Garuya Beer

Did you know there’s a brewery in Onagawa? It’s called Garuya Beer, and it’s the only brewery in Onagawa Town.

Yes, it’s inside Seapalpia Onagawa. The founder, Yusuke Kimura, originally worked as a salaried employee in Tokyo, but returned to Onagawa after the earthquake and tsunami.

He became interested in fermentation through the manga Moyashimon, and then got hooked on craft beer. Then, when he went to Oktoberfest and saw strangers bonding over beer, he thought, 'This is it.'

And the beer names are great too. 'Onagawa Cascade' and 'Eshima Galaxy' combine Onagawa place names with hop variety names. Cascade and Galaxy are both hop names, and they’re chosen to resonate with the local place names.

There’s also a pale ale called 'Onagawa Hop Peel,' which uses honey in addition to malt and hops. It’s a very small brewery, and they constantly refine their recipes by changing the blend with each batch.

In summer they even have terrace seating, and it really feels like locals and tourists are drinking together. A place that removes the barriers between townspeople and visitors from outside is exactly Kimura’s ideal, and that’s Garuya.