Craft beer subscription service Otomoni opened orders for a new Tsundere-themed Hazy IPA on November 15, 2022. The beer has a sweetness level that changes on its temperature and was brewed as part of the 15th installment of the JAPANESE BEER ODYSSEY, which aims to share aspects of both traditional and modern Japanese culture through craft beer.

For better or worse, Japan’s otaku culture is now a major part of the country’s appeal to people around the world.

Japan’s video game and anime market is now legendary around the globe, and millions flock to the country each year to become more immersed in its popular culture. Just look at the annual Comiket event–over 700,000 visitors attend each year!

To celebrate the upcoming Comiket, a new beer has been brewed that pays homage to modern otaku culture. The Tsundere Hazy IPA is perfect for otaku who love a little challenge when it comes to their love life.

Brewed with NOMCRAFT Brewing in Wakayama Prefecture, the Tsundere Hazy IPA features two distinct flavors, each coming out more strongly depending on the beer’s temperature. 

When poured, the beer has a very tropical aroma, and when ice-cold, it’s more refreshing and less sweet. 

As the temperature of the beer rises, the smell becomes more fruity and strong, with the smell of hibiscus certain to make your mouth water. Whether you like bitter or sweet, this may be the perfect beer for you. 

Would you try this tsundere-themed beer? 

Aki Rosenthal, a popular member of the Hololive VTuber collective, has teamed up with Hansharo Beer in Izu to create a tasty new brew. Called ‘Good Job Again Today,’ this is the perfect beverage to enjoy after a long day. Sales will begin on August 25, 2022.

The beer is fermented with champagne yeast and colored by malt to resemble rosé wine. Aki Rosenthal, a well-known beer lover herself, was involved in the creation of the beer, and the talent hopes that it will make workers’ lives a little easier and more enjoyable. Even those who don’t typically like beer might like this slightly fruity taste, so be sure to give it a try if you can!

Aki Rosenthal

A girl who traveled from a different universe. She has hyper curiosity and manages to reach out to all sorts of things. Her trademark pigtails float due to some sort of supernatural power.

Character Design: Azumiu Akitake @akitake_a
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFTLzh12_nrtzqBPsTCqenA
Twitter: https://twitter.com/akirosenthal

Yamanashi’s Fuji Motosuko Resort is home to the yearly Fuji Shibazakura Festival, one of the most popular spring flower events in Jaapn. From July 16 until October 10, 2022, guests will also be able to enjoy the Rainbow Flower Festival, with over 80,000 blooms decorating the land around Mount Fuji. 

From Left: Coneflowers, Common Zinnia, Begonia, Ageratum

From Left: Scarlet Sage (Sirius), Scarlet Sage (Bonfire), Scarlet Sage (Deep Blue), Coleus

The theme for the inaugural event is ‘Seven Colors of Mount Fuji.’ Visitors will be able to take incredible pictures, with a variety of blooms springing from the Earth in seven beautiful colors. Whether you love begonias or zinnias, you won’t want to miss this one. 

The venue will also feature photo spots that will be perfect for social media, from a rainbow circle bench to the ‘Yellow Door of Happiness.’ A campaign will also be held to choose the best photos of the event posted to Instagram.

Koppe-pan (with Yamanashi Peach Butter and Whipped Cream) / Lava Fried Tofu / Bellflower Mochi Ice Cream / Jewel Soda

A unique food menu featuring everything from lava-shaped fried tofu to fluffy bread with local peach butter will appear at the event.

*Sample image.

Pictures aren’t the only thing you’ll leave with–a selection of souvenirs will be on sale, including ‘Stick Jelly’ made with five types of local fruit puree. These will only be available at the event, so come have a wonderful time visiting Mount Fuji this summer!

Sankt Gallen Taproom, a bar directly owned by the original Sankt Gallen microbrewery, has begun selling special menu items to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Honatsugi MYLORD until March 31, 2022. Since ancient times, black cats have been a symbol of prosperous business, and fittingly, the new menu features a black cat motif. 

The 40th-anniversary beer, Congratulations Nya~ England IPA, is a New England IPA-style beer, a style that originated in the New England region of the eastern United States. The orange-yellow liquid was inspired by the eyes of a black cat glowing in the dark. The adorable cat ear burger buns are baked at the city’s Good Aging Store. The black color is made by adding unsweetened black cocoa to the flour.

UNITED ARROWS has released its first craft beer in collaboration with Be Easy Brewing, located in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture. The brew is available at the UNITED ARROWS BOTTLE SHOP, which sells select alcoholic beverages from both Japan and abroad. ‘Apple Pie Ala Mode’ went on sale starting January 2 at the UA BAR on the first floor of the UNITED ARROWS Harajuku flagship store, H BEAUTY AND YOUTH, and the California General Store. 

