hakushu distillery tour

Suntory Hakushu Distillery

Top ways to experience Suntory Hakushu Distillery and nearby attractions

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Suntory Hakushu Distillery - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Hakushu Distillery : Procedures from reservation to visit

Reservations can be made in advance via the Internet.

* Please make reservations via telephone if your group contains a wheelchair user or someone who requires assistance.

* As a rule, reservations open at 9:30 on the third weekday (excluding Japan's national holidays) in the prior month. (Both online and by telephone).

* Reservation opening times may differ depending on the distillery and the tour. * For details, please refer to the "Important notice" section on the top page.

Before visit

Select a tour and check the details

Make reservation (Online/Telephone)

Online reservation

(1) Select a date

(2) Select a time

(3) Enter the required information

Reservation complete

A confirmation email will be sent when online reservation is completed. Please confirm the details.

Telephone reservation

+81-551-35-2211

* Please make sure to dial the correct number.

Please state

• - tour name
• - date and time
• - number of participants
• - contact details

* details that can be used to contact you on the day of your visit such as hotel of stay, mobile number, etc.

• - means of transport on the day of your visit

Audio Guide Apps for distillery tours are available for free.Please download the App, before your tour. Languages include [English, Chinese, French].

Download from the App Store or Google Play. →  App Store  →  Google Play *The Audio Guide Apps are for phones

On the day of the visit

Visit reception upon arrival and participate in the tour

* Participation in guided tours may not be possible in the event of delayed arrival, so please be sure to arrive 15 minutes before your reservation time.

• ･ Please advise reception of your name, reservation number (for online reservation), and tour name.

Canceling and changing reservations

Cancel a reservation (online/telephone).

* Changing or canceling the reservation you have made on the Internet is available by the noon on the day before (for free tours) or by the noon two days before (for fee based tours).

(1) To Reservation confirmation and cancellation screen

(2) Enter the reservation number in the application complete mail. The URL for reservation confirmation and cancellation will be sent by mail.

(3) For reservation confirmation and/or cancellation, access the URL below and go through the process.

(4) Select the tour snd cancel

Cancellation complete

Confirmation email will be sent. Please confirm the details.

Change a reservation (date, time, or number of people)

To change a reservation, please cancel it first and then make another reservation.

* Reservations can be canceled via the Internet until noon of the day prior to the event. Please call to cancel after this time.

Yamazaki. Where Japanese whisky was born.

Hakushu. Unique in the world, a distillery located in the forest.

Stop! Under 20 drinking / drink driving. It is advisable not to drink alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is important to drink moderately. Suntory Spirits Limited

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A Tour of Wonders at The Hakushu Distillery

Featured distilleries , hakushu , japanese whisky , suntory , whisky history.

Ready for some exciting news on Hakushu, our dedicated distillery of the month?

The founder of Suntory, Shinjiro Torii is a legend. He brought Japanese whisky to life with the creation of the Yamazaki distillery in 1923, and worked tirelessly for decades to create unique Japanese whiskies which would be loved by his fellow countrymen.

He succeeded, and fifty years later, Torri’s son, Keizo Saji, took his father’s dream to even greater heights with the creation of the Hakushu distillery.

The goal behind Suntory’s second distillery, Hakushu, was to create a distillery in a completely different natural environment to Yamazaki, which would, in turn, multiply the flavours found in Suntory whiskies.

So, after years of searching, Hakushu (2,323 feet) was built at a much higher altitude than Yamazaki (82 feet) in a huge forest area at the foot of Mt. Kaikomagatake. The climate year-round is much cooler than it is in Yamazaki, and the difference between the highs and lows in temperature are also greater. All these differences are said to impact maturation and fermentation greatly.

Hakushu has come to be known as “the forest distillery” and the Suntory team have worked hard to keep the distillery as natural and in keeping with the surrounding environment as possible. Almost 83 per cent of the site Suntory bought remains undeveloped, with the distillery making up the additional 17 per cent. A bird sanctuary has been set up near the distillery, as Suntory claims that wild birds are sensitive to change in weather conditions and water quality.

Once the largest distillery in the world, Suntory mysteriously shut down their distillery rooms called Hakushu 1 and Hakushu 2, when their new building across the road, Hakushu East, was completed in 1981. Since them, all production has been carried out at Hakushu East.

Many wonder why Suntory shut-down a working distillery with 24 operational stills, and build a new, extremely costly distillery, but that’s a tale for another day.

The Hakushu Tour

Note: According to the Suntory Hakushu website  the longer, more expensive “story of Hakushu” tour is no longer held. The original 1,000 Yen ($10-12) tour is still available to visitors.

If you’re intrigued by Hakushu’s story so far, then Suntory’s tour of the distillery will definitely be of interest to you.

