Ebisu, Shibuya

View overlooking Ebisu from the Westin Hotel

Ebisu (恵比寿) is a neighborhood in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Conveniently near Roppongi and central Shibuya, Ebisu is easily accessed by the JR Yamanote and Hibiya lines via Ebisu Station. Together with the trendy neighboring communities of Daikanyama and Hiroo, it has boutiques, vintage stores and patisseries all within easy walking distance from Ebisu station.

Ebisu's main tourist attraction is centered around the Yebisu Garden Place and the Westin Hotel area. Accessible from the East Exit of Ebisu Station via the Yebisu Skywalk covered moving walkway, it includes the headquarters of Sapporo Breweries, The Beer Museum Yebisu and the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography.

As a transit point for riders on the Yamanote and Hibiya lines, Ebisu is home to many bars and restaurants, from izakaya-style restaurants, to English-style pubs, to old-fashioned tachinomi ("stand and drink") bars. Most of these are in the older area favored by the locals, next to the West Exit of Ebisu Station off Komazawa-dori. The Yebisu Garden Place Tower features views of Tokyo from its restaurants on the 38th floor.

Ebisu was founded around 1928 as a community developed around the Japan Beer Brewery Company facilities where Yebisu Garden Place now stands. Yebisu Beer, named for Ebisu, one of the Japanese Seven Gods of Fortune, was introduced in 1890 by Japan Beer and has long been a local favorite. The area adopted its name from the train station built in 1901 by the company to facilitate distribution of its beer. Japan Beer has since reorganized and was renamed Sapporo Breweries Ltd. After the breweries were moved to Chiba in 1988, the area was redeveloped as the Yebisu Garden Place, which opened to the public in 1994.

The spelling "Yebisu" is intentionally archaic. With or without the "y" the pronunciation is the same as "Ebisu".