Be Easy Brewing offers a selection of unique and constantly changing beers using ingredients found in Aomori like apples, strawberries and Tsugaru rice. From IPAs to wheat ales, the company is always experimenting with different styles. This strange collaboration was born after UNITED ARROWS expressed a fascination with the high quality and incredible taste of Be Easy Brewing’s beers.

‘Apple Pie Ala Mode’ is a Berliner Weisse with a slightly sour taste combining apple juice, cinnamon, and vanilla. 

SKY CIRCUS Sunshine 60 Observatory will hold the 9th annual Diamond Fuji viewing event from January 23 until January 29, 2022 from 16:40 until 16:50. This is a rare sight that can only be glimpsed a few days a year when the sun is perfectly aligned above Mt. Fuji.

Guests will have no buildings blocking their view from the observation deck, and if the weather conditions are right, it will look exactly as if the sun is emerging from Japan’s most famous mountain. You won’t want to forget your camera!

The rooftop will be open to only 105 people total (15 guests per day) to experience this once-in-a-lifetime view from 227 meters above the ground. On January 25, a special viewing event will utilize a super-telephoto lens to project this incredible sight onto a monitor. Mr. Hiroyuki Narisawa, a renowned star photographer, will also give a lecture on how to take the best photos during the event.

The Ginza Lion Building, built in 1934, has been officially recognized as a registered Tangible Cultural Property.

On April 8, 1934, a beer hall was opened on the first floor of the building. The interiors were lavish and incredible for the time, and were admired by citizenry and architects alike. During the war, many beer halls were destroyed by air raids or torn down for evacuation, but this location in Ginza survived and was seized in September 1945. It was then made into a beer hall exclusively for the Occupation Forces. In 1952, the site was made available to the public again.

Lion Beer Hall 7-chome / Present Day

Lion Beer Hall 7-chome / Original Construction Completed

Lion Beer Hall 7-chome / Present Day

Lion Beer Hall 7-chome / Original Construction Completed

Large Glass Mosaic Mural at the Bar

Lion Beer Hall 7-chome / Store Interior

Lighting with Grape Motif

Lighting with Beer Foam Motif

The red brick walls of the restaurant are meant to resemble the Earth bearing a rich harvest

A pillar made to look like barley

The banquet hall on the 6th floor of the building, Ginza Classic Hall, was once used as a conference room and is currently used as a party venue. The interior hasn’t changed much since its establishment, and guests enjoy the historical setting as they knock back a few brews. Ginza Lion Beer Hall celebrated its 87th anniversary on April 8, 2021.

The interior concept of the hall is ‘fertility and harvest,’ and the Lion was built with the intention of being the ‘best building in the world, and a representative beer hall in Japan that will last for generations to come.’

Craft sake brewery haccoba is teaming up with the experimental social advocacy group HERALBONY to release an artful new brew! The All-Yeast IPA -Yay!Yay! Hazy!!- will go on sale September 26, 2021, in limited quantities. A portion of all sales of the product will go to the artist who designed the bottle. Before launch, a special discussion panel was held at the HERALBONY GALLERY, located in Iwate Prefecture. 

This release marks the first collaboration between Iwate-based HERALBONY, a company aiming to make strides in the social welfare sphere, and haccoba, a unique craft sake brewer from Fukushima. 

HERALBONY GALLERY

Art Hand Towel

Scratch Works Yay!Yay! Fukushima. – Yukihito Okabe

HERALBONY continues to make a positive impact in the community, with many sympathizing with their vision and approach to making social change. Artist Yukihito Okabe’s original work Scratch Works Yay! Yay! Fukushima was made for this collaboration and was inspired by the sight, feeling, and taste of the materials that go into sake production. The way each vivid color overlaps with another to create new colors is similar to the process of fermentation, in which each microorganism weaves together with another to create something new. By combining art and alcohol, more people might be inspired to stop and ponder the issues currently facing the world. 

The All Yeast IPA -Yay! Yay! Hazy!!- is an India Pale Ale that brings a powerful hops flavor. It was inspired by the idea of blending the hoppiness of an IPA with the charm of sake, and the beverage was brewed with a unique blend of rice malt and steamed rice, leading to more sweetness, acidity, and umami. Beer lovers, don’t miss this!

Far Yeast Brewing Co., Ltd., a craft beer maker that shares original Japanese beer with the world  beer, will be opening their first directly managed overseas store in Taiwan. The Far Yeast Taiwan Craftbeer Gasteopub will be celebrating its grand opening in Taipei City, Taiwan on October 16 2021. 

The Far Yeast Taiwan Craftbeer Gastropub is the fourth directly managed store following the Tokyo-Gotanda, Shizuoka-Atami, and Fukuoka branches, as well as the first overseas location.

