Japanese Beer in Japan

A Japanese colleague told me that I should try Japanese beers when I travelled to Japan. Apparently the taste is different compared to the Japanese beers brewed in Malaysia. 

I was curious at what he meant by "the taste is different", and since my colleague loves to drink, I believed him and decided to give it a try.  

Since I prefer beers that are not too bitter, I made sure I selected the correct ones. Luckily beer cans are labelled in English in Japan!

I had also put in my bucket list for Japan to try at least 3 different types of Japanese craft beer but only managed to try 2 types, one in Tokyo and one in Kyoto: 

Saison by Suntory - this is my favourite beer in Japan because it fits my description of a delicious beer and has a nice flavour to it.

Kyoto beer

Here are the other types of Japanese beers that I had the privilege of tasting:

Asahi 

Kirin Ichiban

Yebisu

All of 'em are more smooth and flavourful compared to the Japanese beers brewed in Malaysia. Now I know what my colleague meant when he said Japanese beer tastes different back in Japan. Maybe it's the water that they use.

Here are the zero alcohol beers that I didn't like because there's no kick:

Ichi

Suntory

Later when I returned to KL, I tried the Azahi Zero and it tasted much better, almost similar to a regular 5% alcohol Asahi.

Just to give you an idea how much beer costs in Japan, here are the prices:

Since we're on the topic of alcohol, I'll end this post with this photo of different types of Japanese alcohol (shochu, sake, yuzushu, etc.) sold in milk cartons in Japan:

A friend asked whether they also have them in smaller packets with straw. I replied that would encourage juvenile drinking.

My Bucket List for Japan

I've been doing lots of research for my trip to Japan this week.

Our 9-day trip will cover Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. Trying to fit in all the must-sees into 9 days is no joke, but doable.

I've also prepared a bucket list of items that I must do while I'm in the Land of the Rising Sun:

• Bathe in an onsen (time to get naked!).

• Watch a sumo wrestling match. Alas there won't be any matches when we're there. So we'll have to make do with watching a practise session, free of charge I suppose.

• Try at least 10 street food in Osaka. In case you're not aware, Osaka is known as the Penang of Japan, i.e. a food paradise. I think I'm gonna put on 3kg after I return from Japan!

• Try at least 3 different types of Japanese craft beer.

• Attend Mass at a Roman Catholic Church.

Please leave a comment if you have any other ideas.