ASAKUSA Underground > Asahi Beer Azumabashi Building
You get off at Asakusa station.
You walk towards Azumabashi bridge.
Then you look up.
"What's that?"
You find a strange object across the river Sumida. It looks like a piece of ..., ..., eh, poopoo.
In fact, it is an objet d'art. It is said to be a symbolic presentation of "foam of beer."
The building crowning it is Super Dry Hall. This provocative poo objet is conceptualized by a French designer / architect Philippe Starck.
This piece of objet d'art was supposed to be upright, but the idea was structually impossible to materialize. It was too heavy to sustain its own weight, therefore they were forced to lay it down.
An eccentric design you might call this. Well, yes, and it's just 3 minutes' walk from Asakusa station. ASAKUSA Underground editors strongly recommend you to visit the building. It is a "must-see" spot in Asakusa.
To discover an alternative Asakusa, why don't you visit Super Dry Hall. You can have a nice glass of draft beer, too.
Super Dry Hall
<address> 1-23-1 Azumabashi, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
<access> Subway/underground Tokyo Metro Ginza line, Asakusa station, Exit A5, three minutes' walk
Toei Asakusa line, Azumabashi station, five minutes'walk
Tobu Isezaki line Asakusa station, three minutes' walk
To drink
Sky Room
<address> 1-23-1 Azumabashi, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
<location> Asahi Beer Tower, 22nd floor, on the opposite side of the Sumida River from Sensoji temple
<phone> 03-5608-5277
<business hours> 10AM-10PM open daily
----------Conversation Tips----------
" Biru ippai, kudasai."
<Give me a glass of beer, please>
Biru (bee-roo) : beer
ippai (ip-pie) : 1 glass (of)
----------Pronunciation Tips----------
"Biru (bee-roo) : beer"
Your "beer" can be understood, but still difficult for most Japanese to catch, especially when you roll the end of the word. "Bee-ah" could be better understood, but the best way to ask for beer is "bee-roo" as the locals do.
"Ippai"
Be careful! This is a tricky word. Depending on which vowel you stress, the meaning of the word changes drastically.
<ippai>
When you stress the first vowel "i," as it is shown in the Conversation Tips above, it means "1 glass (of)."
<ippai>
When you put an emphasis on the second vowel "a," it means "plenty."
cf.
"Onakaga ippai." <The stomach is full.>
<note>
Accent in Japan varies largely, not according to his social position, but to his birth place. The above-mentined rules apply solely around Tokyo, within which, of course, Asakusa is situated. Edokko (Tokyo cockney) and Kansaijin (people from the west side of Hakone barrier, including Osaka and Kyoto) speak very differently. One could easily argue that they are two independent languages like French and Italian.
Asahi Beer Azumabashi Building
You get off at Asakusa station.
You walk towards Azumabashi bridge.
Then you look up.
"What's that?"
You find a strange object across the river Sumida. It looks like a piece of ..., ..., eh, poopoo.
In fact, it is an objet d'art. It is said to be a symbolic presentation of "foam of beer."
The building crowning it is Super Dry Hall. This provocative poo objet is conceptualized by a French designer / architect Philippe Starck.
This piece of objet d'art was supposed to be upright, but the idea was structually impossible to materialize. It was too heavy to sustain its own weight, therefore they were forced to lay it down.
An eccentric design you might call this. Well, yes, and it's just 3 minutes' walk from Asakusa station. ASAKUSA Underground editors strongly recommend you to visit the building. It is a "must-see" spot in Asakusa.
To discover an alternative Asakusa, why don't you visit Super Dry Hall. You can have a nice glass of draft beer, too.
Super Dry Hall
<address> 1-23-1 Azumabashi, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
<access> Subway/underground Tokyo Metro Ginza line, Asakusa station, Exit A5, three minutes' walk
Toei Asakusa line, Azumabashi station, five minutes'walk
Tobu Isezaki line Asakusa station, three minutes' walk
To drink
Sky Room
<address> 1-23-1 Azumabashi, Sumida-ku, Tokyo
<location> Asahi Beer Tower, 22nd floor, on the opposite side of the Sumida River from Sensoji temple
<phone> 03-5608-5277
<business hours> 10AM-10PM open daily
----------Conversation Tips----------
" Biru ippai, kudasai."
<Give me a glass of beer, please>
Biru (bee-roo) : beer
ippai (ip-pie) : 1 glass (of)
----------Pronunciation Tips----------
"Biru (bee-roo) : beer"
Your "beer" can be understood, but still difficult for most Japanese to catch, especially when you roll the end of the word. "Bee-ah" could be better understood, but the best way to ask for beer is "bee-roo" as the locals do.
"Ippai"
Be careful! This is a tricky word. Depending on which vowel you stress, the meaning of the word changes drastically.
<ippai>
When you stress the first vowel "i," as it is shown in the Conversation Tips above, it means "1 glass (of)."
<ippai>
When you put an emphasis on the second vowel "a," it means "plenty."
cf.
"Onakaga ippai." <The stomach is full.>
<note>
Accent in Japan varies largely, not according to his social position, but to his birth place. The above-mentined rules apply solely around Tokyo, within which, of course, Asakusa is situated. Edokko (Tokyo cockney) and Kansaijin (people from the west side of Hakone barrier, including Osaka and Kyoto) speak very differently. One could easily argue that they are two independent languages like French and Italian.