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Otaru City, popular for its nostalgic atmosphere created by the Otaru Canal and historical buildings, is a historic port town that was once known as the leading commercial city in northern Japan and served as the logistics hub of Hokkaido. Next door is the Nikka Whisky brewery, famous for the TV drama "Massan and Rita," and Yoichi Town, currently Hokkaido's number one producer of wine grapes.

The Shiribeshi region of Hokkaido, which includes Otaru City and Yoichi Town, is home to many breweries, distilleries, and wineries that produce alcoholic beverages such as sake, beer, whiskey, wine, and gin, due to its historical background and climate. Here we will introduce six of the many sake brewing facilities.

Give Otaru as a gift.

From the "Old Otaru Warehouse" overlooking the canal,
From UNGAPLUS, which brings you the "Story of Otaru" that walked alongside the Kitamae ships,
We will introduce you to "Places to visit in Otaru."

Please enjoy Otaru.

6 Recommended Breweries in Otaru

↓ Sake - Tanaka Sake
↓ Wine - Osa Winery
↓ Wine - Hokkaido Wine
↓ Beer - Otaru Beer
↓ Craft Gin - Shakotan Spirit
↓ Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery

Learn more about Otaru's gourmet food

Delicious Otaru Sake - Otaru Tourism ①

Japanese Sake - Tanaka Sake Brewery Kikkogura

Kikogura is famous for its local sake "Takaragawa" and "Shiki Jozo."

At its peak, Otaru had over 50 sake breweries, but today only Tanaka Sake Brewery, which produces Otaru's local sake "Takara-gawa," remains. Tanaka Sake Brewery was founded in 1899 (Meiji 32) and has been in business for 120 years. It has two stores in the city and has been loved by local residents for many years. Kikkogura, a tourist attraction in Otaru, is a former Okazaki warehouse complex consisting of buildings 1 to 3, built in 1905, with a wooden-framed stone structure and one floor with some two floors, and is designated as a "historic building" by Otaru City.

Tanaka Sake Brewery has three distinctive features. First, all of the ingredients for their sake are rice produced in Hokkaido. Second, all of the sake they produce is pure rice sake. Third, they are a "four-season brewery" that brews throughout the year. While sake is generally brewed in the winter, known as "cold brewing," Kikkogura brews all year round. You can observe sake brewing at any time throughout the four seasons.

Tanaka Sake Brewery has been using "Suisei" rice grown in Niseko, Otofuke, Furubira, Atsuma, etc. since 1998, when Hokkaido rice suitable for sake brewing was born. "Freshly squeezed unpasteurized sake" is a precious product that can only be tasted at the brewery, but here at Kikkogura, you can sample it all year round.

Facility name : Tanaka Sake Brewery Kikkogura
Address : 2-2 Shinkacho, Otaru, Hokkaido
phone : 0134-21-2390
Opening hours : 09:05-17:55
Closed days : Open all year round
Credit cards : accepted
Home page　Click here for the homepage

Delicious Otaru Sake - Otaru Sightseeing ②

Wine - Osa Winery

Making wine that enriches your dining table.

Founded in Otaru in 2015, Osa Winery is a downtown winery that was renovated from a soft stone warehouse that was over 100 years old. Run by a married couple, both of whom are certified sommeliers, they grow grapes in their own fields and handle everything from brewing to sales.

The concept is "Wine of Happiness." They hope that everyone who picks up and drinks wine will feel happy when they are surrounded by it, and they aim to create wine that cherishes the rich aroma and flavor that is unique to Hokkaido, and that will make meals more enjoyable.

When they started making wine, they wondered where they could express their wine. They traveled around the country looking for a place where they could make their dream come true, and Otaru in Hokkaido was the most appealing place, as it was "a place with ingredients that go well with wine and is close to the sea."

Currently, they cultivate grapes in Otaru and Yoichi, producing around 10,000 bottles per year. They strive every day to create wine that is fragrant, complements everyday meals, and enriches the dining table.

Facility name : Osa Winery
Address : 1-6-4 Ironai, Otaru, Hokkaido
phone : 0134-61-1955
Opening hours : 13:00-17:00
Closed days : Open only on Saturdays
Credit cards : accepted
Home page　Click here for the homepage

Delicious Otaru Sake - Otaru Sightseeing ③

Wine - Hokkaido Wine

Its production volume is the highest in Hokkaido and sixth in the nation.

Hokkaido Wine Co., Ltd., headquartered in Otaru, is a winery that brews only "Japanese wine" at its Otaru brewery, together with its own 447-hectare farm, Tsurunuma Winery, in Urausu Town, and approximately 300 contracted farmers, mainly in Yoichi Town. Currently, its production volume is number one in Hokkaido and number six in the nation.

It all began when Akiyoshi Shimamura, a Yamanashi native who had been growing grapes since he was a child, encountered the climate and natural features of Hokkaido and thought, "I can make authentic Japanese wine here," so he cleared 45 hectares of wilderness and began cultivating grapes in 1972. After much hardship and trial and error, a German Kellermeister came on board in 1977, and from there Hokkaido wine made great strides.

The company brews a wide variety of wines that have been highly praised at wine competitions both in Japan and abroad, and its main brewery, which overlooks the sea and cityscape of Otaru, is also home to the Otaru Wine Gallery, a direct sales store. In addition to learning about the company's history of hardships surrounding its founding, you can also tour the brewery through glass windows and sample the delicious wines that are on display each season.

