Miyagikyo Distillery Tour Review-Nikka[photos]-Sendai,Japan
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We made the most of a full day at Miyagikyo Distillery!!(in 2023)
At Miyagikyo Distillery, there are free tours and paid seminars.
We signed up for two paid seminars.
We enjoyed it from first thing in the morning to the very end, so here’s our visit report.
When we went, we drove from Osaka, so we stayed two nights and the two of us drank to our hearts’ content.
※For the latest information on English tours and whisky, please check the distillery’s official website.
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目次
Access/Location
For access to Miyagikyo Distillery, if you go by public transport, there are two options:
– 1 hour by city bus from Sendai Station to Nikka-bashi (1,100 yen one way)
– 40 minutes by train from Sendai Station to Sakunami Station + 10 minutes by shuttle bus (550 yen one way)
For those who can book with time to spare, I thought — although we didn’t do it — that making the most of Sakunami Onsen might be nice too.
We drove from Osaka to Sendai, so we stayed two nights around Sendai Station.
In the morning, we wanted to be first in line, so we took the city bus from Sendai Station, catching the one that arrives just after 8:30.
From the bus stop, you can see Miyagikyo Distillery right away, but you walk about 10 minutes along the road in the photo above.
That said, there were people coming by car too, so it’s hard to call it being first, but we arrived roughly among the first.
On the way back we took the shuttle bus to Sakunami Station and went home by train.
The shuttle bus runs to match the train times, so my impression was that it was very easy to get to as long as you check the times.
The Free Tour
The free tour starts at 9 a.m.
We went during Obon(Summer Vacation), so the tours seemed almost fully booked.
We did our distillery tour within a paid seminar, so we didn’t join the free tour, but lots of people were coming.
We checked in for the paid seminars and then went to the store.
▲ A scene from our distillery tour within a paid seminar. I love the path.
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Buying Limited-Edition Whiskies at the Store
We lined up and entered the shop that opens at 9:15.
Thinking there’d be rare limited-edition whiskies, we bought what we wanted first.
When we went, the rare Tsuru, Date, and such seemed to sell out right away.
There were plenty of other limited-edition whiskies, so we could take our time choosing.
These are our purchases / limited-edition whiskies.
Next to the Store Is a Paid Tasting Corner
Next to the shop there’s a paid tasting corner.
It was up to three glasses per person, once a day.
We went after the paid seminars, so we couldn’t drink much more and only had three glasses between the two of us, but by that point we’d already had our fill.
You can drink limited-edition whiskies and such too.
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Summary
We joined two paid seminars and enjoyed the whole day.
Nick had really wanted to go, and he seemed thoroughly satisfied.
Please check a separate article for what the paid seminars were like.
For the first time in a while, we drank quite a lot neat, lol.
However, since there’s no restaurant, I’d recommend bringing some food.
We brought a few rice balls, but by the time we got back to Sendai Station we were so hungry that we immediately dove into a ramen shop, lol.
In any case, it was really fun, so if you get a chance to go to Miyagi, please do visit.