Tokyo has factory tours and visitor centers you can book for yourself or your family: banknote printing, soft drinks, mayonnaise, pencils, beer and an airline hangar. This guide compares six of them by cost, how and when to book, opening days, and how to get there by train and bus. Most tours are guided in Japanese, so the language of each tour is covered below.
In short
- All six are visits by reservation. The Coca-Cola Tama factory, the National Printing Bureau and Mayoterrace are free.
- Only Suntory (every day) and JAL SKY MUSEUM (every day except Wednesday) take weekend visitors. The other four run on weekdays only, and Coca-Cola Tama also opens on national holidays (section 1).
- Only Mayoterrace says it has an English course. The Coca-Cola Tama, National Printing Bureau and Suntory tours are guided in Japanese only; Suntory lets you use your own phone’s translation (section 2).
- Parking is a problem: Coca-Cola Tama, Pencil Lab and JAL SKY MUSEUM have none, and the National Printing Bureau does not allow private cars. Plan to use trains and buses.
- Booking rules differ a lot: from 30 days before (Coca-Cola), two months before (National Printing Bureau), or by email at least one week ahead (Pencil Lab).
Checked with official pages on October 6, 2026.
1. How do the six compare?
Depends on the provider
Only Suntory and JAL SKY MUSEUM take visitors on Saturdays and Sundays; the other four run on weekdays only, and of those only Coca-Cola Tama also opens on national holidays. Tap a name to jump to its section. Times in this guide use the 24-hour clock.
| Place | Cost | Booking | Open days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola Tama | Free | Online, from 30 days before | Mon–Fri, holidays |
| National Printing Bureau | Free | Online only, from 2 months before | Tue and Thu, except holidays |
| Mayoterrace | Free | Online or phone | Mon–Fri, except holidays |
| Tokyo Pencil Lab | ¥500 adult, ¥300 child | Email or fax, 1 week ahead | Weekdays, except holidays |
| Suntory Musashino | Paid (see section 7) | Online only | Every day (by course) |
| JAL SKY MUSEUM | ¥1,000 adult, children 12 and under free | Online only, from 1 month before | Every day except Wed |
Where each place is, and whether you can drive:
| Place | Nearest station | Parking | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coca-Cola Tama | Seibu bus about 8 min from Kiyose or Higashikurume | None | Japanese only |
| National Printing Bureau | Nishigahara, 1 min walk | No private cars or bikes | Japanese only |
| Mayoterrace | Sengawa, 7 min walk | Not stated | English course |
| Tokyo Pencil Lab | Yotsugi, 5 min walk | None; coin parking nearby | Not stated |
| Suntory Musashino | Fuchu-Hommachi, about 15 min walk | Limited | Japanese only; own phone translation |
| JAL SKY MUSEUM | Shin-Seibijo, 2 min walk | None | English pages; guide language not stated |
2. What should I know before I choose?
Depends on the provider
Language is the biggest difference: Mayoterrace has an English course, while Coca-Cola’s, the National Printing Bureau’s and Suntory’s tours are in Japanese only. Coca-Cola’s page says its tour is Japanese only. The National Printing Bureau says its guide speaks Japanese only and asks you to bring an interpreter if you need one. Suntory’s Q&A says its tours are guided in Japanese only, but it also says that visitors to the Musashino brewery can use the translation function on their own phone or tablet, and that you should tell the staff when you arrive. Mayoterrace’s reservation page says foreign visitors should book the English course and that all other courses are in Japanese. The Tokyo Pencil Lab and JAL pages do not say what language the tour guide uses.
The booking pages are in Japanese for the Coca-Cola, National Printing Bureau, Pencil Lab, Suntory and Mayoterrace sites. JAL SKY MUSEUM is the exception: its tour information, access and FAQ pages are also available in English. The JAL page does not say whether the booking screens are in English.
Getting there takes planning. Coca-Cola Tama has no parking or bicycle parking. The National Printing Bureau does not allow private cars, motorbikes or bicycles. JAL SKY MUSEUM has no parking and asks you not to come by car or bicycle. Pencil Lab has no parking and points to nearby coin parking. Suntory has limited spaces and asks you to use public transport.
Booking windows open at different times. Coca-Cola opens 30 days before the visit. JAL opens at 9:30 on the same date one month before. The National Printing Bureau takes bookings from the first business day (at 9:00) of the month two months before, until two weeks before the visit. Suntory publishes its dates a month or two at a time.
