[Okinawa Travel] Orion Beer Factory Tour Entrance Fee and Reservation Method! [Okinawa sightseeing recommendations]

Recommended for sightseeing in Okinawa [Orion Beer Factory Tour]

Orion Beer is a well-known Okinawan beer. The factory is located in Nago City, in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa, and you can tour the factory where beer is actually made, making it a hidden popular spot for sightseeing in Okinawa.

The secret to its popularity is that after the factory tour, you can sample freshly made Orion beer (up to two glasses per person)!

You can drink fresh draft beer after the beer factory tour!

This is a must for us beer lovers ! :) So, when I went on a trip to Okinawa, I participated in this Orion beer factory tour, so I would like to report on the details of the experience.

How to apply for Orion beer factory tour / Business hours

This Okinawa sightseeing [Orion beer factory tour] can be accepted if you go directly to the site if it is available, but it is safe to make a reservation in advance, assuming a crowded situation such as a group application.

How to access/directions to Orion Happy Park (factory tour)

The Orion Beer Factory tour will be held at the Orion Happy Park facility within the Orion Beer Factory facility.

Orion Happy Park is a little difficult to access using public transportation, so we recommend using a rental car or taxi. Car navigation search is map code 206 598 867*32.

There is also a free parking lot for visitors across the road from the Orion Beer Factory Tour facility, so don't worry.However, please note that car drivers are not allowed to sample the beer. (Soft drinks will be provided to the driver)

Visit Orion Happy Park and Orion Beer Factory

From now on, I would like to share with you photos of our actual Orion beer factory tour. The photo above is the entrance to the Orion Happy Park facility.

By the way, the sign on the wall of the building advertises [Yanbaru no Mori] , and this is actually a beer hall that serves as the final tasting venue of the Orion beer factory tour. (Business hours 10:00 - 17:30 / Closed Wednesdays)

Complete the reception

When you enter Orion Happy Park, you will see the reception desk for the Orion Beer Factory Tour right in front of you, so complete the procedures to participate in the factory tour there.

Factory tours are held 10 times a day. It starts quickly if you are on time, so be sure to arrive at least 10 minutes early.

If you think you will be late for your reserved time, you need call Orion Happy Park.

Receive your participation badge

Once you have accepted the Orion Beer Factory Tour, you will receive a badge like the one above that serves as a badge for participating in the factory tour, so make sure to wear it somewhere easy to see, such as on your chest.

On the left is a regular badge, and on the right is a badge for car drivers/drivers.

This badge can be exchanged for beer (the driver's badge is a soft drink) when tasting Orion beer.

The beginning of the Orion beer factory tour

The time has come and the tour of the Orion beer factory begins. Follow the Orion Beer staff who will give you an explanation.

There are many youth groups

When we participated in the Orion beer factory tour, there were some older people, perhaps because it was a weekday, but most were young, same-sex groups.

In addition to Japanese people, there were also quite a number of overseas travelers, including Chinese and Koreans.

Orion beer ingredients

The Orion beer factory tour begins with an explanation of the raw materials for Orion beer, such as malt (germinated barley) and hops (a plant belonging to the Cannabis family).

Orion Beer uses carefully selected malt from Europe, Australia, and Canada.

Orion beer preparation

After explaining the ingredients of Orion Beer, we headed to the facility where the ingredients are actually prepared.

Here, crushed malt is placed in a brewing tank and heated to produce wort, the raw material for beer. Because the equipment uses heat treatment, the indoor temperature is around 38 degrees, which is quite humid.

Orion beer fermentation tank

The wort that becomes the beer base produced during the brewing process is transferred to a ridiculously large fermentation tank outside the building.

Each fermentation tank has a capacity of 190 kiloliters. Approximately 543,000 350ml beer cans are stored. The amount is so large that it's hard to tell right away, but if you continued to drink one 350ml can a day, it would take you about 1,500 years (lol).

In short, that single fermentation tank can store a large amount of beer that one person could not drink in a lifetime.

75-0140 Yeast

Although it is not possible to visit the fermentation tank, a model of it is available at the factory tour facility, and an explanation of the fermentation tank process will be given there.

There are various trade secrets involved in this fermentation process, so not much can be communicated, but only the yeast that contributes to the fermentation of Orion Beer was introduced. That is [75-0140] yeast.

You might think it's a yeast fungus with a name that's full of numbers and doesn't make sense, but its name is actually a play on Japanese words, [75 (Nago) -0140 (oishii)] (lol).

Apparently, this beer fermentation process takes seven days to produce young beer, and another ten days to produce delicious beer.

The finished beer is then filtered through a diatomaceous earth filtration device, then bottled and canned.

Bottles, cans, and barrel filling work

The filtered Orion beer is sent to machines for filling bottles, cans, and kegs.

All basic work is done by robots, but important inspection work, such as checking for foreign objects, is carried out by dedicated staff with the naked eye.

Orion Beer also emphasizes recycling

In addition, the production of Orion Beer puts a lot of effort into recycling, such as reusing/recycling products made during the manufacturing process and incorporating recycled materials into the manufacturing process.

Even if you normally drink beer casually, learning more about it in this way will make you love it even more.

Orion beer video viewing

At the end of the Orion beer factory tour, a video viewing will be held, including the parts that could not be seen. This concludes the Orion Beer factory tour part.