From March last year, a special tour named “the story of Hakushu” began, which cost guests 2,000 Yen ($20), as opposed to the regular 1,000 Yen tour.  The first and most exciting difference on the terminated tour, was that guests were shown the aforementioned Hakushu 1 and 2, aka Hakushu West. The second upgrade of the new tour was the addition of some basic Japanese cuisine to pair with the Hakushu whisky samples. 

For some reason, the aforementioned tour has been terminated, perhaps due to recently announced work by Suntory being held at Hakushu distillery and museum.  Note that the distillery will be closed throughout January and scheduled to reopen in spring 2018.

While the “story of Hakushu” tour isn’t operational anymore, the original one is more than enough for visitors to experience all that Hakushu has to offer.  The original tour offers audio tapes available in various languages, which go in depth concerning the history of both Hakushu and Yamazaki.

For those not interested in the tour, the Hakushu bar and museum are free to enter. The bar offers many limited edition bottles of both Yamazaki and Hakushu, as well as all the age expressions of Hibiki, Yamazaki, and Hakushu.

It’s a tour worth the money and journey, as it will give you a Japanese whisky experience you won’t soon forget.

Ready to go? Well, firstly make a reservation here for the original tour.

Once in Tokyo, find your way to Kobuchizawa Station on the JR Chuo Line and be ready to pay a rail fare of about 5,000 Yen ($50) each way. There is a free bus which takes you from the station to the distillery, so once you’re on the train the rest is a piece of cake.

Take photos and send us your thoughts on the tour once you get back. Happy travels.  

George Koutsakis

As a half-Greek Scotsman, George discovered his passion for whisky while working for Whisk-e, Japan's largest whisky importer, in Tokyo. George is now an integral part of the team at dekanta, acting as head writer. He also writes for Forbes.com, Playboy, Financial Times, Food & Wine, Liquor.com, Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, and Distiller.com, specializing in world whisky and spirits. When he isn't sampling and writing about great spirits, he's drinking coffee, eating, and travelling the world. Follow his whisky adventures on Instagram: @whiskyislander

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Whiskey Distillery Tours, One day trip from Tokyo

Japan is one of the major whiskey production countries. The Suntory’s honored whiskey Yamazaki gets more and more recognition from worldwide whiskey fans. The Yamazaki distillery is located in Osaka. The other famous brand Nikka Whiskey Distillery stands in Yoichi, Hokkaido. There are also several whiskey factories accessible from Tokyo. We will introduce four distilleries and one tasting place in this article.

1. Suntory’s Hakusyu Distillery

2. kirin’s fuji gotemba distillery, 3. hombo mars distillery, 4. chichibu distiller, 5.(a liquor in tokyo, paid tasting available) liquors hasegawa honten, map of whiskey places in east japan.

Morio City of Yamanashi prefecture is home to Suntory’s proud whiskey brand Hakusyu. The factory is located in a huge forest at the bottom of Mt. Kaikomagatake. The pure water comes from the layered ancient gigantic rocks. Thanks to the forest its taste is described with a nature-related phrase “the fragrance of the forest”. This distillery tour takes you to the huge copper pot stills and the barrel cellars. Tasting the component whiskies at the tour end would make you feel good!

Major Product: single malt Hakusyu whiskey The whiskey is a light and mild taste.

【Information】Suntory’s Hakusyu Distillery Address : 2913-1 Torihara, Hakushu-cho, Hokuto-shi, Yamanashi Prefecture Website (English): http://www.suntory.com/factory/hakushu/ Tour Fee : 3,000 yen / 5,000 yen Duration : Varies depending on the tour

If you are planning to visit Suntory’s Hakushu Distillery from Tokyo, we recommend a private tour. This tour includes pick-up and drop-off, and you can enjoy the comprehensive factory tour! ▶ Suntory whisky distillery tasting day tour for VIP from Tokyo

Kirin is one of the major beer and other beverage suppliers in Japan. Their whiskey factory is located at the bottom of Mt. Fuji. The production water is from underground streams of the mountain. The average temperature of around 13 degrees Celsius (a relatively low temperature in Japan) allows the whiskey to be slowly maturated in the barrels. Their special theater gives you an introduction at first and then you will explore the factory with a guide.

Main Products: Fuji Sanroku 50%, Fuji Sanroku Single Malt 18 years old The whiskey is a mild and sweet flavor.

