Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery Tour Reviews [Hokkaido Trip]
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This is our Nikka Yoichi Distillery Tour reviews (in 2019).
And I went there every time I go to Hokkaido, I have been there 4 times!w
If you go to Hokkaido, go to YOICHI distillery!!
※ The tour content seems to have changed significantly, so please check the official website.
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目次
Access
Yoichi Distillery is about a 3-minute walk from Yoichi Station. Going straight after getting off at the station, I arrived right away.
▲ Yoichi Station from a little distance away.
▲ The main entrance of Yoichi Distillery, reached in a short walk from the station.
Yoichi Station is about 30 minutes from Otaru Station. From Sapporo, it’s about an hour and a half.
There’s one train an hour, and since there aren’t many, it’s good to check in advance.
The driver can’t drink, but you can go by car too.
▲ The building near the parking lot (tasting venue).
When I went early on a Sunday afternoon, the sign said there was a 40-minute wait for parking, but by chance I got in right away.
On the station side you can check in for the guided tour. The parking side is close to the souvenir shop, and it’s apparently about 1 km to the guided-tour reception (main entrance).
It didn’t feel that far.
The Whisky Museum Is Really Good!
Since I went by car around midday on Sunday, I entered from the parking side.
Entering from the parking side and heading right, opposite the souvenir shop, you immediately reach the Whisky Museum.
Knowing nothing, I casually went in thinking “shall I take a look?” but it was a museum worth seeing, with whisky explained in an easy-to-understand way.
The history of whisky, how casks are made, displays of past whiskies, and so on were shown in a way easy for beginners to understand too.
I hadn’t watched “Massan,” but there were also materials on the trajectory of founder Masataka Taketsuru up to making this Nikka Whisky, and on his wife Rita.
Partway through there’s a paid tasting corner, and of course I had some.
▲ I had the 1,000-yen Single Cask 12 Year Old.
Besides that, you can taste distillery-exclusive whiskies.
There are about 30 kinds of whisky.
▲ There’s a photo spot too, so don’t forget a commemorative photo. There’s a proper stand set up.
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Freely Exploring the Distillery
You can tour the grounds freely even without the guided tour.
▲ The distillation facility.
▲ On operating days, you can see them actually adding the coal.
▲ The cask warehouse.
▲ Rita’s house — seen from the side, it’s big.
At the End, the Free Tasting Venue
At the free tasting venue, you can enjoy three kinds of whisky.
The tasting venue is spacious! You can sit and drink at your leisure.
You write your name and age on an application form (there’s one both in the waiting room near the main entrance and at the tasting venue) and hand it in at the tasting venue entrance.
After taking three kinds of whisky, you grab what you need — water, ice, soda, and so on — and sit down.
I mostly drink neat, so just water.
Drinking it with ice is okay too!
▲ Recommended ways to drink are written up too.
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Choosing Souvenirs
The souvenir corner has whisky, of course, but lots of sweets and more too.
And there were distillery-exclusive whiskies and such, which people were buying a lot of.
Of course, I bought quite a few too (about 8 bottles) and shipped them.
Reference article: Yoichi Distillery Exclusive Whiskies to Buy as Souvenirs
Joining the Guided Tour
To join the guided tour, you need to apply online at least 3 days in advance. If there’s space on the day, you can join.
I came back to Yoichi first thing Monday morning.
Incidentally, I stayed in Otaru that night. I took a train from Otaru just after 8 a.m. and arrived at the distillery around 8:40.
It opens at 9, but they opened at 8:50 for me.
A woman standing alone with a backpack must have looked suspicious.
From there I checked in for the guided tour, and joined the 9 o’clock tour.
▲ When you sign up for the guided tour, you get a pamphlet and such.
▲ Incidentally, there are lockers in the waiting room right as you enter, where you can store things for 100 yen — and it comes back to you.
▲ The guided tour starts from this waiting room.
▲ The guide’s talk was really skillful!! Easy to listen to, easy to understand, and fun.
I got to learn about how whisky is made, right down to the parts I hadn’t really understood the day before.
Also, having done some prep the day before was good!!
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Lunch at the Cask Cafe
I had a little time left before the train at the end, so I ate before heading back.
I enjoyed Yoichi pork sauce katsudon too.
Summary
It was an irresistible time for a whisky lover.
I was there from a little after 12:30 until around 2:30, and the next day from 9 until a little after 12.
Choosing souvenirs at the end had me really agonizing, but even that was fun.
It’s a spot grown-ups can enjoy, so if you go near Otaru, I recommend it!
Related reading
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