Orion beer tasting time

After the 35-minute tour of the Orion Beer Factory, the long-awaited beer tasting time finally began. Let's proceed by following the directions inside the building.

Scenery of Okinawa in the 1960s

There is a building object on the way to the beer hall [Yanbaru no Mori], which is the Orion beer tasting venue.

This is a recreation of Okinawa's [machiyagua] (meaning store in the Okinawan dialect) in the 1960s, when Orion Beer was founded.

Inside the shop with a Showa era feel

When you look inside this [Machiyagua], you will see a nostalgic scenery of the Showa era.

Come to think of it, my parents' house (an old folk house built since the Edo period) used to have a dirt floor like this. This nostalgic worldview is one that will touch the hearts of those who spent their youth in the Showa era.

Beer hall [Yanbaru no Mori]

This is not the time to be nostalgic about the Showa era (lol). As you go deeper past the nostalgic Showa-era shops, you'll find Yanbaru no Mori, a popular Orion beer tasting venue for factory visitors.

Beer served by staff

When you enter the store, a bar counter will appear. Here, you will first have a beer (for the first beer, just show your badge and for the second beer you will exchange the badge for the drink). Mizuki gets an Orion draft beer, and since I'm the driver, I get a non-alcoholic beer instead of beer in exchange for my badge.

This beer tasting time is timed, with a time limit of 20 minutes. If you drink slowly, you won't be able to drink the second cup, so drink the first cup quickly and get a refill♪

Inside the beer hall

A scene inside the beer hall [Yanbaru no Mori] during the Orion beer tasting.

People who tour the factory can enjoy freshly brewed Orion beer for free, so even though it's Okinawa's off-season (end of February), there are quite a number of guests participating.

Orion's first premium craft beer [75BEER]

During this tasting time, you can try not only Orion's regular draft beer, but also Orion's first premium craft beer [75BEER] (which tastes like dark beer). We recommend comparing the drinks by having your first glass of regular Orion beer, your second glass of 75BEER, etc.

My impressions after drinking 75 beer are that it has a strong taste. 75 beer is delicious, but we prefer the regular Orion beer because we like a refreshing and light taste.

You can also enjoy meals

The beer hall [Yanbaru no Mori], which is the tasting venue for this Orion beer factory tour, is not only a tasting venue, but also a casual restaurant where you can enjoy meals during business hours.

Shops in Orion Happy Park

The Orion beer factory tour ends after 20 minutes of tasting time.

After sampling delicious, freshly brewed beer, look for souvenirs at the shop attached to the beer hall. There are also souvenirs such as ballpoint pens and key chains.

This shop also has limited edition items such as T-shirts and limited edition goods, so if you're looking to buy souvenirs, be sure to stop by.

Some products do not accept credit cards for payment.

Please note that some products such as beer cannot be purchased with credit cards at the shop inside the Orion Beer Factory. For those of us who don't usually carry much cash, not being able to use credit cards is a bit disappointing. I look forward to future improvements.

Great deals: Check out the AEON Nago store, which is a 10-minute drive away!

As a small piece of information, you can go to the ``Aeon Nago Store'' by car for 10 minutes from Orion Happy Park, where you will tour the Orion Beer Factory.

In addition to souvenirs that can be purchased at the airport and souvenir shops in town, there are some T-shirts and limited edition goods that are hard to find anywhere else unless you buy them at the shop inside Orion Happy Park. However, if you want to buy beer, it's cheaper and better to go to Aeon.

The Aeon Nago store has more types of beer than the Orion Happy Park shop, and they also carry a wide variety of Okinawan souvenirs, from affordable ones. Credit cards are also accepted, so if you have a rental car, we recommend going to the Aeon Nago store.

Orion Beer Factory Tour/Orion Happy Park

How about the Orion Beer Factory Tour and Orion Happy Park, which is a recommended sightseeing spot in Okinawa? Adults can participate in this Orion beer factory tour for 500 yen, and it comes with the super advantage of being able to enjoy two glasses of freshly brewed Orion beer during the tasting time. [Recommended sightseeing spots when traveling to Okinawa] It becomes.

Although it is a little difficult to access from around Naha, it is definitely a spot you should visit if you are renting a car.

The area around Nago, Okinawa, has a very clean and quiet sea, making it the perfect environment to enjoy a leisurely trip to Okinawa away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

If you're planning a trip to Okinawa from a hotel near Onna Village or Nago, I recommend taking a day to tour the Orion Beer Factory and experience Orion Happy Park. See you soon!

Article マリオット ボンヴォイ アメックスで旅費を劇的に節約！高級ホテルに無料宿泊＆マイルで飛行機代も無料！ シェラトンやマリオット、リッツ・カールトンに無料宿泊したり、部屋のアップグレードがあったり、無料でレイトチェックアウトできたり…。世界中を旅するモリオとミヅキの旅行をアップグレードさせた「 マリオットアメックス プレミアムカード 」の魅力とメリット、デメリットを交え詳しく紹介していきたい。

Okinawa Travel Check out Okinawa travel on the Okinawa tourism information summary page! Things to check before going on a trip to Okinawa! We deliver Okinawa's recommended spots, tourist information, and great deals from a traveler's perspective. Plenty of gourmet food, leisure, and sightseeing! You'll enjoy Okinawa to the fullest whether it's summer or winter♪