Fujizakura Heights Beer had their 20th anniversary at the beginning of July and I thought it would be a good excuse to visit the area for some brewery action. A (good) group of friends came along, and our translator for BeerTengoku, Hiro, was kind enough to drive us up there. No doubt there's going to be videos that surface at some point of the naughty songs and funny moments but we'll leave those to an end-of-year roundup of outakes for Youtube.
The original plan was to do a bike tour of the area; however, the early finish to the rainy season this year meant it was not possible. No way was I going to do a 150km in 30c+ weather with 80%+ humidity. I'm crazy at the best of times to do things like this but not that crazy.
The small two-day tour started up at Fujiyama Beer, Fujiyoshida. It's located in a small outlet complex but you have to drive to get there - so expect to see plenty of non-drinking drivers waiting for their friends and family to finish up.
They've been around for over a decade now, yet their beers aren't readily found across Chubu or Kanto. You can easily pick up their 1L cans and 2L growlers to take away, or you can sit and drink inside the large spacious hall. The brewery is visible across the bar too.
However, I don't recommend this place at all. Those prices might have taken your eye, but the quality of the beers is pretty low. They are drinkable when cold but then most beers are drinkable when cold. I had the weizen, only to find it lacking in both the expected banana and clove flavours, as well as in the body with it being thin. I guess I was always going to be disappointed as I've found that when a brewery limits their beers to onsite production and sales only, that's usually a warning sign.
Setting up the BeerTengoku party tent at the campsite took a matter of minutes too - well it felt like minutes but after consumed about 6 beers before getting to New Bridge Campsite, it was probably more like hours. The campsite is located on the edge of Kawaguchi-ko, one of the famous Fuji Five Lakes. It costs ¥1,350 per night per tent, but what they didn't say was how comfortable it was going to be.
Imagine a bed of pine needles that having been on the ground, have been softened and feel smooth to the touch. Then lay down on them and have a gentle massage as you lay your weary drunken head. That's what it felt like and it was going to prove fortuitous too latter.
After filling up with food on the BBQ with what seemed to be like half a cow, then it was off to the main event of the weekend - Fujizakura's 20th Anniversary celebration. They do a celebration every year for each anniversary, but 20 years is a long time in Japan.
The event was a ¥3,500 drink and eat as much as you want with the latter only being found out once we arrived. However, there was one problem - the special event beers were only on sale on the Sunday. Never mind - no tears were shed because UNLIMITED BEER!
Fujizakura pride themselves on producing German-style beers, with weizens and pilsners being their go-to-styles. Unlike other breweries in Japan, they haven't felt the need to do stouts, IPAs, double IPAs. Nor have they jumped onto any crazes that have been and gone.
Personally, I really like their weizens as I've found them generally to be well made and have everything I want. The beers at the brewery are always fresh and in good condition, which makes sitting outside and drinking a great choice. You could sit inside the beer hall but with a huge sprawling beer garden outback, then you'd be missing out on a chilled atmosphere.
The event was a blast, with a Japanese German oompah band going on, and the usual Oktoberfest shenanigans, but after drinking what felt like a vat of beer and then some, it was time to head off. The event finished off at 9pm, and the only thing left to do was get down the mountain and back to the campsite. Easier said than done but the aforementioned pine needle mattress provided one of the best night's sleep I've had in my life.