Gastronomy Factory tours to learn more about your favorite drinks! A tipsy trip in Hokkaido

Yoichi Town is about a 30-minute train ride from Otaru, a tourist destination known for its canal and old-fashioned cityscape. Masataka Taketsuru, the founder, established this distillery in Yoichi as one of the first whiskey-making facilities in Japan. He chose Yoichi because of its climate and water sources that are similar to Scotland, the birthplace of whiskey. Here, guides will show you how their whiskeys are made, and this facility tour is free of charge. After that, you can taste the whiskey made with exquisite care. Only visitors can purchase Yoichi Distillery’s limited-edition whiskey, which is perfect for souvenirs! At the Whiskey Museum, you can learn about their whiskey-making history and distillation methods.

At the Nikka Kaikan Restaurant Taru next to the distillery, you can enjoy delicious dishes featuring whiskey, including whiskey-flavored fried chicken and lamb shabu-shabu with whiskey in the soup.

Furano City is a popular tourist destination with over one million visitors each year. It is known as a prominent wine production area in Hokkaido. With the significant differences between day and night temperatures and long daylight hours, its climate is ideal for growing grapes. Run by the city, Furano Wine makes their products only from quality grapes cultivated in their vineyard surrounded by beautiful lavender fields. The Furano Wine (red) is their most popular product. Its light taste has a perfect balance between sourness and bitterness. Here you can tour the facility to see how their wines are made, including aging tanks and barrels. You can also try some of their wines for free, and the shop sells various types of Furano Wine.

Furano Winehouse is about a five-minute walk from the Furano Wine facility. Here, you can enjoy meals with local ingredients like Furano vegetables and cheese. The most popular dish is the cheese fondue, which matches well with Furano Wine.

Founded in 1872, Chitosetsuru is the only sake brewery in Sapporo. Its history is closely connected with that of Hokkaido’s development. Every year, the brewery determines how the rice harvested in the year has grown and makes sake that embodies Hokkaido’s rich nature. The museum has exhibition areas where you can learn about their sake-making history and their excellent techniques, which are sure to satisfy sake enthusiasts' curious minds. You can taste some of their products for free at the tasting booth, including Ginjo, Junmai, and Honjozo. They also sell brewery-limited sake and seasonal sake. For visitors who cannot drink, the shop has soft-serve ice cream made with sake lees of Daiginjo too.

*Tasting has been currently suspended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection.

The Japanese-style pub Chitosetsuru (Kappo Izakaya Chokuei Chitosetsuru) is three minutes on foot from Susukino Station. The pub regularly offers 30 kinds of sake, including the raw sake that you can only taste at the restaurants directly run by Chitosetsuru. Savor their sake along with Hokkaido's local delicacies for your dinner!

The Sapporo Beer Museum is the only museum featuring beer in Japan. Here you can learn about the history of Sapporo Beer, inherited since the Hokkaido Development Projects in 1876. Its red-brick building showcases the atmosphere back in the days and is a great photo spot. With the premium tour with a guide (for a fee), you can taste their recreated-edition beer after. At the Star Hall, you can enjoy various freshly-delivered beers, from Sapporo Classic, a draft beer available only in Hokkaido, and Sapporo Development Beer which is still brewed at the company's original location, to the Three Kinds of Beer Tasting Set. The museum shop has limited beers for souvenirs and original items that you can get only here.

At the Sapporo Beer Garden next to the museum, you can try Jingiskan—Hokkaido's famous barbecue featuring tender and mild lamb, which is perfect to have with beer. This restaurant is sure to satisfy beer lovers' appetite.