Sapporo Factory

Sapporo Factory

The Atrium in the Sapporo Factory
Location	Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan
Address	Higashi 4, Kita 2, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan
Opening date	1993
Developer	Taisei Corporation
Management	Yebisu Garden Place
Owner	Yebisu Garden Place
No. of stores and services	around 160
Total retail floor area	123322 m²[1]
Parking	1850 vehicles[2]
No. of floors	4 (2 Jō-kan) 9 (Frontier-kan)
Website	Sapporo Factory Official Homepage(Japanese)

The Sapporo Factory (サッポロファクトリー, Sapporo Fakutorī^?) is a complex that includes a shopping mall, office, multiplex movie theaters, and museum, located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The building was formerly a brewery that belonged to the Kaitakushi, the old government of Hokkaidō prefecture, and later owned by the Sapporo Beer Company, the predecessor of the Sapporo Brewery. Currently, the Sapporo Factory is run by the Yebisu Garden Place, a subsidiary of Sapporo Holdings Ltd., and a real estate company. The original brewery building was built in 1876, and after the brewery ceased to function in beer production, the operations were moved to a new location in Eniwa, in 1993.

History

In 1875, the former government of Hokkaidō prefecture, Kaitakushi, made a decision to construct a brewery at the official garden in Aoyama, Tokyo, which was created in 1871 and located close to where Aoyama Gakuin University currently sits.^[3] The Kaitakushi's original plan was to cultivate imported plants and vegetables in Tokyo and bring them to Hokkaidō; it was thought that imported plants mainly from Europe might not suit the frigid climate in Hokkaidō.^[4] Some Kaitakushi officials have also contemplated acquiring wide recognition of the modern agricultural technology in Europe and what the Kaitakushi has done, by planting foreign vegitations or introducing expensive farming instruments, and inviting officials and the emperor of Japan to that garden in Aoyama.^[4]

Seibei Nakagawa, who has studied the brewing technology in Germany, was appointed chief engineer of the Kaitakushi Brewery in Aoyama, as well as Hisanari Murahashi was the manager of the official garden. Nakagawa has learned that abundant ice was required to brew beer in the German brewing method, and that led Murahashi to claim the government for changing the place of the brewery to Hokkaidō. His claim was approved by the government, and the brewery was planned to build in Sapporo. On September 23, 1876, the Kaitakushi Brewery was built in which the Sapporo factory is currently located.^[5] On the inauguration, beer barrels were piled in front of the building, which were later restored and currently placed on the ground of the Sapporo Beer Museum. The building of the brewery was made of wood at first, and later enlarged with red brick as the beer made in Sapporo gradually become well known throughout the country.^[5]

In 1882, the Kaitakushi was abolished due to financial difficulties, and buildings built by the Kaitakushi began to be at disposal by sale. In January 1886, the Kaitakushi Brewery belonged to the newly established Hokkaidō Prefectural Government, and later its jurisdiction switched to private ownership. The brewery kept brewing, and the Sapporo Beer Company was established in 1888, resulting the brewery be under the control of the company. The brewery has been operated until when the function as the brewery was moved to the factory in Eniwa, a city close to Sapporo. After the brewery was moved, the plan to preserve the building as a commercial complex, and 1993, the building was renovated as the Sapporo Factory.^[5] The building was constructed by the Taisei Corporation, a Japanese builder, and designed by Minoru Takeyama, a Japanese artist who has also designed the Shibuya 109 in Tokyo and the Seoul Station in South Korea. On November 2, 2006, the Frontier-kan, which houses a supermarket and groceries, was added in the south area.

Overview

The western side of the Renga-kan

The Sapporo Factory consists of 7 sections: 1 Jō-kan (1st block building), 2 Jō-kan (2nd block building), 3 Jō-kan (3rd block building), the Atrium, Renga-kan (red brick building), Frontier-kan (Frontier building), and Nishi-kan (West building). The buildings of the 2 Jō-kan, 3 Jō-kan and Atrium are combined, and connect to other buildings with access roads. The 2 Jō-kan has 4 stories, and the Frontier-kan has 9 stories, 5 of them are used as the parking lot.

The 1 Jō-kan houses the Toys "R" Us shop and a multiplex called the "United Cinema Sapporo". Most of the clothing, hardware, furniture stores and restaurants in the Sapporo Factory are housed in the 2 Jō-kan, 3 Jō-kan. The 2 Jō-kan also houses the Sapporo Meissen Porcelain Museum at the 4th floor. The Frontier-kan was built most recently in the complex, and the Tokyu department is now located on the ground floor, with office floors in the 3rd and 4th floors.

The Nishi Khan is composed of the Hotel Clubby Sapporo, the Sapporo Factory Fitness Club, and the Sapporo Factory Hall. The hall is a place where many events have been held, it has been the venue for a number of musical events. The Renga-kan houses some restaurants, and the museum of the Kaitakushi Brewery. One of the symbols of the complex, a black colored, tall chimney with the word "Sapporo Beer" on it is standing on the square next to the museum. Open beer gardens are often held in front of the western side of the Renga-kan in summer. In the Atrium, many plants are placed alongside the pathway, and glass windows are fitted into the roof, making the Atrium filled with sunlight during the daytime. A large television is installed on the south side of the Atrium. During Christmas a tall decorated Christmas tree stands at the center.^[6] The other sections in the complex are also decorated with lights during Christmas.

Sources

1. ^ event-eye.com
2. ^ Floor map of the Sapporo Factory
3. ^ the official garden in Aoyama
4. ^ ^{a b} The story of Hisanari Murahashi
5. ^ ^{a b c} The birthplace of the Sapporo beer
6. ^ Hokkaido Walker

External links

• The Sapporo Factory
• The Sapporo Factory Hall