Important
Suntory’s December 2026 tours open for booking on Monday, November 2, 2026 at 9:30. Suntory is closed on Monday, December 7 for maintenance, and its last business day of the year is Thursday, December 24. The National Printing Bureau also cancels its tour on Thursday, December 24.
3. Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Tama Factory (コカ･コーラ ボトラーズジャパン多摩工場), Higashikurume
Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan
The Tama factory tour is free, takes about 60 minutes, and needs at least two people. One person alone cannot join. The official page lists a slide show, a look at the manufacturing process and exhibits (Tama factory tour page, Japanese). The company’s community page adds that a “CCBJI Museum” was set up on the site in January 2022 (factory tours, Japanese).
Tours run Monday to Friday and on national holidays, except factory closure days, and start at 10:00, 13:00 or 15:00. Groups of 2 to 80 can book, and groups of 41 or more must phone. You book online from 30 days before the visit. Walk-ins are refused on the day. Come about 10 minutes before the start; the site lets you in only 10 minutes before.
Things to know: children in junior high school or younger need an adult with them. There is no elevator, so you use stairs. Photos and videos of the production line, screens and staff are not allowed, and you cannot bring food or drink. The manufacturing line may not be running on the day. The page says the tour is in Japanese only.
Getting there: from Seibu Ikebukuro Line Kiyose Station (清瀬駅) south exit, take a Seibu Bus toward Musashi-Koganei via Maezawajuku (前沢宿) for about 8 minutes and get off at “Higashikurume Sogo Koko” (東久留米総合高校). From Higashikurume Station (東久留米駅) west exit, take a Seibu Bus toward Musashi-Koganei via Kinjo Koko (錦城高校) for about 8 minutes and get off at “Hachimancho 1-chome” (八幡町1丁目). There is no parking.
Address: 1-2-9 Nobidome, Higashikurume City, Tokyo. Google Maps. Phone: 050-3139-8489 (9:30–17:00 on weekdays and holidays; the tour staff may not answer during a tour).
4. National Printing Bureau Tokyo Factory (国立印刷局 東京工場), Kita Ward
National Printing Bureau
The Tokyo Factory tour is free and lets you see banknotes being printed from a viewing corridor, but everyone aged high school or older must show ID, and the guide speaks Japanese only. The tour takes about 90 minutes: a 30-minute video, 20 minutes in the viewing corridor on the second floor, and 30 minutes in the exhibition hall on banknote making and anti-counterfeiting technology (Tokyo Factory tour page, Japanese).
Tours run every Tuesday and Thursday (not on holidays or over the New Year period) at 10:00 and 13:40, for up to 40 people. The age limit is elementary school and up; children in junior high school or younger need a parent or teacher. Booking is on the official booking site, from the first business day (9:00) of the month two months before until two weeks before the visit. You enter the name, age and address of every visitor.
On the day, show an ID (copies are not accepted), such as a My Number Card, driver’s license, passport, health insurance card or a student ID with a photo. Visitors aged high school or older are checked and their bags are inspected; if you forget your ID you cannot join. Arrive 10 to 20 minutes early: 9:40–9:50 for the 10:00 tour and 13:20–13:30 for the 13:40 tour. Bring your booking confirmation email (printed or on your phone).
The page says the guide speaks Japanese only and asks visitors to bring an interpreter if needed. Strollers are not allowed during the tour, there is no nursing room or diaper-changing table, and you cannot join if you have been drinking alcohol.
The page lists these cancelled dates: Thursday, October 8 (morning), Tuesday, October 27, Thursday, October 29, Tuesday, November 10 (morning), Thursday, November 26 (afternoon) and Thursday, December 24.
Getting there: from Nishigahara Station (西ケ原駅) on the Tokyo Metro Namboku Line, exit 1 is a 1-minute walk. From Kami-Nakazato Station (上中里駅) on the JR Keihin-Tohoku Line it is a 10-minute walk. Enter by the south gate (南門) on the hospital side; the east gate by the JR tracks is not an entrance. Private cars, motorbikes and bicycles are not allowed.
Address: 2-3-15 Nishigahara, Kita Ward, Tokyo. Google Maps. Phone: 03-5567-1102 (General Affairs, Tokyo Factory; weekdays 9:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00).
5. Mayoterrace (マヨテラス), Chofu
Kewpie
Mayoterrace is a free, reservation-only visitor center at the Kewpie Sengawa site, and it is the only place of the six that says it has an English course. The reservation page says foreign visitors should book the English course and that all other courses are in Japanese. It lists “visitors from overseas” among the cases to tell staff about when you book by phone. The page does not say when the English course runs, so ask when you phone (reservation page, Japanese).
