Japan Guide
Hokkaidō
Sapporo Beer Museum
The hugely popular Sapporo Beer Garden and Museum stands just east of the city centre. Beer is still brewed in this grand red-brick building, which dates from 1891, but it's now the company's smallest brewery since much of the building has been turned over to a large, modern exhibition on the brewing process and the history of the company, not to mention several restaurants, pubs and souvenir shops. It's worth taking the free one-hour tour; you can pick up a recorded English-language commentary at the entrance. At the end of the tour, samples of the main product (¥200) can be enjoyed.
The beer garden and museum are roughly a twenty-minute walk east of Sapporo Station. The Chūō bus 188 runs every 30 minutes directly to the complex (¥200) from the north exit of Sapporo Station. Alternatively, hop on the Factory Bus, which departs every ten minutes or so from in front of the Seibu department store, Kita 4, Nishi 3. The bus goes via the Sapporo Factory, Kita 2, Higashi 4 ( 
www.sapporo-factory.co.jp ) the first of Sapporo's breweries in the city, converted in 1993 into a shopping and entertainment complex. Opening time: Daily 9am–5.30pm Price: Free 
011/731-4368 www.sapporobeer.jp