2026/08/31

Niseko whisky Distillery tour/Bar Review-Hokkaido

Distillery in Japan

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During a trip to Hokkaido, we joined the tour at Niseko Distillery(in 2024), so here’s a look at how it went.

Niseko Distillery is still new, so its whisky isn’t on sale yet, but we could taste gin and a Niigata whisky.
The distillery building was really lovely too.

※For the latest information on English tours and whisky, please check the distillery’s official website.

▲ Sorry, we spoke all Japanese….

Overview

This Niseko Distillery was apparently built in Hokkaido by the Niigata company that makes Hakkaisan.

The distillery was completed in 2020, and from there they began making whisky and gin.

The whisky isn’t on sale yet, but the gin is, and it seems to have won awards too.

Reference: Niseko Distillery

Access

Niseko Distillery is about a 20-minute drive from the center of Niseko Town.

We stayed at accommodation right near the distillery, so we walked there.

Inside the Distillery / Shop

Going inside, there was a stylish atmosphere where you could see the shop and the stills.

The Tour

We booked in advance for the tour.

You can see the stills to some extent from outside too, but the explanation was very easy to understand.

We’ve been to several distilleries in Japan, but the production process and so on were very close to what we’d heard in Scotland, which was exciting.

At the end of the tour, since there wasn’t a Niseko whisky yet, we had Niigata’s Uonuma whisky and Niseko’s gin.

Uonuma whisky is a 9:1 rice-to-malt whisky, and we could enjoy a different kind of flavor.

Of course, you can also enjoy it as a highball, etc. The gin chocolate was really delicious and impressive too.

We came at 3 o’clock, and since it was a nearby hotel, we could chat about all sorts of things with the bar staff and other staff until the end — it was really fun.

The gin was delicious too, and we were so impressed by the limited lavender gin that we bought it as a souvenir.

▲A pairing of the baumkuchen and whisky we bought at Niseko Distillery

※ Sorry, we spoke all Japanese…Please turn on English subtitles to watch.

Summary

Going to the distillery visit made us really look forward to the whisky that will come out in the future.

Also, although there’s no finished whisky, the Uonuma whisky and gin experience was really great too.

It’s a distillery I’d love you to visit on a trip to Hokkaido.

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