Craft Beers of Asia - Japan and Vietnam

Arrive Tokyo

On arrival in Japan, you'll be met by our representative, who will accompany you to your hotel. Suggested Craft Beer Bars Akihabara and Tokyo Station Hitachino Lab Home of the Hitachino beers, the Hitachino Lab makes its own limited edition, and has the main beers of the brand and seasonal specials on tap. Beer tasting sessions are available. Since the beer is made on the spot, you can easily ask the staff any questions regarding beer-making. In the Akihabara branch, if you are lucky, during weekdays you might see the staff making the beer themselves. Tasting menu compares three types of beer and changes on a daily basis. Craftheads Shibuya Shibuya is one of the main shopping, dining, and entertainment districts in Tokyo. It is famous for its intersection called ‘The Scramble’, one of the world’s busiest pedestrian lanes, and the statue of Hachiko, the most popular dog in Japan. A few minutes walk from the station takes you to Craftheads, a bar specialising in local craft beers, and hosting a wide variety of nationwide beers.

Explore Yanaka, Evening Street Food Tour

Spend your morning with your guide exploring Yanaka - part of the traditional Shitamachi - ‘low city’ - area and one of the oldest districts in Tokyo. The criss-cross streets around Yanaka are lined with authentic craft shops, original restaurants and small coffee houses. Your guide will introduce you to some interesting temples and shrines, including the lesser known but beautiful Nezu Shrine, a Shinto site established in 1705. You will also visit the Asakura Museum of Sculpture, once the studio of Fumio Asakura, one of Japan’s most famous artists. A stop will be made during the morning for freshly brewed coffee at one of the cosy neighbourhood cafes. Return to your hotel where there will be time to relax before reuniting with your guide at 5pm for a tour of Tokyo’s vibrant culinary scene. Over the course of the evening you’ll visit a variety of venues, from tiny izakaya pubs to street-side stalls, each distinctive in their atmosphere and food offerings. Suggested Craft Beer Bars August Yanaka Beer Hall Located right next to the ‘Sunset Stair’, August has mainly August beer on tap, along with seasonal selections. Popeye in Ryogoku A well-known institution in Tokyo, always immaculate and offering more than 50 craft beers on tap, including Japanese and import beers.

Explore independently

Today is at leisure. With so much to see and do in Tokyo, the options are limitless and can seem a daunting proposition. Your Selective Asia consultant can help design the perfect self-guided day for you, giving you the tools & freedom to explore this astonishing, easy-to-navigate and extremely safe city, and its surroundings. Suggested Craft Beer Bar Baird Beer Harajuku Tap Room 15 microbrews on tap, with a snack menu of skewers and dumplings, with donburi and curry at weekends. Located in central Harajuku, just a 2 minute walk from the Takeshita-Dori exit of JR Harajuku Station.

Bullet train to Kyoto

Ride the bullet train to Kyoto, Japan’s cultural capital. For lunch, we recommend trying eki-ben, the convenient and fun lunch boxes traditionally sold at every shinkansen station. On arrival in Kyoto, having checked into your hotel, the remainder of your day will be at leisure. Suggested Craft Beer Bar Beer Komachi Located in Higashiyama, one of Kyoto’s best preserved historic districts, Beer Komachi is an intimate small bar offering craft beers with an assortment of Western-Japanese fusion food.

Backstreets by bike

Explore Kyoto on two wheels. Kyoto is largely flat, the roads are in good condition and the traffic is fairly calm for an Asian city, making it ideal for cyclists. Over the course of the morning you will cycle through the geisha districts, hoping to see a geisha or maiko as they dash between appointments; pass traditional Kyoto style tea houses; and make a stop at the Imperial Palace Park, site of the former residences of the Imperial family and court nobles. Cycle back to Kyoto Station along the Kamo River, leave your bike at the station and make your way back to your hotel. The remainder of your day will be at leisure.

Train to Osaka, Evening streetfood tour

Make the short trip by train to Osaka, where your day will be at leisure until late afternoon, when you’ll meet your guide in the Tenma district for this evening’s food tour. A lively, unpretentious neighbourhood steeped in history, Tenma is home to Tenjinbashi-suji shopping street which claims to be the longest covered arcade in Japan, stretching more than 2.5 kilometres. The area’s maze of narrow streets and alleys come to life at night when locals flock to dine and relax in the many tiny bars and hole-in-the-wall eateries that open up. Forget Dotonburi - this is the place to get real local soul food, and your guide will show you where to find the classics. Suggested Craft Beer Bars Yellow Ape Located near the Naniwa River, Yellow Ape has a wide variety of finger foods and Japanese craft beers on tap. Specialises in pairing its craft beers with food. Garage 39 One of the largest craft beer bars in Osaka with over 15 beers on tap and excellent food. Hanoi - 3 nights Hanoi, Vietnam’s first and current capital, ranks among the most visually stunning cities in the world. Streets full of greenery wind between grand buildings, spacious parks, museums, temples, markets and shops, unifying the town’s many different elements; elegant pagodas rise above the infamously chaotic traffic below, exemplifying two extremes of Hanoi’s character.

Fly to Hanoi in Vietnam, evening Vespa tour

Take a morning flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. On arrival you'll be met by your private guide, who will accompany you to your hotel. Enjoy time at leisure until the evening when you’ll start a street food tour with a difference. Riding pillion on a Vespa, you’ll discover delicious Vietnamese specialities and hang out where the locals do. Sip a cool beer at a rooftop cafe, sample some of the city’s best Pho Cuon spring rolls on the shores of West Lake, drive along one of the most romantic and picturesque streets in the city, and fill up on Cha Ca, Hanoi’s signature grilled fish noodles. After eating, head to Ba Dinh square to watch the ceremonial changing of the guard at Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, before finishing the evening on a lighter note with a drink and some live music at a trendy bar.

