Sapporo Beer Festival: Asahi Beer Garden

At this time of year in Sapporo it's beer festival time. This city is in the heart of one of Japan's major agricultural areas and the crops that are used in the brewing of beer are part of the economy here. In addition, Sapporo is a major tourist destination both for Japan domestically and internationally. As such, it is a great location for holding a beer festival made up of many beer gardens.

I've walked through the numerous gardens in Sapporo's Odori Koen (park) quite few times over the past four days that I've been here. The environment of these beer gardens is almost like that of a carnival. I was surprised by the family atmosphere that exists throughout the entire park and around all of the gardens. It's a great atmosphere in a clearly civilized society. No drunks walking around. No profanity. Minimal police presence. No violence. So good.

After walking through these beer gardens many times, I decided that I would grab some food and a beer and take a seat on this, my last night in Sapporo and my second last night of this 2024 Japan trip. Understanding the food and beer menus and then going through the process of purchasing tickets was seemingly a bit daunting. Though I have been studying the Japanese language more seriously over the past year, I'm still not super confident in my abilities. I was admittedly hesitant to go buy some tickets. I walked back and forth. I circled several of the gardens. I was fully prepared to head back to my hotel for a nice meal in the hotel restaurant. But, I decided that this is something that I absolutely had to do. I could not pass up this opportunity to be part of the Sapporo beer festival before I leave tomorrow.

So, I took a deep breath, communicated as well as I could, and bought some tickets. I then enjoyed an Asahi beer and a small pizza. It was a nice time. I'm glad that I did it. I can go home satisfied.