The train to Otaru and Yoichi
Today I am taking a day trip from Sapporo to Yoichi. I will be visiting the Nikka Yoichi Distillery. Ever since becoming a fan of Whisky, Japanese Whisky has held a special place for as long as I can remember. On my first visit to Japan one of my fondest memories is visiting the Suntory Yamazaki Whisky Museum. So knowing that I will be in the vicinity of another famous whisky brand made it a must visit on my list.
Yoichi, is a small town that is about an hour and a half west of Sapporo. It requires changing trains in Otaru in order to go onward to Yoichi. While the directions are simple enough, due to the time of year and weather, there is limited train service between Otaru and Yoichi. This means if I miss my connection on the outbound leg It would be another hour or two wait for the next train to Yoichi. Ultimately I would miss my appointment time for the distillery tour.
So bright and early, I make my way over to Sapporo Station to catch one of the early trains to Otaru. The train ride itself is smooth. What I didn’t expect is how scenic the trip is. As you can see from the map above, a good chunk of the ride is along the water. Add the snowy backdrop and you have the makings of a beautiful coastal winter train ride! After a short while we arrive in Otaru. I wait about half an hour for the train to Yoichi and we are off again! After more beautiful snowy landscapes we finally arrive in the small town of Yoichi!
Nikka Whisky Distillery Tour
Unfortunately, self guided tours within the Nikka Distillery are not allowed due to COVID. However, there is a Japanese guided tour. So, with the aim of exploring the distillery grounds, I had called in the day before to reserve a spot. Even though language would be an issue, the opportunity to visit these “hallowed” grounds is too good to miss! I arrive at the main gate in time to check in and am led through their snowy courtyard to their welcome center. Here, I am thankful to find that there is a downloadable app that will provide English audio supplements as we walk the grounds. They play a short video that goes through the history of the Nikka Yoichi Distillery. We then walk over a few buildings to their active whisky stills being attended by staff. They go through the Whisky making process and then we move onto some traditional storage locations.
The First Tasting
After touring the production grounds, we then move into a large modern building where a tasting of three Nikka Yoichi products are waiting for us. The three offerings they have for us today are: Nikka’s Apple Wine, Super Nikka, and the Yoichi Single Malt. While the Apple Wine isn’t something I expected, it’s actually very pleasant. Meanwhile, its really hard to say anything negative about the other two expressions. I already have a fairly high expectation when it comes to Japanese Whisky’s and both the Super Nikka and Yoichi Single Malt are right up there! In addition the area
Nikka Museum and second tasting
Once the first tasting concludes, it also ends the guided portion of the tour. From here you are able to wander a little and one area to visit is the Nikka Museum. This is a building that is open to the public and displays more of the rich history of Nikka Whisky. It goes through the development of many of its popular brands as well as the history of its founder: Masataka Taketsuru.
In addition to the really well designed exhibits is a paid tasting corner with even more variety of expressions on offer. And I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t partake in these too! They have quite an array available to taste, however they do limit you to three choices. (Probably for the best!) So I pick a tasting of the Nikka 10 Years Old Single Cask Malt Whisky, The Nikka Pure Malt 17 Years Old and the Nikka Tsuru. What can I say, there is some amazing Whisky being offered here! If I had to pick a favorite I would choose the Single Cask Malt Whisky!
With a “warm” belly full of Whisky, my time visiting the Nikka Yoichi is coming to an end. I spend some time picking up a few “souvenirs” from the distillery store and make my way back to the Yoichi train station to catch my train back to Otaru.
Otaru Fish Market (Sankaku Market)
After exiting the Otaru Train station, I make the short walk to the Sankaku Market. This is a popular fish/seafood market with many little spots to eat fresh seafood. Upon entering the walkway is lined with shops selling all manner of beautiful looking seafood. It’s hard not to feel your appetite growing as you peruse through the different storefronts. Thankfully there are also plenty of small restaurants interspersed between the merchants selling wonderfully tasty looking meals as well.
Sankaku-tei
After trying to gauge the “waiting in line” to satisfaction ratio for many of these restaurants, I settle on Sankaku-tei. After a short wait, my name gets called and I’m seated. I order a seafood rice bowl along with a grilled scallop. I’m not sure if its due to the whisky of the stroll through the market, but I devour everything in what feels like seconds! It really hits the spot and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this spot to anyone else in the area!
Otaru Canal
The one other spot I wanted to check out before leaving Otaru is the Canal. This is a beautifully restored area lined with shops and restaurants, or at least that’s what I imagine when its not covered in snow! However, I think the snow presents a different (and dare I say) and more beautiful scene. Early in my planning process I was excited to visit the Canal. I had learned of the Otaru Snow Light Path Festival and wanted to visit both the Sapporo snow festival along with this one. Normally the two run at the same time so visitors of one can see the other. However, I was quite bummed to find that in 2023, the Snow Light Path Festival occurs a week after the Sapporo Snow festival. This means my dates didn’t work. Moving on from that disappointment I still wanted to visit and so here I am. Seeing the canal only reinforces that I want to return again in the winter to see this festival. I can only imagine what it must look like with the snow and lanterns that light the canal. It’s surely a magical sight and on my list to come back to!
Nonetheless, the Canal is an amazing sight to see and well worth the visit if you’re in the area.
Back to Sapporo
Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and I start to make my way back to the train station to catch my train to Sapporo. By the time I arrive it’s the early evening and instead of taking a metro train back to my hotel, I decide to walk it. This allows me to see Sapporo at night and stroll through the snow festival one last time!
Kiraito Part 2!
After settling back into my hotel for a little bit, I head out once again for dinner. Because of my positive experience the first time at Kiraito, I decide to head back once again! It’s really hard to have anything negative to say about a warm tasty bowl of ramen on a cold wintery day in Sapporo! And this one is just as good as the first time! After dinner I stroll a little bit more and may or may not have had two helpings of Hokkaido milk ice cream before heading back to my hotel!
Eventually though I do find myself back at my hotel. I need to re-pack a little as I will be making my way south tomorrow. It will primarily be a travel day as I head to Hakodate.