Really don’t see much information out there about the Yoichi Distillery. Youtube is pretty sparse, and even this forum, mentioned in a few itineraries but never really expanded on. I know the tour is only offered in Japanese… It is one of my favorite bottles, so would really like to go. Obviously, not the hype machine that Yamazaki is, but has anyone been there recently? I’m guessing the tasting still consists of Yoichi, Super Nikka, and the Apple wine? Any chance to taste any of their other products? Any luck at the gift shop as far as hard to find products?
I’m going to Japan for 14 days (In March), for the first time, and all of my itinerary is for Tokyo and south.
I would end up flying Tokyo to New Chitose, and either renting a car or catching the public transportation. Not sure if it would be better to just fly in, and out the same day, or spend the night there. If I spend one night there, ideas on the local area would be great.
Any thoughts specifically on the Yoichi Distillery, and the tour would be appreciated. Thanks!
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I was there in 2019. Free tasting and had a lot of the Nikka products. Also if you go up the coast be sure to stop by Otaru on your way there.
Went in 2020 right before the pandemic. They had a paid premium tasting room where you could try some of their more expensive aged products. Prices were per pour I don’t remember the range though.
I’ve done both Yoichi and Yamazaki tours and I feel like I had more fun at Yoichi. Everything was more spread out and felt more rustic.
If you’re going to Hokkaido, it’s well worth a visit. Otaru itself is a gorgeous town with great food, a wonderful view of the coast, and some truly beautiful glassworks. The train I took from Otaru to Yoichi was a super old one that felt like it was out of a movie. I still remember it vividly some 5 years later.
The Nikka distillery is great, well worth it. I got 3 free tastings (two whiskey and an apple wine), and I don’t remember there being premium tastings (but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t). I know Japanese but my dad came with me and he didn’t, and he thought it was interesting enough just seeing all the buildings. I believe at least some of the explanation signs are in English as well.
Hi there. My friends and I are heading to Sapporo this weekend and one of our stops is nikka Distillery in Yoichi. We plan on spending the rest of the day in otaru.
We don’t speak a drop of Japanese but opted to sign up for the tour. Walk-in tours have been cancelled since COVID and can only be reserved through phone. Phone number and information can be found in the link below.
Reservations are taken only two week in advanced. They usually don’t get booked as quickly as yamazaki does.
Last time I was in Japan, my friends and I did the yamazaki distillery tour in Japanese and still thought it was an awesome experience. I’m hoping for the same!
https://www.nikka.com/eng/distilleries/yoichi/
I went back in 2019. Great distiller to visit. Accessible to non japanese speaking tourists, extremely picturesque. English guided tours were not available (maybe that’s changed?) But there were nicely captioned videos at each section of the distillery that teaches you about the process.
There were free tastings but they were for bottles that were easily found even in convenience stores. The real gem was the premium tasting room. I got to try the 10 year yoichi single malt and it remains one of the best drinks I’ve ever had
I visited the distillery in 2019 and again last August. Fyi, the experience has changed quite a lot due to covid.
In 2019 you could sort of wander around at your own pace, read the English descriptions and admire the whole thing how you wanted.
Now, you need a pre booked tour. It’s Japanese only, and you’re very much guided along a fixed route and can’t stray too far. Still fun, but not as enjoyable for an international tourist as the pre covid arrangement.
On the plus side, there’s still the free tastings which are great. Plus the shop at the end is open – I pretty much filled up my luggage with bottles haha. There’s some products there which you can only purchase at the brewery.
If you go, try to combine it with a stop in the nice canal town, Otaru. There’s a cool German beerhall built right on the canals and a bunch of nice cafes and restaurants.
We went there via the train from Sapporo. The train station had nice apple pies, and it was a short walk to the distillery. The town surrounding the area was very, very quiet and had very little. The distillery itself was also very chill, we paid for our tastings but I think there were free ones? This was many years ago (2016)
I stayed in Otaru and did a day trip into Yoichi for the distillery years ago.
It was amazing. I didn’t do the tour, but it was good enough wandering around and tasting stuff (some free but some definitely paid for) . I came out of there pretty happy lol
Loved the merchandise, especially my Hokkaido bear that holds a small bottle of Yoichi.