Inside, you pass through the Salad Hall, Kewpie Gallery, Mayonnaise Dome, Factory Walk and Kewpie Kitchen. At the Kitchen you taste vegetables and mayonnaise (facility guide, Japanese).
Book online or by phone. The page says the facility is for elementary school children and older, and that children of elementary school age or younger should come with a guardian. Groups of 7 or more, wheelchair users and people who need help should give details by phone. Travel-agency group tours are not accepted. You can enter the building 20 minutes before your time; there is no waiting area. Stop at the guard house when you arrive.
It is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, plus other temporary closures; it sometimes opens on a Saturday. The official pages do not say how long a visit takes.
Getting there: 7 minutes on foot from Sengawa Station (仙川駅) on the Keio Line. From Shinjuku, a Keio Line rapid train takes about 17 minutes to Sengawa. The access page gives a map code for drivers and says you cannot turn right into the site from Route 20, but it does not say whether there is visitor parking.
Address: Sengawa Kewpie Port, 2-5-7 Sengawa-cho, Chofu City, Tokyo. Google Maps. Phone: 03-5384-7770 (open days, 10:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:30).
6. Kitaboshi Tokyo Pencil Lab (東京ペンシルラボ), Katsushika Ward
Kitaboshi Pencil
Tokyo Pencil Lab costs ¥500 for an adult and ¥300 for a child, and you book by email or fax at least one week before. The fee is ¥500 for adults (18 and over) and ¥300 for children (3 years to high school); ages 0 to 2 are free. You pay in cash at reception, and there are no discounts. The tour takes about 70 minutes and includes a video on how pencils are made, a talk on the history of pencils, a walk through the factory, and a question time (Tokyo Pencil Lab page, Japanese).
Tours are on weekdays at 10:00 and 14:00, with up to 50 people each. The lab is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, for two weeks around New Year and during Obon. Last-minute dates may already be closed, which is why the page asks for a request at least one week before the date. A booking calendar shows which days are open, as a guide only.
To book, send an email to pencilhouse@kitaboshi.co.jp (or fax) with: your preferred date and time, the number of adults and children aged 3 and over, the name of the main visitor, a mobile number that works on the day, and how many people will join the wood-clay workshop. The page says to write again if there is no reply after a week.
After the tour you can join a craft workshop with “mokunen-san” (もくねんさん), a wood clay made from pencil sawdust. It costs ¥500 per person and takes 30 to 60 minutes. You cannot join the workshop without taking the tour, but you can sign up for it on the day.
The page says photos are allowed inside, food is not, and the factory has stairs. Cancelling is free of charge, and the page asks you to cancel early. It does not say which language the tour uses.
Getting there: 5 minutes on foot from Yotsugi Station (四ツ木駅) on the Keisei Line. The building has a pencil design. There is no parking; use a nearby coin parking lot.
Address: 1-23-11 Yotsugi, Katsushika Ward, Tokyo. Google Maps. Phone: 03-3693-0777 (Kitaboshi Pencil).
7. Suntory Musashino Brewery (サントリー〈天然水のビール工場〉東京・武蔵野), Fuchu
Suntory
Suntory’s tours end with a tasting: the standard tour is for people 20 and over, under-20s can join only the family course with an adult, and drivers cannot drink. The “Premium Malt’s Delicious Discovery Tour” takes about 90 minutes and combines a look at the brewing process with a tasting. It runs every day except New Year and factory closure days, for people aged 20 and over. A family version of the tour lets people under 20 join with an adult, on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. People under 20 and drivers get soft drinks (Musashino brewery page with the booking button, Japanese, access page, Japanese).
The fee was ¥1,000 including tax, free for under-20s, when Suntory announced its paid tours in March 2024 (company release, Japanese). Check the fee on the booking screen, because the course list does not show prices. Paid, prepaid tours are not taken by phone, and a same-day cancellation is generally not refunded.
Other courses on the list for October and November 2026 are 20-and-over only: the “Kinmugi” tour on weekends and holidays from October 3 to 31, the Tokyo Craft tour on weekends and holidays from November 1 to 29, and a night tour of about 60 minutes on Fridays, October 9 and November 6.
The tour is guided in Japanese only. Suntory’s Q&A says you can use your own phone’s translation at the Musashino brewery if you ask staff on arrival (factory tour Q&A, Japanese). Suntory asks you not to bring food or drink.
