operation, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (There are no daytime-only days in July or August.) No reservation is needed — walk up and in. Bookings are only taken for groups of 4 or more on weekdays and 10 or more on weekends and holidays. The official site advertises a large weatherproof tent and indoor seats, though it doesn't actually say whether they stay open in the rain, so check on the day.
Watch the last cable car down. Getting there is a 5-minute walk from Takaosanguchi Station (高尾山口駅) plus a 6-minute cable car ride (¥980 round trip for adults, ¥500 for children). Getting back is the catch. Outside the beer garden season, the last car down leaves somewhere between 5:15 and 6 p.m. on weekdays, and between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays, depending on the month. Through the Beer Mount season the last car is pushed back to 9:15 p.m., with cars every 20 minutes between 6 and 9 p.m. But if bad weather changes Beer Mount's hours, the last car changes too. Check the Takao Tozan Railway timetable before you go.
Official site: Mt. Takao: Beer Mount
Cable car: Takao Tozan Railway
Before you go
Whether you need a booking depends entirely on the venue. Takao-san Beer Mount you can simply walk into. Matsuya Ginza and the Tokyo Prince Hotel require a reservation; Ginza Sky Beer Terrace recommends one. The Hilton, Keio, SKY BBQ and GARDEN WHITE don't say either way — they just take bookings (Keio from two people).
If you're booking from overseas, SKY BBQ, the Hilton, Matsuya Ginza and the Tokyo Prince Hotel all use TableCheck, which you can complete in English.
Understand the time limit before you sit down. Depending on the venue it's 90, 120 or 180 minutes, and when the clock runs out, your table is done. At some places — SKY BBQ among them — the last drink order comes 30 minutes before the end. Arrive at 7 p.m. on a two-hour plan and you're leaving at 9.
Rain can cancel your evening. The Hilton calls it off for rain or strong wind, and decides at 3 p.m. that day. Keio may cancel or shorten hours in bad weather, and Matsuya Ginza, Ginza Sky Beer Terrace and the Tokyo Prince Hotel all close in severe weather. Of the eight, the only one that advertises any wet-weather setup — a large tent and indoor seats — is Takao-san Beer Mount.
SKY BBQ and GARDEN WHITE say nothing official about rain, so call them on the day — and keep one indoor backup in your pocket regardless.
You have to be 20 to drink. Drinking under 20 is against the law in Japan, and venues are obliged to check. Carry your passport. Separately, in the designated zone around Shibuya Station, drinking on the street or in parks and other public places has been banned year-round from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. since October 1, 2024. Your table at a beer garden is fine; walking through Shibuya with a can is not.
Dress for a Tokyo summer that doesn't cool off much after dark. A roof gets a breeze, but the humidity is what you feel — What to Wear in Japan in Summer 2026: Heat, Humidity & Rain covers it. Payment methods vary by venue (cash, card, IC card), so How to Pay in Japan (2026): Cash, IC Cards, Contactless & QR is a useful companion.
A habit that only lasts a few months
A beer garden is a Japanese city lending out its rooftops for one season. By autumn the chairs are gone and there's nothing up there but an empty floor. Which is the argument for spending one evening of your summer up there. Some plans run past ¥10,000, but drinking two hours away above the city is something you can only do for a few months of the year.
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
