Tokyo/Ebisu

Ebisu (恵比寿, archaically also Yebisu) is a district of Tokyo, Japan.

Get in

Ebisu is a station on the JR Yamanote line, one stop south of Shibuya. The Metro Hibiya subway line from Roppongi also stops in Ebisu. The Saikyo line and the Shonan-Shinjuku Line also stop in JR Ebisu station.

Get around

Ebisu is compact enough to cover on foot. A convenient moving walkway connects to the popular Ebisu Garden Place. Daikanyama, Nakameguro, Hiroo and Shibuya are close to Ebisu. You can walk to those places easily.

See

The neighborhood immediately outside of the metro station has dozens of restaurants and several fun bars. Ebisu offers nightlife without the sleaziness of Shinjuku or Roppongi. Another attraction is the Yebisu Garden Place, a new "city in a city" developed on the site of a former brewery. Access is via the JR station's Garden Place exit, which leads to a moving walkway leading into the district.

• 🌍 Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography (東京都写真美術館, Tokyo-to Shashin Bijutsukan), in Yebisu Garden Place. Note that this museum is closed until fall 2016!. A must for fans of photography, with multiple floors of constantly changing exhibitions of the best photography from around Japan and the world. Entrance fees depend on the exhibits you wish to visit but there are often some free ones. 
• 🌍 Beer Museum (麦酒記念館), in Yebisu Garden Place. Tu-Su 10AM-6PM. A mildly interesting permanent exhibition covering the brewing process in general and the history of Japan Beer Brewery Company which developed Yebisu beer, and which is now a part of Sapporo Breweries. There is even a Virtual Brewery Virtual Adventure to try. Entry is free, and you can sample 6 types of beer for ¥400 each if so inclined. Alternatively there are guided tours in Japanese which include two beers and cost ¥500.. 

Do

Ebisu Ekimae Summer Festival - The festival held at the end of July every year.

Buy

• There is a large shopping mall and department store right in JR Ebisu station, but this pales compared with the offerings in next-door Shibuya.
• 🌍 Yebisu Garden Place. Has its fair share of boutiques, including a Mitsukoshi department store. The Beer Museum's souvenir shop deserves a special mention. 
• Good Day Books. Moved to Gotanda. 

Eat

Ebisu has a good selection of places to eat, mostly slightly upmarket. The Garden Place also has a large number of restaurants.

• 🌍 Kabto (兜), Ebisu-Nishi 1-5-5. Charcoal grill (sumibiyaki) restaurant that looks way more expensive than it actually is. Not a bad choice just for drinks either, which start at ¥400 for a draft beer. 
• Kanon (かのん), Roob 6 Bldg 2F, Ebisu-Nishi 1-13-3. M-Sa 5PM-4AM, Su 5PM-11PM. Popular Okinawan izakaya offering all the usual Ryukyuan favorites plus a large selection of awamori (Okinawan liquor). Figure on ¥3000 per head to eat and drink well. 
• Zest Cantina, Ebisu 1-22-19 (3 min. from East exit), ☎ [phone]. Good Tex-Mex cuisine and drinks in an expansive space modeled after a Western saloon. 
• 🌍 Hiiragi, Ebisu 1-4-1, ☎ [phone]. A famous Taiyaki shop. 
• Kimu Katsu, Ebisu 4-9-5, ☎ [phone]. A cutlet shop. The special cheese cutlet is recommended. 
• Itteki Hassenya Ebisu, Ebisu Minami 2-1-1, ☎ [phone]. A bar style Izakaya at night but during lunch time, you can eat delicious Udon noodle. Shironiku udon and Kuroniku udon are the top menus here. 

Drink

Ebisu is also a trendy nightlife district, with many slightly quirky bars and clubs. Sadly Milk, perhaps Ebisu's best-known club, closed down in 2007.

• Aoyuzu, Daikoku Bldg B1F Ebisu 1-8-14. A bar with good music. You can book parties here. 
• Buri, Ebisu Nishi 1-14-1 (look right from the Ebisu statue as you exit the station and take the street between KFC and Wendy's; Buri's on the third corner on your left), ☎ [phone]. 5PM-3AM. A small standing bar with many high quality varieties of sake available in cup-size bottles: great for tasting several from all over Japan. All sake is initially served cold, but the staff will warm each cup to your desired temperature. 
• The FooTNiK, Ebisu 1-11-2-1F (East exit, on Ebisu-Dori), ☎ [phone]. A British pub where there's always football on the telly. 
• Liquid Room, 3-16-6 Higashi (near crossing of Meiji-dori and Komazawa-dori), ☎ [phone]. One of Tokyo's best-known and oldest-running nightclubs, although it used to be in Kabukichō. Varies, but around ¥3500. 
• What The Dickens, Roob 6 Bldg 4F, Ebisu-Nishi 1-13-3. Closed Mondays. An extremely popular British pub in the heart of Ebisu. Fairly expensive (anything imported costs close to ¥1000), but has one of the best selections of British beer and cider in town. 
• Sapporo Beer (in Ebisu Garden Place), Ebisu 4-20-1, ☎ [phone]. You can try a lot of beer at a low price. 
• Ippo, Ebisu 1-22-10, Kamasuya 2F, ☎ [phone]. 6pm-1am. A small restaurant on the second floor of an unassuming building behind the Ebisu Station; it features fresh fish and a large selection of sake. The menus are in Japanese but the staff speaks English. 

Sleep

Budget

• Siesta Capsule Hotel (right next to the JR Ebisu station). 

Mid-range

• Hotel Excellent (directly west of Ebisu JR station), ☎ [phone]. Affordable and clean business hotel. 

Splurge

• Westin Tokyo, Yebisu Garden Place 1-4-1 Mita, Meguro-ku, ☎ [phone]. Slick 5-star hotel. 

Connect

• Comica, Higashi-Ebisu 1-13-2, Sanki Building 4F (Outside JR Ebisu West Exit, down alley between KFC and St. Marc's Cafe). 24 hours. Standard-issue Japanese manga/internet cafe with a variety of seats and free drinks. ¥450/hour, discounted rates at night. 

Go next

Routes through Ebisu

Shinjuku ← Harajuku ← Shibuya ←	N  S	→ Gotanda → Shinagawa
Ōmiya ← Ikebukuro ← Shinuku ←	N  S	→ Ōsaki → into → Tōkyō Teleport
Utsunomiya ← into ← Ōmiya ← Shinjuku ←	N  S	→ Ōsaki → into → Yokohama
Naka Meguro ←	W  E	→ Hiroo → Roppongi → Ginza