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Attraction · Sapporo

Sapporo Beer Museum

The only beer museum in Japan, in the red-brick malt house where the country's first commercial brewery began in 1876.

Time needed1–1.5 hours
Brewery founded1876
RarityThe only beer museum in Japan
Beside itThe Sapporo Beer Garden
About

Where Japanese brewing started

Hokkaido was settled as a frontier in the late nineteenth century by a government importing western expertise wholesale, and brewing came with it: the Kaitakushi brewery opened in Sapporo in 1876, the first commercial brewery in Japan, and the star on its label is the pioneer star of the colonisation office. The museum occupies the red-brick malt house, and it is the only beer museum in the country. It tells the story of how a European industry was transplanted to a frontier island, which turns out to be the story of modern Hokkaido in miniature. Tasting is at the end and is charged separately, and the beer hall next door does lamb over a hot dome.

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What to See

What to see

A brick building, a hundred and fifty years of labels, and a glass at the end.

🏭 The malt house

  • A red-brick industrial building of the 1890s, kept

📜 The exhibition

  • The founding of the brewery and the settlement of Hokkaido, told together

🍺 The tasting room

  • Paid tastings, including a recreation of the original Kaitakushi beer

🐑 Sapporo Beer Garden

  • Adjacent halls serving Genghis Khan lamb over a domed grill
Getting There

Getting there

East of the centre, and needs a short ride.

🚌 By bus

  • A direct bus runs from Sapporo station to the site

🚶 On foot

  • Around fifteen minutes from Higashi-Kuyakusho-mae subway station
Best Time

When to visit

Indoors, all year.

❄️ Winter

  • A warm indoor stop when Sapporo is under snow, and lamb is the right food for it

🍺 Evening

  • Museum first, then the beer garden next door for dinner

📅 Check closures

  • Closed on some Mondays and over New Year
Visitor Intelligence

Visitor intelligence

Two separate things on one site.

🎫 Free or guided

  • Self-guided entry is free; the paid guided tour includes tastings

🍽 Book the hall

  • The beer garden fills in the evening, especially in Snow Festival week

🐑 Genghis Khan

  • Grilled lamb is Hokkaido's dish, and this is the classic place to eat it

🚕 Getting back

  • Buses thin out in the evening; a taxi back is short and easy
Nearby

Close by

Sapporo.

Odori Park
West · the city centre
Sapporo Clock Tower
West · central
Mount Moiwa
South-west · the night view
Good to Know

Frequently asked

Not really. The exhibition is as much about how Hokkaido was settled and industrialised as about brewing, and the red-brick building is worth seeing on its own. The tasting at the end is optional and separately charged.
Self-guided entry is free. The guided tour, which includes tastings and a look at parts you cannot otherwise see, is paid and usually needs booking ahead.
Grilled mutton and lamb cooked on a domed cast-iron plate with vegetables around the rim, and it is Hokkaido's signature dish. The beer garden beside the museum is the traditional place to eat it.
It sits east of the centre, so the usual shape is central Sapporo in the day — Odori, the clock tower, the market — the museum in the late afternoon and the beer hall for dinner. Mount Moiwa is the alternative evening.
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