【Information】Kirin’s Fuji Gotemba Distillery Address : Shibanuta 970 Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture Closed : Mondays, Year End/ New Year’s holidays Website (Japanese text only): http://www.kirin.co.jp/entertainment/factory/gotemba/tour/ Contact Number : 0550-89-4909 Fee : Free of Charge *whiskey tasting is up to twice. Tour Duration : 70 min

Hombo Brewing is a Japanese shochu maker (local distilled alcohol mainly made of wheat and potatoes) from Kagoshima on the island of Kyushu. The brewing established a base for whiskey and brandy production. The distiller is located at 798 meters above sea level near the Japanese central Alps. This location is under 15 degrees Celsius during winter periods and the climate is suitable for making Whiskey. Their beer factory also stands next to the whiskey factory and tour participants can taste both its whiskey and beer.

Main Product: Mars Amber The whisky has a full and balanced flavor.

【Information】Hombo Mars Distillery Address : Miyatamura 4752-31, Kami-inagun, Nagano Prefecture Closed : Weekends, National Holidays, Year End/ New Year’s holidays Website (Japanese text only): https://www.hombo.co.jp/factory/shinshu.html Contact Number : 0265-85-0017 Tour Fee : Free of Charge *Charged for some whiskey tasting Tour Duration : 30 min

Chichibu Distiller is the only company that focuses exclusively on the production of whiskey. Their major product Ichiro’s Malt is becoming a world-famous whiskey brand as it is a handicraft whiskey being carefully and gently malted. The home of the whiskey is located in Chichibu city, in Saitama Prefecture, approximately one hundred away from the center of Tokyo. The place is extremely cold during the winter being under zero degrees in the evening and early morning. (The summer is hot and humid there, though.) Thanks to this environment, the whiskies grow rich flavor despite their short aging periods. The guided tour is not held on a regular basis. The factory may open to the public during the whiskey festival of Chichibu.

Main Product: Ichiro’s Malt Malt & Grain White Label The whiskies have a fruity and well-balanced taste.

【Information】Chichibu Distiller Address : Midorigaoka 49, Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture Contact Number ：0494-62-4601

The Liquor offers paid tasting. It would be a convenient place for people who would like to try two different brands of Japanese whiskey before purchasing. The shop stands at the underground of the busy Tokyo station and is popular among tourists. Then, the tasting is limited up to five times a day and two times in each visit. You would be encouraged to have a quick drink. Yet, you can experience a variety of kinds of whiskey for reasonable prices.

【Information】Liquors Hasegawa Honten Address : Yaesu Chika 1st Street, Yaesu 2-1, Chuo,Tokyo Business hours : 10：00 – 20：00 Closed : Year End/ New Year’s holidays Contact Number : 03-3271-8747 or 03-3271-3317 *Confirm the availability of your desired whiskey via the contact number as the stocks are changing every day. Website (Japanese text only): http://www.liquors-hasegawa.com/hpgen/HPB/entries/60.html

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Distillery tour

Suntory's Hakushu Distillery has marked the 50th anniversary in 2023. It occupies over 200 acres of land, where 50 species of birds are seen in a sanctuary for protection of wild birds. They announced that   Hakushu Distillery tour will resume on October 2 ,2023 since Suntory closed Hakushu and Yamazaki Distilleries for renovation in December 2022. There're renewal tours, "Monozukuri or craftmanship Tour" for 90 min. ¥3,000- and "Premium Tour" for 130 min. ¥5,000-. Participants in the Premium Tour can observe the process of casking the unblended whiskey and taste the whiskey in the cellar.  

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Drinking Japan

Perhaps Two of the World’s Most Popular Distillery Tours: Suntory’s Hakushu & Yamazaki Distilleries

In early 2020 we had reserved a Hakushu Distillery tour. As we remember all too well, that was the year the world changed. In Japan, we entered a state of emergency – people were urged to stay home; restaurants were forced to close early and stop serving alcohol; traveling across borders was discouraged; and many facilities closed down temporarily. Hakushu Distillery was no different. A week before our distillery tour date, we received an email from Suntory informing us that the tour was cancelled. We scrapped the entire trip partly due to the cancellation of the tour. Then, in May of this year we received an email informing us of the recommencement of distillery tours after a hiatus of over two years. We had already planned a trip to Hoshino Resort – Risonare Yatsugatake, which is an (aging) luxury hotel a short ten minutes away by car from the Hakushu Distillery, so I logged onto the reservation system early and I was able to secure two slots for the distillery tour on the date we were in the area (a distillery tour is 1,000 yen, while an entry pass is free).

In June, we arranged a trip to Kansai for a visit to Miki City in Hyogo Prefecture in order to participate in a PR event with the governor of Hyogo and the mayor of Miki City (please see our previous blog post here and posts by the Hyogo Tourism Board here and here ), so we thought that it would be phenomenal if we could also hit the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery, which is between Osaka and Kyoto. Reservations are extremely hard to get: when I logged in on the morning when the slots were made available for that day, I was placed in a long queue. I initially gave up as the wait was estimated to be several hours. When I was finally able to login, all slots were taken. After several days, however, I was able to secure two slots only, not the three slots I was hoping for (as with the Hakushu distillery tour, the price per person is 1,000 yen).

