I’m writing this review based on the free tour, as I didn’t book the premium one. The free tour you can just walk in and make your way to level 3. No need to queue for ticket . Honestly, the free tour is pretty short — it’s mainly about the history of how Sapporo Beer was founded, along with a small exhibit showing what the brewery looked like in the past. You can finish the tour in about 10–15 minutes, depending on how much time you spend reading the panels.
The highlight was definitely the beer tasting afterward. Theres a queue to purchase the ticket but it's quite fast like 5-10mins. We tried three different beers for around 1200 yen because we were curious about the different flavors. Our favorite was the “Black Label” — super smooth and easy to drink. The “Classic” had a slightly bitter aftertaste, which wasn’t really to our liking. As for the “Kaitakushi,” we’d rank it last — it was quite bitter, especially at the end, so it might appeal more to those who like stronger, more bitter beers.
There are seating areas for tasting, but they can get crowded, so we ended up standing at a table in the back, which was perfectly fine.
Right next to the museum, there’s a large shopping mall with stores like Uniqlo, GU, and more — definitely worth stopping by for a quick browse!
A beer lover's paradise to learn about the history of the oldest beer manufacturer in Japan and its evolution. The museum itself is free but you'll need to pay to sample the beers and there are many souvenirs available to drain your wallet too.
I wish the museum exhibits were more interactive. Everything is in Japanese but they do have cards in English, Chinese and Korean for visitors to read.
❗Make sure to book tickets for the paid tour well in advance, especially during holidays — everything gets sold out at least a week ahead due to Korean tourists.
This is based on the free museum tour, since it was impossible to get into the paid one during the holiday period.
For a free beer 🍺 museum, it was actually quite interesting. Nothing mind-blowing, but if you enjoy beer, you’ll probably like it. It explains the brand’s history, its advertising, how it was founded, and how the beer is brewed. The museum isn’t very big — if you read everything, it takes around 20 minutes; if you just walk through, maybe 5–10 minutes.
There’s a tasting area on the first floor. I was told it’s free, but there was a line of about 50 Korean tourists, and even more kept joining. I still don’t understand why they’d rather wait two hours for a free beer than just buy one. I obviously didn’t bother standing in line.
I highly recommend premium tour, which is conducted entirely in Japanese. If you use an AI app, you can get real-time interpretation, and in my opinion, it provides more accurate information than a private tour. At the end of the tour, you get to sample two glasses of beer. They also show you the proper way to pour Sapporo beer into a glass—if you raise your hand at the end of it, you can try and taste the beer poured during the demonstration.
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If you’re traveling to Hokkaido, be sure to add this to your bucket list. I highly recommend joining the guided tour — it’s a great way to learn about the beer-making process. I especially enjoyed their Classic Series, which is exclusively available in Hokkaido.
