Drink fresh beer next to the tanks it came from

A small brewery near Ueno where a standing bar counter sits right in front of the brewing kettles and tanks, so you drink the beer a few steps from where it was made. There is a tasting space upstairs as well. It is about two minutes on foot from Yushima Station on the Chiyoda Line.

The taproom of a small brewery in Musashi-Nakahara, Kawasaki, about six minutes on foot from the station along an old main road. Pale ales and IPAs made next door are poured fresh, with simple bar food such as fish and chips. The station is on the JR Nambu Line.

A taproom in Mizonokuchi, Kawasaki, where up to thirteen taps pour beers brewed on site alongside guest beers from around the world. Its seasonal Utauto beers are made with fresh fruit, and a small market corner sells craft juice and regional foods to take home. The line-up changes often, so check the brewery's website for what is on tap.

A small brewery and beer restaurant where the brewing equipment stands in the dining room, so your beer is made in the room you are drinking it in. The house Futako Ale uses hops grown in Setagaya, the Tokyo ward it sits in. It is about two minutes on foot from the west exit of Futako-Tamagawa Station, on the second floor of a building in a small restaurant alley.

A small craft brewery in Asamushi, a hot spring town on the bay coast of Aomori City, about five minutes on foot from Asamushi-Onsen Station. Drink its pale ale, brewed on site, at the counter, or take some back to your inn after a soak. Asamushi is a short ride from Aomori Station on the Aoimori Railway.

A craft beer bar in the Omotesando area whose taps change often, pouring mostly collaboration and guest beers, many of them in bold, strong styles. The industrial-style room sometimes hosts DJ nights, so an evening here can feel closer to a club than a pub. It is a short walk from Omotesando Station.

A cafe restaurant in Fukaya, a farming town in northern Saitama, with an outdoor basketball court beside the terrace, so children can shoot hoops while adults sit over a craft beer and a pizza topped with the town's well-known green onions. It is about 15 minutes on foot from JR Fukaya Station, around an hour and a half from Ueno on the Takasaki Line.

A brewery bar in a former bookbinding workshop a few minutes' walk from Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station in eastern Tokyo, where the brewing area is in view from the bar. Pale ale, amber ale and IPA are poured alongside yakitori, grilled chicken skewers, and other pub food. The neighborhood is also known for its coffee roasters, so it makes a good end to an afternoon walk.

A restaurant in the grounds of Ishikawa Brewery, a sake brewer in western Tokyo that also makes its own Tama no Megumi craft beers. Drink them with pizza baked in the oven, with the old brewery buildings around you. It is about a 20-minute walk from Haijima Station on the JR Ome Line, and seats are few, so book ahead.

A craft brewery in Kamifurano, a farming town in central Hokkaido known for its lavender fields and hop farms, that brews its core beers only with hops grown in the town. It also turns out dozens of seasonal and limited beers a year. Its taproom is in central Sapporo, so check before you go whether the brewery itself is selling beer on the day you visit.

A brewpub in central Sapporo, near the east end of the Tanukikoji shopping arcade, where ten beers are on tap at any time, some brewed in-house and some from guest breweries. The food is built mostly on Hokkaido ingredients. It is about four minutes on foot from Hosui-Susukino Station.

A brewery taproom near Makishi in central Naha, in an old beauty-school building that the brewers renovated. The house beers are mostly ales, and one is brewed with naked barley grown on Kudaka, a small sacred island off the Okinawan coast. Opening days were not confirmed, so check before you go.

A Chicago-style deep-dish pizza restaurant on the ninth floor of a building by Gotanda Station, with around twenty craft beers on tap, including DevilCraft's own. The pizza has a thick, high-sided crust packed with cheese and toppings, and it takes a while to bake, so order it early. Reservations are accepted, which helps on busy evenings.

A small brewery and taproom in Tokamachi, a snowy rice-growing town in southern Niigata, about ten minutes on foot from the east exit of Tokamachi Station. It specializes in IPA, a hoppy pale beer, and the taps change from time to time. You may bring in takeout from nearby restaurants, and the shop keeps their menus on hand.

A brewpub in Koto, east Tokyo, where the brewing tanks stand inside the bar and more than ten house beers are on tap, from pale ale and IPA to Belgian styles. One golden ale is named after Senda, the neighborhood where it is brewed. It is about ten minutes on foot from Sumiyoshi Station on the Hanzomon and Toei Shinjuku lines.

A brewery taproom in the Kawasaki suburbs where the beer is brewed on the premises and up to nine house beers are on tap, served with dishes made in the kitchen. It is about a minute on foot from Satsukidai Station on the Odakyu Tama Line, roughly 40 minutes from Shinjuku. It closes on some weekdays, so check its Instagram for opening days.

A brewpub under the elevated railway tracks in Gotanda, with a small brewing setup standing in the room, so some of the beer is made a few meters from your table. About twenty taps pour the brand's beers, most of which come from its main brewery in the mountains of Yamanashi. It is a short walk from Gotanda Station.

A brewery and restaurant in Daikanyama, in a low building along a walkway laid on old railway land, where you can see the mash tuns and fermentation tanks from your seat. The beers are brewed right here, and upstairs the kitchen pairs dishes with them. It is about four minutes on foot from Daikanyama Station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line.

A beer restaurant run by Asahi beside its headquarters on the Sumida River, just across the Azuma Bridge from Asakusa. It pours draft Super Dry two ways, including an Extra Cold version served at just below 0°C, and the beer comes from Asahi's factories rather than being brewed here. It is about five minutes on foot from Asakusa Station.

The restaurant of COEDO, a craft brewery from Kawagoe in Saitama, a town of old merchant houses nicknamed Little Edo. Every COEDO beer is poured on draft, brought straight from the brewery next door, with dishes made from local and organic vegetables. Kawagoe is about 30 minutes from Ikebukuro on the Tobu Tojo Line, so it pairs well with a walk through the old streets.