The Far Yeast Taiwan Craftbeer Gastropub” will have 15 taps, offering not only the core brands Kawa KAGUA and Far Yeast, but also their special Japanese craft beer that can’t be found anywhere else in Taiwan. You can enjoy the beer alongside a selection of modern Japanese-themed meals.

Far Yeast Lychee Haze 

To commemorate the opening, the company has brewed the Fruited Hazy IPA ‘Far Yeast Lychee Haze’ in collaboration with Taiwanese brewery UGLY HALF BEER, using Taiwanese lychee to flavor. The drink will be pre-released in Japan, available from  September 30 with preorders opening from 13:00 on September 21.

The combination of Nelson Sauvin hops with a grape-like aroma and the tropical scent of the citrus and coconut Sabro hops compliment the gentle and sweet flavor of lychee, enticing all craft beer enthusiasts to Taipei.

Far Yeast Taiwan Craftbeer Gastropub is expected to have an international customer base, as the gastropub is located in Taipei’s East District, an area with a high population of foreign nationals and business people. Now that overseas travel has become much harder, the new branch will allow customers to enjoy the varied tastes of Japanese craft beer and the richness of Japanese food.

The Nippon Genki Project will be held again this year and it will be available to watch on the event’s official website and on YouTube. The event was created by the late Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto as a way to get people energised and motivated to realise their dreams.

Past Nippon Genki Project events

Nippon Genki Project 2015 Super Energy!! at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

Nippon Genki Project 2016 Super Energy!! at Yoyogi National Stadium

Nippon Genki Project 2017 Super Energy!! at Roppongi Hills Arena

Nippon Genki Project 2018 Super Energy!! at Roppongi Hills Arena

Nippon Genki Project 2019 Super Energy!! at Roppongi Hills Arena

Nippon Genki Project 2020 Super Energy!! Online

The theme of this year’s event is ‘World Heritage Runway.’ The event will be recorded in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, at the foot of the World Heritage Site of Mt. Fuji. The footage will be released as a fashion film on August 21. Designers from across Japan have created a variety of looks for the event, and pieces by fashion schools, fashion universities both in Japan and overseas, and more will also be showcased.

HOSHINOYA Fuji, a hotel which opened as Japan’s first glamping resort, has announced the Glamping Fruits Breakfast summer plan which is set to run from June 20 to August 31.

HOSHINOYA Fuji is located in Japan’s prefecture of Yamanashi, a place that enjoys a bounty of fruit cultivation. Yamanashi has been called the “Fruit Country,” offering a variety of different fruits. In fact, it has been the biggest producer of peaches, grapes, and plums in Japan for over 10 year. The glamping masters of HOSHINOYA Fuji have had knowledge bestowed on them from the growers of these sweet gems who have advised on the safety and best ways to prepare land for fruit growing, characteristics of fruits grown throughout the year, and other means of support. Now, guests at HOSHINOYA Fuji are set to serve these fruits to guests at breakfast this summer.

Dine outdoors from a terrace with a breathtaking view

Guests will enjoy their breakfast out on a sofa on a private terrace that overlooks Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi. With the support of the hotel’s Glamping Master, food will be prepared outdoors using a skillet and burner. The main dish is roasted peaches made with bacon and fresh herbs. The salty bacon and sweet peach make for a delightful combination. Best of all, ingredients and condiments are all prepared for guests in advance so they can enjoy a hands-free outdoor experience.

Indulge in high quality fruits

Eight varieties of fruit are available during the breakfast experience including peaches, Shine Muscat, pione, and more. And only the tastiest fruit is served to customers.

An optional tour is available with the plan which offers guests a chance to depart HOSHINOYA Fuji early in the morning to visit a peach farm in the city of Fuefuki. Guests are given exclusive access to the farm where they can learn all about how the peaches are grown from the farmers. At the end, they can tuck into some freshly-picked peaches with a glass of sparkling wine in hand.

Fujimoto Lake Biwa Resort is set to welcome the new Peter Rabbit™ English Garden in Spring 2022 which will be themed entirely around English writer Beatrix Potter’s fictional animal character Peter Rabbit.

The garden will open as the biggest English-style garden in Japan. Fujimoto Lake Biwa Resort is located right beside Mount Fuji and is known for the Fuji Shibazakura Festival, an annual springtime cherry blossom event. This means the garden will be opening during the perfect season at the site. It will bring to life a magical recreation of the Lake District where the Peter Rabbit stories are set. There will be lots of photo opportunities, a menu themed on the characters, a museum, a shop selling original merchandise, and more. British garden designer Mark Chapman is helping to create this English-style garden.

Not only can visitors enjoy the spring and summer flowers when the garden opens, but the gorgeous hues of autumn too, and all with Mount Fuji in the background.