When it comes to handing out this year¡¯s gongs and plaudits for the best setting and most notable architecture, there are going to be very few restaurants that will rival Spring Valley Brewery. That¡¯s because it occupies pride of place at Log Road Daikanyama.

Still only a month old, this buzzy new development is doubly noteworthy. First, its brilliant use of space: You¡¯d never realize that the land it sits on used to be occupied by railway tracks, until the Toyoko Line was sunk underground barely a year ago. Second, Spring Valley Brewery and the other buildings here look fantastic, all clad in wood and linked by a timber walkway (hence the Log Road name).

Tokyo¡¯s latest and biggest brewpub is a substantial operation, just as you¡¯d expect from the new craft-beer specialist subsidiary of brewing behemoth Kirin. The first Spring Valley Brewery opened inside Kirin¡¯s Yokohama complex earlier in the spring. But this new Daikanyama operation is even more impressive.