Craft beer boom spells hope for hops in Iwate town

TONO, Japan - Encouraged by a recent craft beer boom, the city of Tono in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Iwate has been welcoming outsiders wanting to try new ways to revive the local hop-growing industry and transform the community into a "beer town."Japan imports about 95 percent of hops for domestic beer production from such countries as Germany. For the remaining 5 percent, Tono plays a key role as it accounts for about 20 percent of the country's total output.But the hop-farming industry in the city with a population of about 27,000, which was largely unscathed by the 2011 earthq…READ FULL ARTICLE