Facility name : Hokkaido Wine
Address : 1-130 Asarigawa Onsen, Otaru, Hokkaido
phone : 0134-34-2187 
Opening hours : 9:00-17:00
Closed : only during the New Year holidays
Credit cards : accepted
Home page　Click here for the homepage

Delicious Otaru Sake - Otaru Sightseeing ④

Beer - Otaru Beer Otaru Warehouse No.1

Authentic German beer made only with water, malt, and hops.

Otaru Beer is an authentic German-style beer brewed mainly at the Zenibako Brewery in Otaru City. Otaru Warehouse No. 1 was built in 1995 by renovating a stone warehouse on the Otaru Canal, and is a facility that combines Otaru Beer with a brewery where you can enjoy the atmosphere of a German beer pub. German brewer Johannes Braun provides guidance on brewing, from sourcing malt and hops, and welcomes you with authentic German beer, along with the chef's signature dishes made with local ingredients.

Otaru Beer is brewed in accordance with the German Beer Purity Law and is an authentic German beer made using only water, malt, and hops. In addition to the three regular beers available - Pilsner, Dunkel, and Weiss - they also offer seasonal beers, fruit beer, herb beer, light beer, and schnapps (a popular spirit in Germany).

Otaru Warehouse No. 1 is a place where you can enjoy fresh Otaru beer on the banks of the Otaru Canal while watching the brewing kettles still in operation. The attached brewery is also open for tours at any time, free of charge.

Facility name : Otaru Beer Otaru Warehouse No.1
Address : 5-4 Minatomachi, Otaru, Hokkaido
phone : 050-5597-4818
Opening hours : 11:00-22:00
Closed days : Open all year round
Credit cards : accepted
Home page　Click here for the homepage

Delicious Otaru Sake - Otaru Sightseeing ⑤

Craft Gin - Shakotan Spirit

Passing on the new history and culture of Shakotan to the next generation.

Shakotan Spirit, which creates craft gin using the abundant local botanicals, opened in Shakotan Town in the spring of 2020. Botanicals are plants used to flavor gin.

The company name Shakotan Spirit combines the word "spirits," meaning distilled alcohol, with the idea of the soul (spirit) of the people of Shakotan and those who love gin. The name also expresses the idea that gin not only warms people, but also ignites their hearts and gives them courage and hope, and that they are determined to catch the "wind" of gin and create a new history and culture for Shakotan, passing it on to the next generation.

By making gin using plants native to the vibrant Shakotan soil and plants from the botanical garden on the company's own farm, Shakotan Spirit hopes to draw local people's attention to the vegetation unique to this area. Shakotan Spirit believes that if interest in local vegetation spreads, attention will also be focused on nurturing the forest trees that bring about abundant harvests, which will lead to further conservation of the natural environment not only of Shakotan but of the world.

Facility name : Shakotan Spirit
Address : 229-1 Went, Nozukacho, Shakotan-cho, Shakotan-gun, Hokkaido
Home page　Click here for the homepage

Delicious Otaru Sake - Otaru Sightseeing ⑥

Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery

We continue to use the same traditional techniques as when we first opened our business.

Nikka Whisky founder Masataka Taketsuru, known as the "Father of Japanese Whisky," chose Yoichi, Hokkaido, as the site for his first distillery. With a climate and abundant nature that has been called Japan's Scotland, the distillery continues to produce powerful, rich malt whiskies using the same traditional techniques that have been passed down since its founding.

"I want as many Japanese people as possible to drink authentic whiskey." With this passionate desire in mind, Masataka Taketsuru traveled alone to Scotland in 1918 and, with an indomitable spirit, studied whiskey-making. Yoichi Distillery is Nikka Whisky's first distillery, opened by Taketsuru in his search for an ideal place for whiskey-making. In order to recreate the whiskey-making techniques he had learned without compromise, Taketsuru sought a climate and natural environment similar to that of Scotland, and out of many potential locations, he chose the northern land. Yoichi, located west of Otaru at the base of the Shakotan Peninsula.

In February 2022, the kiln tower (first drying tower) and other facilities were recognized as irreplaceable historical assets in the development of Japan's whiskey industry and designated as Important Cultural Properties. Yoichi Distillery sells several types of whiskey, including the "Yoichi Distillery Limited Blended Whisky," exclusively at the distillery's shop.

Facility name : Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery
Address : 7-6 Kurokawacho, Yoichi-cho, Yoichi-gun, Hokkaido
phone : 0135-23-3131
Opening hours : 09:00-16:15 (last entry time 15:30)
Closed : New Year's holiday
Credit cards : accepted
Home page　Click here for the homepage

UNGAPLUS

Good luck from the shipping town of Otaru...
May the flow that has been protected without interruption be your ally and open up your luck.

During the Meiji period, Otaru flourished as the gateway to the development of Hokkaido.
Kitamae ships flapped their pure white sails across the ocean, traveling to and from Honshu and bringing many goods and cultures to this area.

UNGAPLUS delivers original products that incorporate the history and culture of Otaru, as well as high-quality products from the ports of call of the Kitamae ships, from the former Otaru Main Warehouse, the first commercial warehouse in Hokkaido, built by Kitamae ship owners Nishide Magozaemon and Nishitani Shohachi.

The story of Otaru, which has walked alongside the Kitamae ships, can be heard from this place.

We are looking forward to your visit and have a wide selection of original items that are only available here and make great souvenirs.

Click here for details on "UNGAPLUS" Store name : UNGAPLUS

address : 2-1-20 Ironai, Otaru 047-0031

phone : 0134-65-8150

Opening hours : 10:00~18:00

Closed days : Open everyday

Home page　Click here for the homepage

[Tourist attractions]

Blue Cave Otaru Aquarium Hanazono Area

Banking district Sakaimachi Shopping Street Night view of Otaru

Otaru Canal Cruise Sushi Street

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