Hokkaido has become a popular destination for Chinese due to the successful movie "If You Are the One." I went to Sapporo, capital of Hokkaido, on business in November. I had never been to Sapporo nor Hokkaido. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to see the beautiful nature of Hokkaido depicted in the film. I traveled at night, so I could not see the beautiful landscape. But as a member of Shinpo Co., Ltd. I could encounter spectacular scenes, which were even better than nature. Specifically, the Big Three beer gardens in Sapporo.

A "beer garden" is a buffet-style restaurant run by a leading brewery where guests can enjoy meat dishes and an all-you-can-eat buffet while quaffing beer in mugs. Most of these beer gardens use Shinpo grills. Halls have 500 to 1,000 seats and I saw the name "Shinpo" everywhere. This was amazing, and I was ecsatic.

Hokkaido is famous for hops which are an essential ingredient of beer. Berbecues and buffets with all-you-can-drink beer are popular tourist attractions. Visitors grill lamb and beef together with vegetables while enjoying beer. For this food sevice business, the Big Three breweries (Asahi, Kirin, and Sapporo) are competing ruthlessly in attracting guests.

As the lament "I love Yakiniku, but I hate smoke" grows, a smokeless and comfortable environment has become one of the significant elements in guest service and Shinpo's smokeless grills are indispensable in attracting guests. Beer garden managers told me they expect Shinpo grills to be not only smokeless but also easy to cleaning and able to cook food to perfection with fewer breakdowns. For Chinese visitors, when you go to a beer garden in Sapporo, take a look under the grill. I am confident that you will see the Shinpo nameplate. If you don't, you are not in a Big Three beer garden.