Whilst “Hakuba Brewing Company”:http://www.hakubabrewery.com/, located in the Japanese ski resort of the same name, is located a little way out of town, it sensibly offers a shuttle bus from the main hotels.
As well as brewing their own beer, there is also a restaurant and we quickly found ourselves seated at a long communal table although there was also a range of other seating options including comfy Chesterfield sofas for those just wanting a drink. Nigel decided there was no option but to try a craft beer whereas we all went for wine at what was by now becoming a standard price of ¥3,000 (£20).
The menu contained lots of starters and a more limited selection of mains including lasagne, fish and chips, lamb or beef stew depending on which menu you looked at and burgers.
Three of us went for lasagne, Roy a starter of cold sliced beef and mustard mayonnaise and my god-daughter who had been ski-ing all day and was ravenous, went for a starter of tortilla followed by fish and chips. All the food was typical English pub-grub, as the place is owned by a Scottish chap, but welcome after so much raw fish and miso soup.
There is also free wi-fi which was not so common in Hakuba.