Good Hops

Tono's GOOD HOPS is definitely one of the most noteworthy names in Japan's craft beer scene. It's a brewery that Junichi Tamura, who founded BrewGood, moved to Tono to launch, with the goal of opening up the future of Japanese-grown hops.

Because Tono has been Japan's leading hop-growing region since 1963. Tamura fell in love with it and had been working out a concept for brewing beer together with hop researchers and farmers. He obtained the brewing license in April 2025 and opened the taproom in May.

Exactly! In addition to brewing equipment with an annual capacity of up to 80,000 liters, they also have small tanks for trial brewing and hands-on brewing experiences, and they have even developed their own unheated lupulin extraction technology. It extracts hops' aroma without damaging it.

What's more, they have their own managed hop fields in Tono City, and they use the harvested hops directly in brewing. "Twilight Cascade," an IPA, uses locally grown Cascade hops, and as the name suggests, it has a flavor that makes you want to drink it at dusk.

"The Classic Hops" is a lager made with three traditional European hop varieties; "Sorachi Ace Respect" is an IPA using the Japanese-born Sorachi Ace hop; and "Saaz Saaz" is a single-hop lager made entirely with locally grown Saaz. It's a lineup where hops are the star in every beer.

On top of that, they reinvest brewery profits into hop farming. The taproom, a 2-minute walk from JR Tono Station, is open on weekends, and you can drink while looking out at the brewing equipment. It's great that everything from the fields to the glass is completed right here in Tono.