Last month, two Hokusei Products (Japan) staff members made the trip to Oregon to take part in a number of meetings, as well as attend the biennial Fuji to Hood (www.fujitohood.com) festival. The Hokusei Products team arrived just as the Fuji to Hood events were kicking off, and were able to see just how the highly-popular festival was organized. [...]
Fuji to Hood, one of the most popular festivals celebrating Oregon-Japan ties, is returning to Portland on July 18 (Sat). At its heart a beer festival, Fuji to Hood has strengthened ties between Oregon and Japan by featuring numerous beers and ciders that are the result of in-depth collaborations among Oregon and Japanese brewers. All beers and ciders served include [...]
Earlier this month, Hokusei Products in Japan hosted a booth at the Japan Brewer's Expo. Held in Yokohama, the expo is a brewing industry event that precedes a sister event -- the announcement of Japan Brewer's Cup (JBC) award winners. At its booth, Hokusei Products offered samples of Oregon Fruit Company's fruit for fermentation purees, and marketed brewing yeasts from [...]
As we start off into a new calendar year, the Hokusei North America staff would like to wish a happy 2026 to our customers, suppliers, and friends. In the Asian zodiac, 2026 is the Year of the Horse. In particular, this is the year of the Fire Horse, which only occurs every 60 years. Fire horse years are signified [...]
As 2025 comes to a close, Hokusei North America would like to wish a happy holiday season to all of our customers, business partners & acquaintances, and the Japan home office team. It was been a pleasure and honor to work with you throughout the year, and we have wonderful memories of our discussions and time together. We hope that [...]
Hokusei North America CEO Shotaro Tomita was recently featured in Lighthouse Magazine a print and online publication for Japanese-speaking populations in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. As part of Lighthouse's ongoing "My Turning Point" (私の転機) series of articles, Mr. Tomita describes his dreams as a young student, his experiences and education received while working for his family's business, [...]
On November 4, Hokusei Products of Japan announced a new partnership with Imperial Yeast, a leading and highly-respected producer of beer yeast based in Portland, Ore. The alliance between the two companies was initially shared at a brewers' seminar organized by Hokusei and taking place at Sakazuki Brewing in Tokyo. Initially, Hokusei shared important information about Oregon Fruit Products' fruit [...]
The recent Oregon Pop-Up Shop organized by Hokusei Products drew the attention of local Japanese media. The event, which took place from October 31 to November 2, was a unique opportunity for residents of Toyama, Japan (Oregon's sister state) to browse, sample, and buy various Oregon-made products from companies such as Portland Gear, Columbia, Leatherman, and numerous wineries. Given this [...]
Hokusei Products in Japan is taking on the lead organizer role for the "Oregon Pop Up Shop" event taking place from October 31 to November 2, in Toyama City, the capital of Toyama Prefecture, Oregon's sister state. The event, which will take place in the Maroot event space in Toyama Station, will feature products from a number of Oregon [...]
On August 19, Hokusei Products in Japan hosted a craft beer and puree tasting event for Japanese brewers. The event called, "Beer, Bananas, and Puree" was held at Buzzed Lamb in Tokyo. The seminar setting was a charming spare room in the brewery's building, a renovated traditional Japanese house. 30 brewers from 25 breweries attended the event, where they were [...]