Yoichi Distillery, Hokkaido

Yoichi distillery was founded by Taketsuru Masataka, who learnt his skills and technique in Scotland. Before selecting a location for his distillery he wanted an environment that closely resembled Scotland, the north-west town of Yoichi in Hokkaido met his requirements. There is free entry to this open air museum and the tour is self-guided. As you meander through the property you can enter various disused buildings that Nikka long out grew. The signage is in Japanese and English, there are some videos at each building, but I only recall these being in Japanese. Buildings cover topics such as the barrels, the malt, the fermentation, the distillation and, the ageing. The tour ends with samples at a bar, next to the gift shop.

Access is easy enough. From Sapporo catch the JR Hakodate Line towards Otaru, then transfer at Otaru and catch the Hakodate Line towards Kuchan. Trains leave approximately every 90 minutes. From Niseko, catch the JR Hakodate Line towards Kuchan, transfer at Kuchan and catch the Hakodate Line towards Otaru. Trains leave approximately every 90 minutes. From Yoichi Station it’s a short 5 minute walk to the entrance gate of the distillery.

February, 2016