Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery
Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
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Yoichi distillery is a Japanese whisky distillery. It is located at Yoichi, a town in the Yoichi District, Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The distillery is owned by Nikka Whisky Distilling, and was opened in 1934.
attractions: Nikka Whisky Museum, Yoichigawa River Cherry Blossom Trees, Former Residence of Taketsuru, restaurants: Garden House Family sushi, 回転寿司 余市番屋, Unino Yoichiya, 千成ラーメン, Fuji Sushi Buffet Dining Yoichi Branch, Aji no Tokeidai, Rita’s Kitchen, Sushi Dokoro Midoriya, COFFEE STAND by shizuku, Yoichini
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Description
Yoichi distillery is a Japanese whisky distillery. It is located at Yoichi, a town in the Yoichi District, Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The distillery is owned by Nikka Whisky Distilling, and was opened in 1934.
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Well, it is the best place in Hokkaido if you are alcohol, whiskey or Japanese whiskey lover. Here is the NIKKA WHISKY factory, and it is the only reason that take you too Yoichi. Here I will tell you some important information. First, you need to make the tour reservation. Can't book the the front gate. I am also suggest you book advance and it is free. You should go there before your section time. Be aware that the JR railway from Sapporo or Otaru to Yoichi is not very frequently and don't have the express. Except the factory, you can only eat the sea food around there or buy some alcohol near the JR station when you come to Yoichi. About the tour, they will give you your language guide book to you. However, the tour guide only speak on English. They will take you to few spots to explain how they make whiskey here in the old time and some background about their founder. After that, you can take the sample whiskey drink to try or soft drinks. After the testing, you can go to the store and buy their products including the factory only products by some limitations for someone that maybe resell it(for the popular Yoichi products only). After the shopping time, you can visit their museum to look about their history and pay small money buy the sample to taste. It is the very good chance that taste the high year Yoichi whiskey. (one person only can pick three type to try). If you don't have any idea, you can let them to suggest you.
Jerry LamJerry Lam
40
I tagged along for this boring tour of a liquor that I do not drink. If you book a tour (around 30 minutes total), you’ll be escorted throughout the grounds. But, the tour is in Japanese, so an app is required if you need translation. Or, just read what’s on the laminated paper given to you at the start of the tour. According to the spouse, it was word for word. It starts out with a video of the brewery’s history and whisky making process. You then are escorted around the grounds to see buildings and displays but no actual whisky making is occurring. The tour ends with a tasting flight of whisky in their large, air conditioned tasting room. The gift shop is the last stop. WHISKY TASTING: Apple Wine - Sweet & smooth; I could taste notes of the wooden barrel. Super Nikka - Nasal clearing and super strong. Singlemalt Yoichi - Milder than the Super Nikka. I found that mixing the latter two with carbonated water made for a smoother taste. TIP: Whiskey (with an “e”) is produced in the United States and Ireland. Whisky (without the “e”) is from Scotland, Canada and Japan. OVERALL: The tour would’ve been way more interesting if you could visually see the processes, not just using your imagination.
Maui World TravelersMaui World Travelers
00
Not far from Yuchi station but could take up to 15mins for you to talk all the way to the whisky tasting area under big snow. Trains are not frequent so you could miss your train while back. They have lockers for you in case you bring along your luggages and there's some outdoor walking to different spots so bring along whatever clothing required. The place itself is nice and you can understand a lot about the history and making process of whisky even without joining the Tour as they have videos in every spot and they come in different languages including English. There are both free and paid version of whisky and I find that the free version is quite decent and you can actually have a nice view at the tasting area. You can get some limited editions of their Whisky in the shop as well as other souvenir kind of stuff which is reasonably priced. The restaurant offers some speciality dishes including the use of their Whisky which is interesting to try, and frankly you can't really find another place to eat around that area easily if you are hungry. Overall it's worth visiting if this is a mid way stop of your journey, nothing really much to do other than this if not.
Arthur TongArthur Tong
00
Fantastic place to visit if you are a whisky lover. The free tour requires booking ahead of time (I did it online via their Japanese website with the help of google translate). Note if you are travelling from Sapporo via train, there are very limited trains heading to Yoichi and can restrict what tour times you can make. I booked a 9:00am tour and caught a 7:14am train from Sapporo to Yoichi arriving at 8:30am. It is a short 5 minute walk from Yoichi station to the distillery grounds. Tour is all spoken in Japanese but the tour lady and security guard have these little laminated cards in English explaining each stage of the tour which was helpful. At the end of the tour they provide three free whisky tastings as well which is nice. Whisky for breakfast. Breakfast of champions =) After the tour you can then visit the museum and tasting bar (can only taste a maximum of 3). You can also visit their shop for well priced bottles of whisky's. Tip - there is also a restaurant as well which you can further order a whisky tasting set to sample three more Nikka whisky's, I cannot remember which whisky's they were though on the menu.
Johnny CongJohnny Cong
90
The distillery is very conveniently located just across the Yoichi railway station. However trains are not very regular, so it takes some planning to match the train arrivals with the time of the tour. The tour is free, though reservations must be made in advance on their official website. There are many time slots each day to choose from, but it gets filled up fast, so if you have decided a date to visit, be sure to make the reservation 4 weeks earlier (as they accept reservations up to 4 weeks in advance). The tour is in Japanese, but instructions will be provided for downloading the "MyGuide" app and connecting to the pre-recorded audio guide. The grounds are beautiful, and at the end of the tour you get to sample 3 drinks (Apple Wine, Super Nikka, and Single-malt Yoichi) for free. If you are into collecting stamps, then there are supposedly 4 locations with stamps of different colors that will complete the "Thank you for coming!" picture. Unfortunately we only realized this when we were leaving, so could not get the other colors stamped on the card. Highly recommended.
alshanealshane
30
A must for whisky lovers when venturing into this part of Hokkaido. The whole distillery just overwhelms you with that sweet lingering whiff of malt n barley the moment you walk thru the main gate. While there are definitely nicer distilleries in Japan to visit (eg Yamasaki in Kyoto ), Nikka is also something you should still visit and soak in abit of the history of Japan's first whisky maker. At the end f the pleasant walk thru the park (good photo ops), you come to the highlight of the whole visit, the Nikka museum where you not only get the history, there is also a full fledged bar serving whiskies from Nikka and Scotland. Further down is the tasting hall whereby you get to sample FOC 3 idividual drams of Nikka's produce. The in house restaurant is also quite good. My favourite is the lamb shank shabu set that has a twist..the stock is a red wine / whisky combination instead of the usual dashi stock. You can also buy many of Nikka's produce at the shop. Do take note that this is not a tax free shop.
W.M. LIEWW.M. LIEW
00
Nearby Attractions Of Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery
Nikka Whisky Museum
Yoichigawa River Cherry Blossom Trees
Former Residence of Taketsuru
Nikka Whisky Museum
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Yoichigawa River Cherry Blossom Trees
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Former Residence of Taketsuru
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Nearby Restaurants Of Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery
Garden House Family sushi
回転寿司 余市番屋
Unino Yoichiya
千成ラーメン
Fuji Sushi Buffet Dining Yoichi Branch
Aji no Tokeidai
Rita’s Kitchen
Sushi Dokoro Midoriya
COFFEE STAND by shizuku
Yoichini
Garden House Family sushi
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回転寿司 余市番屋
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Unino Yoichiya
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千成ラーメン
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Reviews
Overview
4.4
(1.5K reviews)
Phone
+81 135-23-3131
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Website
nikka.com
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Deep Dive
A deep dive into Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery