Sapporo Factory / former Kaitakushi Brewery
Being there
Sapporo Factory occupies the site of the Kaitakushi Brewery, established in 1876 as one of Japan's earliest modern breweries and the predecessor of Sapporo Beer. The original red-brick brewery buildings have been incorporated into a large shopping and entertainment complex, with some historical displays recalling the site's brewing history.
The story
The Sapporo Factory (サッポロファクトリー, Sapporo Fakutorī) is a complex that includes a shopping mall, office, multiplex movie theaters, and museum, located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The building was formerly a brewery that belonged to the Kaitakushi, the old government of Hokkaidō prefecture, and later owned by the Sapporo Beer Company, the predecessor of the Sapporo Brewery. Currently, the Sapporo Factory is run by the Yebisu Garden Place, a subsidiary of Sapporo Holdings Ltd., and a real estate company. The original brewery building was built in 1876, and after the brewery ceased to function in beer production, the operations were moved to a new location in Eniwa, in 1993.