Glimpses of Japan

Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery is a Japanese whisky distillery located in Hokkaido. It’s the home to Nikka Whisky, which is one of the oldest and biggest producers of Japanese whisky. I visited the distillery in 2017 summer and had an amazing time at their museums, whisky bars, and the tour. The entrance of Yoichi Distillery looked like a European castle. The distillery was established in 1934 as a “dream place” to create whisky to the father of Japanese whisky Masataka Taketsuru. He looked all over Japan for the perfect place to create his dream whisky. Yoichi was a perfect place, having the similar climate to Scotland. Getting around the distillery You can choose to participate in the guided distillery tour or just walk freely. The guided tour is conducted in Japanese only, but it includes opportunities to visit tour participants-limited sights, too. If you are walking freely, they have a guidance smartphone app to help you find the way. They also have multilingual pamphlets....

Oirase Gorge is a famous picturesque spot for every visitor to Aomori Prefecture. Oirase Gorge gets the largest number of visitors in autumn when the leaves get colored, but the beauty of winter is unbelievably magical. Frozen waterfalls and snowy forests will definitely one of the most magical experience ever. In winter, promenades are covered with snow, and it is difficult to walk around without a guide. I participated in a snow hike tour, so here is how the tour was like: What is Oirase Gorge? Oirase Gorge, Oirase Keiryu (奥入瀬渓流) in Japanese, is a famous picturesque spot in Aomori. It is one of the must-see spots in Aomori which gives you beautiful sceneries in every season. The gorge stretches from Lake Towada to Yakiyama and stretches for about 14 kilometers. Multiple waterfalls each has names and are extremely photogenic. Oirase Gorge in summer. In winter, Oirase Gorge allows us to encounter frozen waterfalls and snow covered forests. Change to snow clothes and start the tour...

The Northern part of Japan, especially Tohoku region, is very famous as the sake producer and lots of sake breweries developed from a long time ago. Aomori Prefecture is no exception. In a long established Hachinohe Shuzo Sake Brewery, which dates back to 1775, travelers are accepted to visit the brewery to participate in the brewery tour. I participated in the tour and here is the report! Beautiful redbrick warehouse and wooden main building When you arrive at Hachinohe Shuzo Sake Brewery, you will notice the beautiful looking buildings. They produce and stock sake at the redbrick warehouse so that the temperature stays cool even in summer. The wooden building is the main building where their offices are now. Both of them are built in Taisho era, which means more than 100 years ago, and designated as Prefectural Important Scenic Buildings. The redbrick warehouse is where they make and store sake The wooden building is now used as their office, etc. The tour reception is in the ...

Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture is a city famous for French cuisines and apples. Hirosaki was one of the most advanced cities in the Meiji Period after the opening of the country. The city welcomed lots of foreigners under the slogan of “educational city Hirosaki”, thus, lots of international cuisines developed; French cuisine was one of them. It is said that Hirosaki is no.1 in Japan, regarding the number of French restaurants per population. Also, Hirosaki is the biggest producer of apples in Aomori and also throughout Japan. CHEZ-MOI, a small restaurant just eight minutes walk from Hirosaki Station, provides a unique menu: “Apple French course”. All the dishes in the course uses apples somehow, and they were so creative. I had a chance to try their apple lunch course. Hirosaki is the city of apples, the post box near the station had an apple on it! CHEZ-MOI has a cozy looking exterior CHEZ-MOI is located at about eight minutes walk from Hirosaki Station. The direction was very ...