Booking is online only. Dates for October and November are open now, and December dates (December 1 to 24) open on November 2 at 9:30. The brewery shop is open 11:00–16:50.
Getting there: from JR Fuchu-Hommachi Station (府中本町駅) it is about a 15-minute walk. From Bubaigawara Station (分倍河原駅) a free shuttle bus runs; check the schedule in Suntory’s notices. Some map apps send you to the back gate, so use the access map on the official page. Parking spaces are limited.
The video above is a making-of film for a TV commercial shot at the Suntory Musashino brewery, from Suntory’s official YouTube channel (Japanese). It is not a tour video.
Address: 3-1 Yazaki-cho, Fuchu City, Tokyo. Google Maps. Phone: 042-360-9591 (9:30–17:00).
8. JAL SKY MUSEUM (JAL工場見学 SKY MUSEUM), Haneda Airport
Japan Airlines
The factory tour course takes 130 minutes in total: 80 minutes in the museum and 50 minutes in the hangar. You explore the museum at your own pace, then a staff member guides your group around the hangar. The fee is ¥1,000 (tax included) for ages 13 and over; children 12 and under are free (tour info, English).
Tours run every day except Wednesday. Start times are 9:30, 10:45, 13:30 and 14:45, with a 16:30 twilight slot on limited days. Reservations are online only and open at 9:30 on the same date one month before the visit. The FAQ says you can cancel or change up to two days before for groups of nine or fewer.
The age rule: elementary school and up. First and second graders need one adult (18 or older) for every five children, and third to sixth graders need an adult. Children under elementary school age cannot enter, even with a parent. On the day, show ID for the main visitor, and bring proof of age for children aged 6 or 7.
The FAQ has practical tips. The hangar has no air conditioning, so dress for the outdoor temperature, and avoid high heels, sandals and platform shoes. There are no restrooms during the hangar tour, so go during the museum time. Still photos are generally allowed, but videos are not, apart from takeoffs and landings. Lockers are available, but large luggage may not fit. There is nowhere to eat inside, and you should not bring your own lunch; there are no places to eat near Shin-Seibijo Station.
The official site has English pages. It does not say what language the guide uses on the standard course, so ask JAL before you book if that matters to you.
Getting there: 2 minutes on foot from Shin-Seibijo Station (新整備場駅) on the Tokyo Monorail. Only local (all-stops) trains stop there; rapid trains do not. Do not confuse it with Seibijo Station. There is no parking or bicycle parking.
The video above is a visit to SKY MUSEUM with a pilot, from the JAL sub channel on YouTube (Japanese).
Address: JAL Maintenance Center 1, 3-5-1 Haneda Airport, Ota Ward, Tokyo. Google Maps. Phone: 03-5460-3755 (9:30–16:30).
Common questions
Can I visit without a reservation?
No for the Coca-Cola Tama factory: the page says tours are by reservation only and same-day applications are refused. Mayoterrace is also reservation only. The National Printing Bureau requires an advance online booking, and JAL takes online bookings only. Suntory says tours need a reservation except for courses marked as not needing one; none of its Musashino courses is marked that way on the course list.
Which tours can I join with young children?
Pencil Lab takes children from age 3, and ages 0 to 2 are free. The National Printing Bureau, Mayoterrace and JAL SKY MUSEUM are for elementary school children and older. Suntory has a family course where people under 20 join with an adult.
Is there English guidance?
Only Mayoterrace says it has an English course. Coca-Cola Tama, the National Printing Bureau and Suntory say their tours are guided in Japanese only. Pencil Lab and JAL do not say.
Can I go by car?
The National Printing Bureau does not allow private cars, motorbikes or bicycles. Coca-Cola Tama and JAL SKY MUSEUM have no parking, and Pencil Lab has none either. Suntory’s parking is limited, and anyone who drives cannot drink the beer.
Can I book if I do not read Japanese?
JAL’s information pages are in English, and Mayoterrace says to book its English course (by phone). The other booking pages are in Japanese, and Pencil Lab takes email or fax. Ask someone who reads Japanese to help if you are unsure.
Next steps
Sources (checked October 2026)
- Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan: Tama factory tour, factory tours
- National Printing Bureau: Tokyo Factory tour
- Kewpie: access and use, reservations, facility guide
- Kitaboshi Pencil: Tokyo Pencil Lab tour
- Suntory: Musashino brewery, notices, access, factory tour Q&A, March 2024 release
- JAL: tour info, access, FAQ
