Those who live in Sapporo love it. Most who visit do, too. If you’re a craft beer drinker, then let the affair bloom.

Spring can be slushy in Hokkaido’s largest city, but visitors from Japan’s more southerly islands come in droves in the summer to escape the humidity. Cafes and restaurants open out onto the street to take advantage of the mild weather. Beyond Sapporo’s comfortable urban environs, Hokkaido’s natural scenery is vast and its coastal waters teeming with seafood. What’s not to like about the place?

Certainly not the several craft breweries in the region and about a dozen establishments serving craft. Sapporo is a craft beer city in its own right, but largely off the radar of most craft-beer pilgrims. Interestingly, Sapporo was one of the earliest cities in Japan where you could obtain craft beer, care of Phred Kaufman. His craft beer bar, Mugishutei Inn, has been a hub of beer since 1980.

“I would get bottles, cans, whatever I could,” says Phred, “And then with the can craze around 1984, my business expanded rapidly.”

Few remember the can craze, when the big producers began unrolling an array of cans with different designs and graphics. Same beer, different cans, big gimmick. Still, cans make nice collectibles, as Mugishutei proves; walls of the underground bar are lined to the ceiling with hundreds of beer cans. Along one wall are several refrigerators with 300 varieties of world beer. The bar also serves six drafts. Phred is the official importer of Rogue Beer, which is a mainstay draft selection there and at dozens of other bars around Japan.

“Back around 1994, I became Rogue’s first foreign importer. I wanted to get a recognizable brand name on the market and I knew Jack Joyce (co-founder & CEO).”

The relationship prospered. Several of Rogue’s flagship beers have been renamed and relabeled to feature notable Hokkaido wildlife: “White Crane Ale,” “Red Fox Amber Ale” and “Brown Bear Stout.” A barley wine called “Have a Phred, Go to Bed” was released in his honor, too.

Naturally, Phred’s presence in Sapporo is felt around town. At Higuma, have some Higuma beer with your Higuma Ramen. Heno-heno-moheji is a casual, but scrumptious joint serving giant portions of seafood for affordable prices, along with several varieties of bottled Rogue. Suck down some oysters—and Scheldebrouwerij oyster stout—at Go-tsubo. For some traditional Japanese fare, visit Jumbo and pair some “alien meat skewers” (uchujin niku tsukune) with whatever guest bottle of craft they have. Want a bottle for the park or your hotel? Liquor retailer Momoya has a decent selection—of both bottled craft and cigars!

Other craft beer bars in town generally serve a combination of drafts from Phred, Nagano Trading (another major importer of U.S. craft), and Japanese craft breweries. Higurashi is recommended for those looking for a range of draft options. The small establishment with artful décor serves eight drafts, including two real ales. There’s usually a U.S. West Coast beer on tap, too. As they are open until 4am, this might be your last best hope for a late stop after a night of bar hopping.

Kalahana, also open late (until 3am), has five servers, offering a selection of Japanese craft, Vedett and cider. Some rarer bottles of craft beer from around the world occupy a refrigerator in the back. The tapas-style food in this cozy haunt makes for a great late-night snack with your brews.

Adanonki is not a craft beer bar, per se, but more a used book and magazine store with beer! Kick back with some vintage Playboy (we did) while enjoying one of their two drafts or any of the ten varieties of brew in cans and bottles, including Caldera beer. The counter only seats six and seems to attract those drinking solo.

No journey to Sapporo for the craft beer lover is complete without patronizing North Island Beer. The small, two-floor bar in the city is actually run by brewer-owner Tagaya Takeshi, while the company itself is called Canadian Brewery.

“Our original equipment came from Canada, and that’s also where we learned to brew, hence the name. An acquaintance told us that craft beer was taking off in Canada so that’s where we went. Brewers there were exercising a lot of freedom and making all kinds of styles, from British to Czech.”

The recipes North Island Beer uses now are largely based on what the two brewers learned in Canada. Their recipes have been tweaked over the years, but they’ve settled on six basic styles: pilsner, brown ale, weizen, stout, IPA and their famous Coriander Black. All are served at carefully controlled temperatures and can be enjoyed with pub-style food likes sausages, fish & chips or pasta.

The beautiful beer hall occupies what was once an onion storehouse on the outskirts of town. The first floor has a small bar, while the second features a spacious dining area with a stage (for live jazz). The wooden rafters and aged cinderblock walls lend it the feeling of a lodge. It is, in short, worth the trip out there.

Leibspeise is a beer hall in Sapporo serving Otaru Beer, but if you have time, why not take a day trip out to the main brewery in Otaru? It’s a quaint seaside city with a scenic train ride along the coast. And, of course, you’ll get to enjoy the beer fresh from the brewery. Take a guided tour, too, if you like.

The building dates back over 100 years and houses the brewery equipment and an expansive wooden beer hall with two floors. Braumeister Johannes Braun takes pride in strictly brewing German beers using hallowed family recipes according to traditional German standards. That means genuine German beer in Japan—except that they use Otaru’s water, known for its good mineral balance.

The three main beers are a pilsner, dunkel and weiss, with several seasonal varieties: helles in April, a brewer’s choice in June, schwartz in July, a merzen festival beer in September and dunkelbock in December. The food selections to pair with your beer are German and continental: sausages, pork, steak, pizzas and pastas. While Otaru is known for making purely German beer, we got a chuckle when we saw “lemonade beer” and other “light beers” on the menu. Nobody can complain about the prices, though; a “medium” glass measuring about 500ml is only ¥690. All-you-can-drink beer specials for ¥2200 are held on Thursdays and Saturdays.

For another recommended day trip, consider Noboribetsu, which is home to Onidensetsu beer and several good hot spring resorts. Ishikari, just outside Sapporo, is starting to make some fine beers, too. Many of the bars listed above serve draft from these two breweries, so you don’t exactly have to leave Sapporo.

And with so much on offer in close proximity, you may not want to. Ever. Nobler souls have been known to lay down their burdens and live the good life there. Cheers to that.

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This article was published in Japan Beer Times # () and is among the limited content available online. Order your copy through our online shop or download the digital version from the iTunes store to access the full contents of this issue.