A small craft brewery in Katsuura, a fishing and surfing town on the Pacific coast of southern Chiba, about 90 minutes from Tokyo by limited express train. Its beer bar pours fresh beer straight from the brewery. The bar opens only on Friday and Saturday afternoons, so plan your trip around those days.

A winery founded in 1903, whose red-brick wine-making buildings are now a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. You can stroll the grounds, eat at the restaurant inside one of the old buildings, and buy the chateau's own wine and beer at the shop. It is about eight minutes on foot from JR Ushiku Station, roughly an hour from Ueno on the Joban Line.

A roadside station, a rest stop for drivers with farm shops and restaurants, on the edge of Utsunomiya in Tochigi, with its own small brewery on the grounds. Try several of its beers side by side with a meal; they are made with barley from Tochigi, one of Japan's main beer-barley regions. Utsunomiya is under an hour from Tokyo by shinkansen, and the roadside station is a bus or taxi ride from there.

A tiny craft brewery in one of a row of three old joined houses in a quiet part of Takasaki, Gunma. The shop front was once a barber's, and the beer is brewed in the back. It is about ten minutes on foot from Takasaki Station, which is about an hour from Tokyo by shinkansen.

The taproom of Kyoto Brewing Co., set right beside its tanks in a quiet part of southern Kyoto, so the beer is poured a few steps from where it was brewed. On sunny days there are seats outside. The taproom does not keep the same days every week, so check the brewery's website before you go.

The taproom and bottle shop of Minoh Beer, a family-run craft brewery a few minutes' walk away in Minoh, a green suburb north of Osaka. Drink its beers on tap or take bottles home. It is about 12 minutes on foot from Makiochi Station on the Hankyu Minoo Line, and pairs well with a walk to the Minoo waterfall.

The shop of Ise Kadoya, a craft brewery in Ise run by a family business that has made mochi rice cakes for more than four centuries. Buy bottles here, and on the second floor a few taps pour fresh beer. It is a long walk from Ise-shi Station, so take a bus or taxi, and it fits well with a visit to Ise Grand Shrine.

A brewpub in Nagano city where the beer is brewed on the premises, including unusual styles such as a coffee IPA and a rye beer. Glasses come in small, medium and large, so you can try several. The food uses local ingredients, and vegan dishes are on the menu.

A small brewery in the basement of ROCK, a long-running restaurant in Kiyosato, a highland resort at the foot of the Yatsugatake mountains in Yamanashi. It brews mostly lagers, such as pilsner and dunkel, served fresh upstairs. The beers carry the name Touchdown, in honor of Paul Rush, the American who helped build Kiyosato and brought American football to Japan.

A taproom with its brewery built in, three minutes on foot from Tono Station in Iwate, so the six or so house beers on tap are made right there. Tono is one of Japan's main hop-growing areas, and the menu includes a spicy curry made to go with the beer. Tono is about an hour from Shin-Hanamaki Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen by the JR Kamaishi Line.

The bar on the second floor of the Akita Akura brewery in central Akita City, where all five of its beers are poured. One is named after the Namahage, the masked, horned demons of Akita folklore who visit homes on New Year's Eve. The food uses Akita ingredients, and the bar is about 15 minutes on foot from Akita Station.

A small craft brewery on the western edge of Fukushima City, at the foot of the Azuma mountains, that brews by hand in small batches with mountain water. Drink draft beer in the shop or take bottles home; the list includes a pilsner and lagers made with peaches and apples, fruit Fukushima is known for. Fukushima is about 90 minutes from Tokyo by shinkansen.

A brewery with a restaurant beside the big red torii gate on the road up to Zao, the mountain hot spring and ski area outside Yamagata City. Its house craft beer is served with meals, so it makes a stop on the way to or from the hot springs. Listings disagree on its closing day, so check before you go.

A hot spring inn in Tendo, a town in Yamagata that makes most of Japan's shogi pieces, the wooden pieces of Japanese chess, with its own small brewery inside. Guests drink the house beer after a soak, and some rooms have a private open-air bath shaped like a shogi piece. It is a place to stay rather than a bar, so check whether non-guests can drop in before you go.

The brewery restaurant of Miyashita Sake Brewery in Okayama, which also makes Doppo craft beer and whisky. Eat dishes made to go with its beer and sake while looking at the copper pot still of the distillery next door. It is three minutes on foot from Nishigawara-Shujitsu Station, one stop from Okayama on the JR Sanyo Line.

A Czech-themed complex a minute's drive from Kagoshima Airport, where beer made in the factory on the grounds is poured at the bar and restaurant. The beer follows Czech brewing tradition, and the site also sells shochu, a local distilled spirit. Listings say the venue will pick you up from the airport for free if you call.

A small brewery in an old warehouse behind the shopping arcade of Onomichi, a hillside port town on the Seto Inland Sea, about 15 minutes on foot from the station. Its ales use local ingredients such as Onomichi ginger and hassaku, a sweet-tart citrus grown on the nearby islands. The taproom opens only from Friday to Sunday, so plan around those days.

A small German-style brewery near Shuri Castle in Naha, run by a German-born brewer, which also roasts its own coffee. The beers are made with local water and Okinawan barley and served unfiltered. It pairs well with a walk around the castle and the old stone-paved lanes of Shuri.

A small brewery in Kamiyama, a mountain town in Tokushima, with a taproom on the ground floor and an upstairs terrace that looks out over the hills and the river on a clear day. It was built in an orchard of sudachi (a small green citrus) next to a campsite. The taproom has opened only on weekends, and the town has no railway, so check its social media and plan on a bus or a car from Tokushima.