Tochigi Strawberry Festival 2026:
[Bringing Oku Nikko’s Charm to Shibuya]

見て、味わって、体験してーTochigi Ichigo Festival 2026 brought the best strawberries from Tochigi Prefecture, straight to the heart of Shibuya on 31 January and 1 February 2026. The two-day festival offered a range of strawberry-inspired food and drinks. The sweet aroma of Tochigi strawberries filled the venue, warmly greeting every visitor as they entered.

This year, Sanbonmatsu Chaya also participated in the festival by setting up two booths: an outdoor merchandise booth and an indoor counter bar, sharing a small charm of Oku-Nikko through our specialties. At the merchandise booth, visitors could browse and buy our signature craft beers, including THE NIKKO MONKEYS STRAWBERRY, as well as our original matcha financier made with premium Uji matcha. At the counter bar, we served drinks like Nikko Brewing’s craft beers, local sake, strawberry cocktails, and strawberry milk, and light snacks.

The festival was lively and fun throughout both days. Especially on the second day, a talk-show event featuring idol group 原因は自分にある (GNJB) added even more enthusiasm to the location. We had a great time talking with visitors, sharing stories about our company and products, and introducing our starry sky experiences and winter activities, such as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, with rental equipment available at our shop.

Through our conversations with visitors, we found out that many were already familiar with Tochigi strawberries. They were interested not only in the fruit itself, but also in different ways of enjoying it, including our strawberry craft beer. We were also pleased to hear many positive comments about our craft beer, and many visitors returned for additional purchases or to try other products.

One of the highlights for us was seeing our signature craft beer, THE NIKKO MONKEYS STRAWBERRY, sell out toward the end of the event. The response exceeded our expectations, and even preparing additional stock, it quickly sold out again.

Iroha Corner- If you missed the festival….

大THE NIKKO MONKEYS STRAWBERRY is still available through our EC-Siteor by visiting our shop Nikko Brewing in Oku Nikko. We hope to welcome you there soon!

Participating in the Tochigi Ichigo Festival 2026 marked another milestone for our company, while also serving as a valuable opportunity to promote Tochigi Prefecture, particularly Oku Nikko and Sanbonmatsu Chaya. Although we have previously taken part in pop-up events (mostly focused on beer), this event offered a new perspective and allowed us to connect with a broader audience beyond craft beer enthusiasts.

Engaging with visitors from different backgrounds provided valuable insight into how we can better introduce and represent the charm of Oku Nikko through our products and services. At the same time, it is also giving us the opportunity to identify areas for improvement for future events.

We are truly grateful for this opportunity and look forward to continuing to share the appeal of Tochigi Prefecture, especially Oku Nikko, with even more people in the future.

🍓 We hope to see you again in upcoming festivals!🍓