Okhotsk Beer Factory （オホーツクビアファクトリー）| Microbrewery | Kitami

Would you like to drink micro-brewed beer made of local malt? How about "Okhotsk Beer Factory （オホーツクビアファクトリー）" located in Kitami?

Let's enter it!

Surprisingly (or natually??), we ordered all kinds of beer! Hahaha!

■Pilsener （ピルスナー）
It is the most popular beer type in Japan. One of the features of their Pilsener is to be brewed with lower-fermentation. We really enjoyed its hop aroma and smoothness! This beer got the silver prize at the Japan Beer Grand Prix in 2000!

■Ale （エール）
This beer is brewed from malted barley with top-fermenting yeast, which ferments beer quickly, giving it the sweet, full-bodied and fruity aroma!
It also got the silver prize at the grand prix in 2000!

■Unfiltered Ale （エール濾過前）
Unfiltered beer sounds wonderful! This is available only at this restaurant! Yummy x 2!!! You should try it!!

■Weissbier （ヴァイツェン）
It is fruity and less bitter, and popular especially among women! This got the gold prize at the grand prix in 2000!!!

■Mildstout （マイルドスタウト）
This dark beer is made of roasted malt, barley, hops water and yeast, and selected as one of the 500 delicious beers!

Kitami city reminds me of fried noodles with salt sauce （塩焼きそば）!

Voila!

This is the very local fried noodles! Usually typical fried noodles are topped with pork and some vegetables such as cabbage, while this chow mein is topped with scallops and some vegetables such as onions produced in Kitami!

(* Kitami is proud of the No. 1 market share of onions in Japan.)

Please sprinkle dried salmon and pour special salt sauce before eating it! Yummy x 2!!

We really enjoyed the delicious micro-brewed beers and special local noodles at this restaurant!

■Where is "Okhotsk Beer Factory （オホーツクビアファクトリー）"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Hakodate Beer Hall （函館ビヤホール）| Microbrewery | Hakodate

Hokkaido has a lot of attractions; the nature, delicious food, winter sports, Ainu culture, hot spring and microbrewed beer in each place!!
Today I'll show you "Hakodate Beer Hall （函館ビヤホール）", a microbrewery in Hakodate.

It is located in " Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses Area （金森赤レンガ倉庫群）" near JR Hakodate Station.

 Let's enter it!

We enjoyed the early 20th century atmosphere in the beer hall!

What should we order??? I really recommend these two!

This is "Hakodate Akarenga Beer （函館赤レンガビール）", available only in this restaurant. This ale type beer is not bitter, and good for the summer time!

This is "Hakodate Kaitakushi Beer （函館開拓使ビール）". This Pilsner type beer is a little bit bitter, and goes well with the local dishes such as fresh seafood and vegetables!

■Where is "Hakodate Beer Hall （函館ビヤホール）"?

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■Tour guide information■
Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!

The 14th Snow Light Path Festival （第14回小樽雪あかりの路）| February 3 to 12, 2012

The Otaru Snow Light Festival （小樽雪あかりの路）is a famous winter festival held in Feb. in Otaru, during which the city becomes decorated lights and small snow statues for ten days. The festival usually runs at the same time as the nearby Sapporo Snow Festival, making it possible for travelers in Hokkaido visit both of the festivals on the same trip!

The combination of the snowy town and the glittering lanterns creates a very romantic atmosphere. There are two main festival areas which get lit up daily from 5:00 to 9:00 pm: the unga (canal) venue and the Temiyasan (former Temiya line) venue. In addition, many locals also put luntern displays in front of their shops and houses.

It takes about 10-15 minutes from the JR Otaru station to the venues and visitors can easily enjoy the festival on foot.

I visited the festival during the daytime and at night. I'll show you both of them!

This is Otaru canal↓

The unga venue is located along 300m of the town's iconic Itaru Canal (Otaru Unga). The restored warehouses and gas lamps along the canal make for a very romantic setting, and the canal itself is covered with small buoys that hold candles. 

I'm sure 99.9% of couples are taking pics in this ♡ object located in front of Otaru canal↓

Along the path beside the water there is a row of small snow statues that also hold candles.

All of the statues will be more beautiful at night!

There are made by local people and a lot of volunteers outside of the city, while the snow statues and ice sculptures of Sapporo Snow Festival are constructed by the Self Defense Forces.

Our tour guests really enjoyed this venue during the day time first!

We moved to Temiyasen (former Temiya line) venue↓

Betweene the canal and the train station is the Temiyasan venue, which stretches for about half a kilometer along the tracks of the former Temiya line.

Volunteers were preparing or fixing snow candles during the daytime↓

All of them are lit up every night by volunteers! I really appreciate their efforts!

This festival venue crosses Sushiya street （寿司屋通り）and I recommend to eat sushi before or after watching the snow statues and lanterns!

The snowman is rowing a boat!!! How cute it is!

I love this ♡ bridge!

At the middle of the Temiyasen venue, there a few stands and shops, where we can enjoy something hot to drink!

I really recommend this tunnel covered over the former railways!

A lot of candles are lined up along the tunnel↓

We always feel nostalgic when we pass the tunnel! The Temiya line was the first railways in Hokkaido, constructed in 1880, carrying mainly coals and seafood.

We really enjoy the festival in this Temiyasen venue, too!!

Until it got dark, we spand a couple of hours on Sakaemachi Street in the downtown area of the city!

Voila!!!

I'll show you the festival at night!!!!

The canal is packed with a lot of people! The statues along the canal are very beautiful! So is the canal covered itself with small buoys that hold candles!!!

The snowmen were lit up and we were so excited!!!

We felt as if we were in a snow wonderland!

See!!! The tunnel covered over the former railways are gorgeous!!!

We can enjoy several types of lanterns at the venues!

 These are made of wax! How beautiful they are!!!

We can enjoy the ICE BAR, drinking cold beer!! Actually I enjoy a couple of beers in this bar every year!! Hahaha!!

I really recommend the Snow Light Path Festival （小樽雪あかりの路）.

If you want to know the general information on Otaru Canal, please refer to my another post→→click here!

■Where is Otaru canal?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Sapporo Beer Garden （サッポロビール園）

The Genghis Khan Hall in its old glory is a red brick building with ivy climbing up the sides.
Built in 1890, it used to serve as a government office building when the central government was sending pioneers to Hokkaido. This profound historical building has an atmosphere that will give you an unique feeling every time you set foot inside.

Green ivy is beautiful in the spring and summer time!

In the Winter time, big Christmas trees and ice candles are decorated outside the building. How romantic the atmosphere is!

As you enter the building, firewood lines the walls where a large and glowing fireplace stands and the aroma of the beer hall welcomes you.

A giant kessel reaches toward the high ceiling of the beer hall where you can eat "Genghis Khan" or  barbecued mutton or lamb on hot plates shaped like Hokkaido, and drink down the delicious draft beer.

Are you worried about a BBQ smell? Don't worry! You can put your jacket in a plastic bag so that it doesn't pick up a BBQ smell from the cooking!

Anyway, plz wear casual clothes when you eat Genghis Khan

Enjoy veeeeeeeeeeeeeeery fresh Sappro Beer here!

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers!

This mascot welcomes you, too!

Come to the Sapporo Beer Garden and eat and drink as much Genghis Khan and beer as you can!

Fresh Lamb Genghis Khan Buffet is 3,670 yen.

I'll come back here again with my tour guests this week! How lucky I am!



■Where is the Sapporo Beer Garden?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!