insights from frontier Japan

The restaurant will be operated by YO-HO Brewing Company (Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture), a major craft-beer brewer in Japan. Ide Naoyuki, CEO of YO-HO Brewing, which is making its first foray into Hokkaido, told reporters after the press conference, “First, we would like to offer three kinds of beers exclusive to the new stadium when it opens in March next year.”

On November 15, Ishiya Co., Ltd. (Sapporo) and major tea sales company Lupicia (Niseko, Shiribeshi region) released a limited quantity of ‘Shiroi Koibito Beer,’ made using part of the ingredients of Shiroi Koibito, a popular product of Ishiya. The beer is said to have a characteristically sweet, milky taste with a harmonious aroma of hops.

Major confectioner Ishiya Co., Ltd. (Sapporo) and major tea sales company Lupicia Co., Ltd., (Niseko, Shiribeshi region) have joined forces to develop ‘Shiroi Koibito Beer’, which uses the confectioner’s popular ‘Shiroi Koibito’ product as part of its ingredients. The sweetness of white chocolate and the fruity aroma of hops harmonize to create a characteristically refreshing taste.

The harvesting of the cone-shaped flowers of hops, which are used to make beer, is reaching its peak in the town of Kamifurano in northern Hokkaido. The hops grow on vines that extend to a height of approximately 5.5 meters and hang like green curtains from ropes at the farm, where the air is filled with a refreshing scent peculiar to beer.

As the height of summer approaches, beer gardens are starting to open on the rooftops and terraces of commercial facilities in the city of Sapporo.

In Hokkaido there are 25 microbreweries, like the well-known ‘Noboribetsu Craft Beer Onidensetsu,’ that are particular about manufacturing methods and use of local ingredients, and their distinctive beers and shochu white spirits are increasing in presence.

　Two bear cubs that were born in the winter hibernation den and are just a few months old, follow their mother. As the length of stride of the mother bear, which weighs over 100 kg, is different, the cubs break into a trot to keep up with her as she ambles along.

Five residents of Higashikawa, a neighboring town of Asahikawa in northern Hokkaido, held a reception on November 8 at ‘Centpure I’, an exchange facility in the town, to unveil a beer that a local microbrewery has been commissioned to produce.

Customers could be seen relaxing with a beer mug in one hand as they enjoyed the holiday on the 4th, the last day of the ‘Oktober Fest’ – an annual autumn event in which authentic German-style beer can be savored in Otaru, at the ‘Otaru Beer Otaru Warehouse No. 1’ beer pub that faces Otaru Canal.