Faculty of Tourism students develop craft beer using local resources, creating new tourism content for Togane City

Togane Mayor Shikama (second from the right) and students celebrate the completion

Ten students enrolled in the "Tourism Project B" course at Faculty of Tourism have developed an original craft beer called "TOURI" using plums, a specialty of Togane City.
This project was realized through collaboration between plum farmers in Togane City, the microbrewery "MATSURI BREWING" in Urayasu City, and the local government of Togane City, and is an industry-academia-government collaboration that aims to create new tourism content. The beer was completed, and a completion report was presented to Togane City Mayor Rikuro Shikama on September 24th.

"Tourism Project B" (led by Associate Professor Sayuri Shibasaki) aims to contribute to sustainable urban development by combining the flexible ideas of young people with local resources. Students have been working on product development while experiencing firsthand the process of harvesting plums at a plum farm and brewing craft beer.

Students harvesting plums

Beer brewing students

At the completion report meeting, the students gave a detailed explanation of the project overview, the beer concept, label design, future sales plans, etc. Mayor Shikama commented, "The students' innovative ideas and proactive approach are wonderful. I have high hopes that this will become a tourist attraction that will liven up Togane City in the future."

Students explaining their project

The concept behind the completed craft beer "TOURI" is "plum drunkenness." The students held many discussions with the desire to "enjoy a slightly sweet, pleasant drunkenness like that of a plum." The plum variety used is "Summer Angel" from Togane. The finished hazy pale ale features a juicy aroma and refreshing acidity, creating a one-of-a-kind craft beer that evokes the rich nature of Togane City. This year, only 260 liters are being brewed.

Comment from Ayaka Tasukuri, 4th year student Department of Tourism

We expressed our gratitude to all the people in Togane City who had helped us, and reported on the origin of the product name, our PR activities, sales and event participation plans, expected results, and future prospects. We created slides and practiced them together as a trio for a week, checking every detail and making repeated revisions. We also rehearsed right up until the day we left. We discussed and prepared so that we could respond to questions and answers. There were moments when we were nervous and our minds went blank as it was our first courtesy visit, but we were able to show the results of our practice and convey our feelings.
I would like to entrust my juniors with ensuring that the connections with the local community that we have built through the craft beer "TOURI" developed this year will continue into next year and beyond.

The completed craft beer was first sold at Josai International University DAY, a sponsored event at the professional baseball game between Chiba Lotte Marines and the Nippon-Ham Fighters on September 28th, and was so popular that all 120 cups were sold out.
First, in honor of "Friday the 10th is Togane Day," the bottled product will be available for purchase at the Minori no Sato Togane Roadside Station from 10:10 on Friday, October 10th. It will also be available on the manufacturer, Matsuri Brewery's, online store. It will also be available at the Togane Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 25th (sold by the cup from a draft beer server). We hope you'll give it a try.

Product details
Product name: TOURI
Suggested retail price: 830 yen (tax included/330ml bottle)
Style: Hazy Pale Ale
Alcohol content: 6.0%