Asahi Brewery Hakata

The Asahi brewery in Fukuoka city offers factory tours where you can learn more about the brewing process and enjoy tasting some of their freshly-brewed beer. And the best part? It’s completely free.

Asahi Breweries is one of the most famous and popular breweries in Japan, and their tours give visitors the chance to see behind the scenes at their beer production process. The company has a long-standing history with its inception in 1889.

The tour

The tours are divided into three main sections. First you take a look at the raw ingredients used to make beer, and can touch and taste the malt and hops. After that, the guide talks you through the entire process of making beer and there are plenty of exhibits to look at as you walk round. You can then see the bottling and canning lines in action, which is mesmerising to watch and gives you a sense of the vast scale of production at the brewery.

Finally, you arrive at the main event: the tasting area. Here you get to try up to three glasses of different freshly-brewed Asahi beers. You only get 20 minutes to drink them though, so make sure you keep an eye on the time! Snacks and soft drinks are also available, and don’t forget to have a look around the small gift shop before you leave.

The tours last for about 60 minutes (90 minutes if you take the tour in Japanese, as it includes a video presentation). Reservations should be made by phone to book a tour with an English-speaking guide.

Not visiting Fukuoka? There are also Asahi breweries in Hokkaido, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Kanagawa, Aichi, Osaka and Ehime prefectures.