Kirin Brewery – Factory Tour
Kirin Brewery is known as one of the leading beer makers in Japan. It is one of the subsidiaries of the Kirin Holdings Company which is an integrated beverages company that engages in the manufacture and sales of not only alcoholic but also non-alcoholic beverages as well as pharmaceutical and bio-chemical products. Kirin operates in eight countries and is a member of the Mitsubishi Group.

Corporate Information
- Company: Kirin Brewery Company, Limited
- Foundation: 1907
- Location: Headquartered in Tokyo
- Main Business: Manufacture and sales of alcohol beverages

Kirin Brewery
Kirin Breweries is one of the leading brewery companies in Japan. Its history dates back to 1885 when its foreign-owned forerunner company called Japan Brewery Company was established in Yokohama in 1885. Three years later, the brewery started selling beer named Kirin Beer. In 1907, the Kirin Brewery Company was established as a separate Japanese legal entity with the financial support from Japanese investors including the president of Mitsubishi at that time.
The company now has nine brewery plants across Japan. Kirin has an unwavering commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. They have established a sophisticated system allowing tracing of their products and ingredients throughout the supply chain, including through the entire production process.
The tour includes a guided walk through the production process from barley-mashing to packaging. The tour also features a video presentation about the company, exhibits of different beer ingredients, and for those thirsty at the end of the visit, finishes with a tasting of their signature beer.

A great mix of Japanese Business Etiquette, site visits show-casing lean principles, Japanese Culture and networking with the other members of the group. Both Ben & Paul were professional yet relaxed and friendly. Their relationships with key personnel in strategic lean businesses is impressive and their ability to translate quickly & accurately minimised the language…
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The whole tour was very professionally undertaken and led. Paul and Ben have to be congratulated for putting together a very informative and very enjoyable experience. The itinerary was excellent and to see from the raw material all the way through the supply chain through to the finished product was superb. I loved the thought…
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A great tour. Having spent over 20 years in manufacturing I now understand the true meaning of Kaizen.
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Amazing experience, exceptional learning. If you want to learn about Lean go on this tour!
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I would like to give my deepest thanks for helping us end the executive program on a high note. This week has summarized TPS / VPS in a very practical and eye-opening manner. The lean journey has become real and exemplified through the many visits we have done. The coaching by Hattori Sensei, and by…
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During the Lean Japan Tour I came to the realization that improving an organization is not through large capital investments alone. We were completely surrounded by examples of minor investments into small improvements that produced significant savings. The clever use of visual management techniques gave a clear understanding of the current situation and Ben who…
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The Shinka Management Lean Japan Tour is a professional development program run several times annually. The program includes a mix of lean and kaizen seminars, hands-on lean training and visits to several benchmark lean companies. For further information and program dates, see the lean tour overview page.
Tour Inquiries
Interested in joining us in Japan? For additional information prior to registration please fill in the form provided or contact us.