9th Sanda Beer Certification Exam 2026

Dates & time: November 3, 2026 (Tue) From 15:00 (60-min exam; answer review from around 16:45)
Price & booking: ¥3,000 per person; pair discount (2 people) ¥2,500 each; group discount (3 or more) ¥2,400 each. Paid in advance, non-refundable. Advance registration, first come first served (200 seats). Applications accepted July 1 – October 14, 2026 (must arrive by the deadline). Apply via the online form (pay by slip) or online form (credit card), or by post, fax or email. Applicants must be 20 or older as of November 3, 2026. Exam tickets are mailed about a week before the exam.
Venue & access: Sanda City Community Collaboration Center (Kippy Mall 6F) Right outside Sanda Station (JR Takarazuka Line / Kobe Electric Railway), on the 6th floor of Kippy Mall. By car, about 10 min from Kobe-Sanda IC on the Chugoku Expressway; use the Kippy Mall car park.

There are 1 car parks within a 12-minute walk of Sanda City Community Collaboration Center (Kippy Mall 6F), and 2 public restrooms within 8 minutes. The map shows each with its walking time.

Facility data comes from OpenStreetMap. It does not include opening hours, fees or availability.

Calendar

Add it to your calendar so you can check back on it later.

Google Calendar Apple Calendar (.ics)

We hope it gives you a reason to head out together.

X FB LINE

Why You Should Visit

A local certification exam run by Sanda City, hometown of Kawamoto Komin, the late-Edo scholar credited as the first Japanese person to brew beer. Fifty multiple-choice questions cover beer history and brewing alongside Sanda's history, culture and landscape. Open to anyone 20 or older, with advance registration and a cap of 200 seats. Levels run from beginner up to 5th dan with no skipping, so many people come back every November 3 to climb one step. The official textbook is a slim 72-page A5 booklet (¥550), and bonus points are available through a September seminar, web lectures and a Kirin Kobe brewery tour. A gateway for beer fans into Sanda's history.

NOTE

Format and pass marks

50 multiple-choice questions, 60 minutes
30 compulsory (15 on beer culture, 15 on Sanda history) + 20 elective
Beginner, intermediate and advanced: 60% or more; 1st–5th dan: 80% or more
Levels go beginner → intermediate → advanced → 1st dan → 2nd → 3rd → 4th → 5th dan, no skipping

Bonus-point seminars

Exam seminar: Sun Sep 27, 14:00–16:00, Sanda City Community Collaboration Center, ¥500, 150 seats, +2 points
Web seminars: online Sep 4 – Nov 2, free. "Ancient Sanda" +1, "Sanda geography" +1, "Kawamoto Komin" +2
Open seminars: Kirin Kobe Brewery tour +2, guided Sanda town walk (Sep 27) +2, Sekishinsha partner seminar (Sep 19) +2, Sanda Machi-haku program +1 each (max 3)

For those who pass

Certificate and pin badge
Prizes for perfect scores, the top group/pair, the top five scorers, an exact-60 "pitari" prize at beginner level, and the highest bonus-point earner
A gathering for successful candidates is planned for February 14, 2027

Official textbook

"Sanda Beer Certification Official Text", A5, 72 pages, ¥550, can be ordered through bookshops
Past papers for rounds 1–8 (except 4) ¥300 each incl. postage, order by December 31

*Exam day consists of the test and answer review only; no tasting is offered.

*No receipt is issued for credit-card payments.

Craft Beer Sake Books Culture History Heritage Rainy Day

出典: 三田市ホームページ

Kobe · Gluten-free

Events

Where to go next

View Recommended Events →

10/31 - 11/4

Ebessan Used Book Fair

Pine grove inside Nishinomiya Shrine, just past the main Omon Gate

11/1

Amagasaki Danjiri & Taiko Festa × Otae Festa

North side of JR Amagasaki Station (east of Amagasaki Q's Mall)

11/3

Nishinomiya Battery Interior Open Day

Nishinomiya Battery Historic Site (in Omaehama Park, Nishinomiya, Hyogo)

11/3

Umibe no Hiroppa Festa 2026 (Omaehama Beach, Nishinomiya)

Omaehama Beach (Omaehama Park)

9/12 - 11/23

Autumn Special Exhibition: Middle Yayoi Society Through Pottery

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Archaeology

Next 11/7 +9 more

Kobe Port Weekend Fireworks 2026–27 | Weekend Fireworks off Meriken Park

Meriken Park

Today 10/31 +8 more

EAT LOCAL KOBE Farmers Market

Suma Beach, south of JR Suma Station, Suma-ku, Kobe

10/10 - 11/30

Moomin × Kobe Port Tower: a part of KOBE

Kobe Port Tower and 20+ locations across Kobe

FAQ

Can anyone take the exam?

Anyone aged 20 or over on the exam date can apply, regardless of where they live. Registration is in advance only (no same-day entry), first come first served up to 200 seats.

Is it hard for a first-timer?

First-timers start at beginner level, which needs 60% on 50 questions. The official textbook is only 72 pages, and the September seminar and web lectures add bonus points.

Is there beer tasting on the day?

No. Exam day is the test and answer review only. A separate gathering for successful candidates is planned for the following February.

Nearby Spots

spots

9th Sanda Beer Certification Exam

Why You Should Visit

NOTE

Where to go next

FAQ

Nearby Spots

Kobe-Sanda Premium Outlets

Kobe Fruit & Flower Park Ozo

Arima Onsen

Zuihōji Park

Rokkō Garden Terrace