City Tour

Start the day away from the city centre bustle with a cycle around the perimeter of West Lake. Spend time in the shade of Tran Quoc pagoda’s elegant tower, or watch the world go by from a lakeside cafe. As the sun rises to its highest, continue your journey into Hanoi’s past with a visit to the atmospheric halls of the Temple of Literature on the site of Vietnam’s first university. Tuck into some fast food, Vietnam style, with lunch on the famous Trang Tien Street, enjoying anything from pho to sweet treats, seated on a tiny plastic stool among the locals, with the grand Opera House just around the corner. Explore Hanoi’s contemporary culture with a Vietnamese coffee at Manzi Art Cafe, before heading back in time with a stroll past the workshops and pagodas in the narrow streets of the Old Quarter. Enjoy a beer and keep exploring, or head back to your hotel for a little downtime.

Street Food & Beer Tasting Tour

Your day is at leisure until you’re collected in the early evening for a few enjoyable hours tasting local food and beer. Start in Hang Ga, where you’ll taste Banh Cuon (steamed rice rolls), then head to Ly Quoc Su for Banh Goi (a meat filled pastry). After you’ve had your fill, continue to Legend Beer to savour some German and Czech beer, as well as soaking up the atmosphere - the bar is typically full of locals. Your final stop will be The Hill Station Tapas & Taps, located in Hanoi’s most famous nightlife street - this is the perfect place to enjoy some people-watching with a quality drink in your hand! The focus here is on draught beer & cider, paired with tapas made exclusively from high quality produce from a mountain farm in Sapa, or sourced locally north of Hanoi. There are rice wines to try too, and signature cocktails based solely on rice & corn wine. Return to your hotel for a well deserved lie down. Hoi An - 2 nights Hoi An, one of Asia’s most significant ports during the 1500s, has retained much of its original ambience despite the intervening centuries of weather, war and modern development. Sample the city’s street food, find your favourite spot for Vietnamese coffee, and dine in style at the many restaurants exemplifying the town’s famous cuisine.

Fly to Hoi An

Having flown to Danang and driven the short distance to Hoi An, the remainder of your day will be at leisure. In the early evening, you may wish to explore the cobbled streets of Hoi An’s Old Town yourself. Hoi An offers a medley of dining and drinking venues, from the markets lining the street to charming boutique restaurants showcasing the best of central Vietnamese cuisine. If you’re in search of a craft beer head to the Tap House on Phan Chau Trin where you can sample Vietnamese craft beers on tap.

Relax in Hoi An

Your day will be at leisure. Wander across the ancient Japanese Covered Bridge, explore former merchants’ homes, and buy silks, handicrafts, antiques, and immaculate tailored suits (with an astonishing 24 hr turnaround) at the colourful shops and markets. Ho Chi Minh City - 2 nights Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, is a place where the faded grandeur of French colonial architecture mingles with the high rises of fast finance; a city where the energy of modern Vietnamese culture is enriched by the country’s varied traditions and history.

Fly to Ho Chi Minh City, Delve into the Cu Chi Tunnels, Craft Beer Vespa tour

Fly to Ho Chi Minh City and transfer directly to the famous Cu Chi tunnels - an incredible underground network over 150 miles in length, constructed by Vietnamese resistance fighters. The remaining tunnels have been opened to visitors, offering a unique insight into the ingenuity behind them, and a glimpse of underground life during the Vietnam war. Continue on to Ho Chi Minh City and check in to your hotel where there will be time to relax and refresh. At 6pm, you’ll commence your evening tour with a difference - riding pillion on a Vespa for a tour of local craft beer restaurants. Start your beer tour by mingling amongst the crowds of locals going home after work, and taking in the scene of complex traffic patterns whilst riding through several districts of Saigon! You’ll stop by several craft beer restaurants to try many kinds of beer, enjoy various food pairings and learn more about the local beer scene by talking with a local expert and touring a brewery.

City Tour, Evening beer sampling

Visit your choice of Ho Chi Minh City’s highlights on a personalised tour with your guide, taking in everything from grand palaces, to French neoclassical architecture, to bustling side streets. We recommend you incorporate the impressive Reunification Palace, and the beautiful Saigon Central Post Office (designed by Gustave Eiffel), after an early morning meander through the alleys and markets of District 1 - a densely populated, and architecturally stunning area, full of aromatic markets and small businesses, that few visitors know exists, let alone see for themselves. Bear witness to the violence of the country’s recent past with a visit to a secret weapon store used by the resistance during the Vietnam war and immerse yourself in the micro-culture of HCMC’s Chinatown. In the early evening, you'll be met by your guide who will accompany you to two of the cities most 'of the moment' craft beer venues for one final beer sampling session. You'll have the chance to try Pasteur Street Brewery's Cyclo Imperial Chocolate Stout and contrast that with a bia hoi in a local restaurant to end your evening.

Depart Ho Chi Minh City

Transfer to the airport in time for your onward flight. We only provide privately guided holidays - meaning that you will not be expected to share guides or transport for the duration of your visit. You can also start on any day you choose. Please click on the hotel category buttons below to view hotel details. These are recommended properties only - we have many alternative options for you to choose from if you would prefer. You can mix hotel categories throughout your holiday.