If you love beer, chances are that you’ve downed an Asahi beer more than once. Asahi is one of Japan’s top four beer producers, and allows visitors to tour their brewery in Osaka — entirely for free!

Built in 1891, the factory in Suita is Asahi’s very first factory. And believe it or not, the factory offers 90-minute brewery tours that include a free tasting session at the end. Most tours are conducted in Japanese, with English tours on selected days. Otherwise, multilingual audio phone guides are available to download too. Each tour will be guided by one of Asahi’s staff members.

First, enjoy a video showcasing Asahi’s products over the years, before browsing a gallery outlining the company’s history. At the ingredients exhibit, the guide will tell you all about the ingredients that go into each beer. Next, you’ll go through the beer production process, before observing the canning, bottling, and packing processes through windows.

We especially liked watching the bottling process — in the 20th century, the conveyor belt system was said to be the inspiration for the now much-loved conveyor belt sushi!

Our favourite part came at the end of the tour, where visitors are given 20 minutes to sample Asahi’s beers for free. Each visitor can try a maximum of three beers — choose from the Asahi Super Dry Original, Asahi Premium, or the Asahi Black. Juices and soft drinks are also available.

The Asahi Super Dry Original is the company’s trademark beer. The sugars are removed during the fermentation process, resulting in a light, crisp beer that’s delightfully easy on the palate. Don’t miss out on viewing Asahi’s World Can Collection, which boasts more than 3,000 beer cans from all around the world too!

Did you know that there are still some parts of the original factory on the premises? This includes a large brick building, stained glass windows, and the top part of a chimney. The brewery tour is really popular, so be sure to make a reservation in advance to secure your spot. Bottoms up!

How to get to Asahi Beer Factory

Take a train to Suita station, followed by a 10-minute walk.