Review

Ginza’s Lion Beer Hall is, as its name suggests, a beer hall - not a large wild animal of the cat family - in which the purpose is to consume vast quantities of the ubiquitous Sapporo beer. With an interior that’s akin to a church, it’s no surprise to learn this purpose-built building has survived numerous earthquakes and the American B-29s that reigned massive destruction on the city in WWII - the god of beer is watching over it.

Japan’s first beer hall - then called the Yebisu Beer Hall - opened in Ginza in 1899 and moved to its present location in the large, contemporary Sapporo Ginza Building in the 1930s; today, the Lion Beer Hall is legendary. Its Art Deco-cum-Gothic interior is in the style of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who was active in Japan at the time of its inception, yet it was designed and built by Eizou Sugawara in 1934.

There is no tat in the Lion Beer Hall, as it’s a functional shrine to beer in which to get pissed. Features of the Beer Hall, of which there are many, are stylish and unique, such as, for example, the large, globular lights etched with circular patterns, which are arranged either on a chandelier or as a separate lamp. Above the distinctive floor, itself constructed of tiny glass tiles, is the magnificent, dark ceiling that is reminiscent of a nave supported by art deco, coffee-coloured columns. The only tat is outside, where a glass cabinet of plastic food entices hungry diners inside.

The huge bar is constructed of marble and at each end is a massive urn that resembles a prop from a 1930s Flash Gordon movie. In old photographs taken during the Beer Hall’s heyday the urns, each of which is well over 1m tall, are overflowing with plants, a feature sadly lacking these days. The centrepiece of the bar, however, is the huge mosaic of glass tiles on its rear wall, a scene in which several scantily clad women and children are harvesting the crops and writhing in sexual ecstasy; the women have had their modesty covered with paper during earlier, less open-minded days. The scene is bordered by many bunches of grapes and there’s a building in the distance, thought to be the original Ebisu brewery. There are smaller mosaics on every wall.

Germany’s role in the development of Japanese beer ensures the Lion Beer Hall imitates a Teutonic beer hall, and the Japanese waitresses are dressed as a frau. There are lots of wooden tables, mostly occupied by locals, through which the attentive staff weave, serving beer, presenting bills and taking cash, leaving a chit in its place that says the bill is being checked.

The Lion Beer Hall’s celebrated reputation and history guarantees it a place on any beer-lover’s itinerary, and once you’re here the beer is good, cheap and plentiful, the staff are pleasant and décor is interesting.

Review by mr_psm