Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum — Attraction in Asahikawa

When my wife and I researched places of interest around Furano, we came across Asahikawa, a city located about 56 km (1 hour 5 mins drive by car) north of Furano. Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum & Park in Asahikawa was a special interest as we enjoy sake.

From our hotel in Furano, the drive to Otokoyama Sake was scenic and enjoyable.

The museum showcases the history of Otokoyama and chronicling its historical brewing artifacts, brewing processes, collection of regional and international sake awards, etc. An audio-visual TV presentation is available in different languages, including English, and we found this very interesting. From the museum, visitors can view through glass panels into the sake production plant. Entry to the museum is free-of-charge.

In a separate building is the sake retail shop where sake tasting and soft-serve ice cream can also be enjoyed. As I was driving, I did not participate in the sake tasting. My wife did and she enjoyed the sake samples. There is a wide selection of sakes for sale at different price points. We purchased Otokoyama's top award-winning Naturally Pure Junmai Daiginjo, Yukimizuki Junmai Daiginjo, and Fukko Sake.

We observed an interesting activity by locals who brought large plastic containers to fill up with mineral water which was dispensed free-of-charge from taps. The mineral-rich water is drawn from underground wells for sake production, and the water sources are the very reasons for Otokoyama's location. Of course, we emptied our small drinking bottles and refilled them with the...

This is a museum + tasting room of the world famous Otokoyama sake. It is accessible by bus and taxi. The staff was very friendly, able to accommodate me with English since I didn't speak much Japanese. I would recommend visiting the museum first and then tasting. On the top floor, you can watch an educational video in your preferred language about the history of the Otokoyama brand and the sake production process. There is also sake-making equipment on display, traditional or modern. On a lower floor there are more exhibits about the history of this sake maker, the awards they have won, as well as where their sake has been distributed in the world. It was all quite impressive. The first floor is for sake tasting and purchasing. I would recommend trying sake types that are only available in the store. especially the pristine Daijinjo. Also do try the natural water from Diasetuszan right outside the building. Enjoy the sweet mineral taste. Locals come to this spot with big containers to fill so that they can enjoy such tasty water at home. There is a nice, cozy courtyard to walk around if you like. Plan to spend 1~2 hours here. I'm not much of a sake drinker, and I enjoyed the visit and the tasting more than I had expected. So I think most people would find it...

Cute place for a stop! There are two floors of exhibitions, the second floor with some historical wood block paintings that featured Otokoyama Sake and the third floor with sake-making paraphernalia. You can also look into the brewery and see the process (note, it is only active from October to March or so). The third floor also has an 8-minute video (you can choose amongst a few languages, including English). If you don't read kanji, I'd recommend you go straight to the 3rd floor to watch the video first and then look at the rest-- it will make more sense. I couldn't taste the sake as I was driving (Japan is zero-tolerance, be careful and respect the law! ) but according to the information onsite, they do offer a few for free and a couple of their most famous (and expensive) sake for a small charge. The shop has a wide variety of sakes from their brewery and some other souvenirs. The small garden outside's main attraction is the spring of water (the same that they use for their sake) that is said to favour long life, originating in the snowy Daisetsuzan mountains. People were lined up with bottles to fill and I felt badly I didn't bring a jug to fill myself. So come more prepared than...