The price of beer in Japan is fairly standard across the country. With the huge battle for market share in convenience stores, prices are just about the same everywhere.

Here we look at the price of beer in Japan, specifically nama (real) beer, as there is a cheaper Japanese beer-like drink called happoshu.

Beer prices in Japan, at a local Aeon supermarket

Panasonic DMC-LX3 (5.1mm, f/2, 1/125 sec, ISO80)
Beer in the local supermarket

Personally I usually go for either Asahi Super Dry (in the silver can) or Yebisu Premium (in the gold can). Asahi Super Dry is in the same category as Kirin and Sapporo’s nama-beer, and all are about the same price. Yebisu is a premium brand, and their beers along with Suntory Premium Malts are about 10% more expensive.

If you’re a beer drinker, and especially if you’re traveling in a group of beer drinkers, you’ll save a lot of money by buying beer from a supermarket (grocery store). The easiest stores to find are in Aeon malls. This photos was taken in the Aeon mall in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture.

Asahi beer prices in Japan

350ml can of Asahi Super Dry prices:

• Convenience store: ¥235
• Supermarket or liquor store: ¥185
• Vending machine: ¥240
• Izakaya/restaurant, medium 「中, ちゅう」size: ¥500 – ¥600

The savings are even greater when buying multi-packs (6 packs or 24 pack cartons) which are only available from supermarket or liquor stores.

View this location (Coordinates: 35.078543, 137.159451) on Google Maps.

If you’re interested in saving money on your next trip to Japan, be sure to check out our article on traveling Japan on a budget (one of our most popular articles)