Handa Red Brick Building

The Handa Red Brick Building stands as one of Japan's most significant industrial heritage sites, located in Handa City on the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture. Constructed in 1898 as a brewery for Kabuto Beer, this five-story structure was designed by Yorinaka Tsumaki, one of Japan's three legendary Meiji-period architects who also worked on Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse and Tokyo's Nihonbashi Bridge. Built using approximately 2.4 million red bricks in the British method, it represents one of the largest existing brick constructions in Japan and showcases rare architectural techniques including double walls and multi-arch flooring of hollow construction.

Kabuto Beer initially achieved remarkable success, even winning a gold medal at the 1900 Paris Expo. The brewery closed in 1943, and during World War II the building served as a clothing warehouse for Nakajima Aircraft Company. Machine gun fire from P-51 fighter planes during air raids left visible scars on the north wall that remain today. After the war, it functioned as a corn starch factory until 1994. Facing demolition in 1995, the building was saved when Handa City purchased the site in 1996 for approximately ¥3.047 billion. In 2004, the complex of three buildings was registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, and in 2009 it received recognition as a Heritage of Industrial Modernization site.

Visitors can explore exhibition spaces showcasing the history of the building and Kabuto Beer through models, videos, and photographs. The revived Kabuto Beer is now brewed off-site and comes in two varieties: a light Taisho lager and a darker Meiji ale. The on-site Cafe and Beer Hall Re-BRICK serves draft Kabuto Beer made with ingredients from the Chita Peninsula alongside local cuisine. A shop offers specialty products from the region and bottles of the limited-edition beer, which sells out quickly and has earned the nickname "Ghost Beer" due to its scarcity of only 3,000 bottles per production run. The facility also features rental studio spaces and a pleasant lawn area outside.

The building is easily accessible from Nagoya, located approximately 40 kilometers south of the city center. Take the train from Nagoya Station to Sumiyoshicho Station on the Meitetsu Kowa Line, a journey of about 30 minutes, then walk 5 minutes to reach the building. Admission fees apply for the exhibition areas, though the cafe, shop, and outdoor spaces can be visited freely. The building integrates well with Handa's other cultural attractions, including historic brewing storehouses along the canal, the Mizkan Museum dedicated to vinegar production, and the Niimi Nankichi Memorial Museum, making it an ideal anchor point for exploring the city's rich industrial heritage.