Sakurao Distillery tour Review-Hiroshima/Japan
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We joined the tour at Sakurao Distillery in Hatsukaichi City(in 2024), Hiroshima Prefecture, so here’s a look at how it went.
It’s very accessible, about a 5-minute walk from Hatsukaichi Station, and we went after sightseeing in Miyajima.
The tour content was really rich, easy to understand, and fun, so if you go to Hiroshima, I’d love you to stop by.
Here’s a detailed introduction.
※ Sorry, we spoke all Japanese…Please turn on English subtitles to watch.
※For the latest information on English tours and whisky, please check the distillery’s official website.
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目次
What Is Sakurao Distillery?
It’s a distillery facing the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture.
It originally started as a company called Chugoku Jozo, making shochu.
Now it makes not only whiskies like Sakurao and Togouchi, but gin too.
What impressed me most was that they make gin using ingredients from Hiroshima.
Access/Location
You can get to Sakurao Distillery by train from within Hiroshima City.
We went from Miyajima, so we took the train about 10 minutes from Miyajimaguchi, and it was about a 5-minute walk from there.
You can also easily get there from within Hiroshima City by the Hiroden tram or JR.
Walking a little from the station, it came into view.
It was very accessible and easy to get to.
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Tour Details and Price
The tour requires advance booking.
We happened to be able to go on a weekday so it was quiet, but on weekends it looks difficult to book at the last minute (like two weeks before) unless you book early.
The tour is about 90 minutes; the first half is a tour inside the distillery, and at the end you could do a tasting.
We went to the visitor center and checked in.
▲Amazingly, there’s only one pair of stills, and they apparently make gin and whisky alternately.
Looking at the stills, we could enjoy all sorts of explanations, and even the aromas.
There was a lovely explanation here too!! Do experience it in person!
For the final tasting, you could choose from whisky and gin.
For whisky, we got two limited-edition whiskies and the new pot.
The new pot was different from what I’d imagined and very easy to drink.
Souvenirs (Whisky and Baumkuchen)
The souvenirs we chose were two.
It was a little pricey and we agonized over it, but after touring a distillery, Miyanoshika is what you’ll want to buy after all!
▲Opening Miyanoshika
Reference article: Miyanoshika (MIYANOSHIKA) Review | Sakurao Distillery-Exclusive, a Hiroshima Japanese Whisky Where Sea and Mountain Meet
Being basically gluten-free ourselves, we were delighted by the rice-flour baumkuchen, and the whisky was superb too.
▲A pairing of the whisky we bought at Sakurao Distillery ✖️ rice-flour baumkuchen!
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Summary
We’ve been to many distilleries, but even among them, the presentation and explanations were really easy to understand and fun.
I thought it was wonderful how they try to make whisky and gin using Hiroshima ingredients as much as possible.
It’s close to Itsukushima Shrine and central Hiroshima too, so it’s one of my recommended distilleries I’d love you to go to as part of sightseeing.