WhaleBrewing

There’s a brewery in Yobuko, Saga called WhaleBrewing, and it’s really fascinating. They renovated an 80-year-old traditional house into a brewery.

There’s a 9-meter atrium, and brewing tanks are lined up right under the exposed beams. It was designed by Koichi Futatsumata of Case-Real. It’s all standing-room, so you can drink beer right next to the tanks.

Yobuko used to thrive as a whaling port, but the population has been declining and vacant houses have been increasing. Kaidaro, a long-established restaurant famous for live squid cuisine, launched this project from its position of having served the local community for more than 50 years, aiming to revitalize the town once again.

That’s brewer Kenichi Kondo. He’s from Chiba and originally worked at a financial institution supporting small and medium-sized businesses across Japan. While working in Fukuoka, he fell in love with Yobuko’s squid and scenery, moved there with his wife and child, and made the switch to become a brewer.

And their beer is seriously good. Their regular Pale Ale, IPA, and Weizen all won silver medals at the Japan Great Beer Awards 2025.

The Pale Ale is themed around 'a day in Yobuko that begins with the morning market,' and the IPA uses three types of hops. The food lineup is also distinctly Yobuko, with dishes like squid fritters and squid cutlets.