Hokkaido's craft breweries double in five years

57 breweries in five years, with oysters and other local ingredients adding character

According to the Nikkei, small breweries (craft breweries) that make beer and happoshu in small batches are on the increase in Hokkaido, the large island at the northern tip of Japan. As of May 2026 there were 57, about twice as many as five years earlier. That is faster growth than the Japanese average. What stands out is the use of local agricultural and marine products as ingredients. There is even a beer made with oysters, and the approach is spreading as a way of adding value to a product. Rather than competing with the big brewers’ mass-produced beer on price or volume, these breweries aim to be chosen for flavours that can only be made in their own region.

In Japan, the word “craft” has no strict definition. In the United States, which has the most craft breweries in the world, an industry body defines brewers by conditions such as being small and independent. The same body also lists ties with the local community as an important value (SAKE Street). Hokkaido’s new breweries can be said to be making those local ties their strength.

Sake breweries move into beer-making

The moves by sake makers are particularly noteworthy. Kunimare Shuzo, in Mashike on the Sea of Japan coast in north-western Hokkaido, was reported to be opening a craft brewery, Kunimare Brewery, on 22 May. The building is a warehouse that once housed an exhibition on the history of herring fishing, and it was converted at a cost of around 300 million yen. A brewery that has long made sake from rice is now taking on beer made from barley. It is an interesting example of Japanese sake-making know-how and local resources being put to use in a new style.

How to enjoy them in Europe

Opportunities to buy Hokkaido craft beer in Europe are still few. Even so, at specialist shops that stock Japanese craft beer and at Japanese food stores, the ingredients listed on the label can sometimes reveal a sense of place. Hearing of a beer made with oysters, some people will be reminded of the oyster stouts of Ireland and Britain. Tasting one alongside a Japanese version makes the differences interesting to spot. If you come across a beer from a sake brewery, you can also set it beside the same brewery’s sake and compare how the water and the brewers’ thinking show through.