Both tours follow the same pattern – a description of the water, a view of the washbacks where filtered wort is mixed with yeast, a view of the pot stills, a visit to the warehouse for aging whisky, and finally a tasting. Hakushu, as is aptly described on the website, is a distillery in the forest. It is a sprawling facility with a bird sanctuary on the distillery grounds. Yamazaki, on the other hand, is a suburban distillery. For this reason, the warehouse at Hakushu is accessed via a bus, while the Yamazaki distillery can be toured entirely on foot.

Both tours come with a tasting – a sample of whiskies that go into the finished product and then the finished product itself. In the case of the Hakushu Distillery, the finished product that we tasted was Hakushu Single Malt Whisky (NAS) and the components were 1) White Oak Cask Malt Whisky and 2) Lightly Peated Malt Whisky. In the case of the Yamazaki Distillery, the finished product was Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky (NAS) and the components were 1)White Oak Cask Malt Whisky and 2) Wine Cask Malt Whisky. At the end we were instructed by the tour guide on how to make a Suntory-approved highball cocktail with Hakushu Single Malt and Yamazaki Single Malt, respectively. In both distilleries, there are bars on site where visitors can try various retail and non-retail products from Suntory for a fee. At Yamazaki, we tried the following components to Yamazaki 12 Year Old – Mizunara Cask, Spanish Oak and Puncheon Cask. We also tried the Hibiki Blender’s Choice and some new-make spirit.

Quality of the Tours: Both tours are professionally done. By installing an app before the tour begins, you can listen to descriptions in English and other languages. In the Hakushu tour, we were a little late, so we did not have time to set this up. In the Yamazaki tour, we had installed the app in advance. However, as the guide forgot to turn the system on, we missed the description in the first room. For the rest of the tour the app worked fine, though. The tours at both places are highly satisfying. At Yamazaki, you can get up close to the pot stills (rather than see them through a window like at Hakushu) and walk amongst the barrels in the warehouse, making the experience a bit more interesting.

Quality of the Tasting Experience: Both are comparable. However, with regard to the no-age statement (NAS) versions, both of us liked Yamazaki’s more than Hakushu’s. We had time to try some rare retail and non-retail products at the Yamazaki bar, as the tour was earlier in the day (at Hakushu we were told that the bar was about to close).

Ease of Access: Yamazaki is easy to access by train from both Kyoto and Osaka. Including the short ten-minute walk from Yamazaki Station to the distillery, the trip from Kyoto is about half an hour and from Osaka about one hour. Hakushu is a trek from Tokyo, taking approximately three hours, including a shuttle bus or taxi ride from Kobuchizawa Station.

Additional Benefit: Taking a tour of both facilities gives you the right to purchase one bottle of the non-age statement Hakushu or Yamazaki (depending on the distillery) and one bottle of a small distillery-only product (300 ml). Unfortunately, Yamazaki is going to temporarily suspend this practice from September 1. I believe this is due to the fact that many people are reserving tours just for the right to purchase product for resale.

Hakushu Photos:

Yamazaki Photos:

The distillery tours are highly recommended for Japanese whisky lovers. Please review the instructions on the following websites on how to reserve distillery tours as the system changes often:

Suntory Hakushu Distillery: Click here

Suntory Yamasaki Distillery: Click here

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• #drinkingjapan #drinkjapan #suntorywhisky #Yamazaki #Hakushu #distillerytour #japanesewhisky

Published by drinkingjapan

This is the blog about Drinking Japan by the authors of Drinking Japan: It's Not Just Sake available at fine bookstores everywhere and on Amazon Japan. View all posts by drinkingjapan

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Hakushu distillery

Hakushu distillery, house sty;e:, production:.

The Hakushu Distillery was founded in 1973 by Suntory in Japan’s Southern Alps, despite being nicknamed ‘the forest distillery’ at 700 meters above sea level Hakushu is among the highest single malt distilleries in the world (in contrast the Dalwhinnie distillery in Scotland the coldest place in the UK is only 324 meters above sea level. Originally conceived during an upsurge in demand for whisky during the so called “salaryman boom” the distillery was at the time the largest distillery in the world, unfortunately the original distillery, now known as Hakushu west is no longer active, production was moved to the new larger Hakushu east location in 1981. As Hakushu east has a production capacity of 3 million litres a year the twenty-four stills now standing in Hakushu west are unlikely to be needed for some time

The Hakushu distillery is 120 kilometers from Japan’s capital Tokyo in the middle of the densely forested Yamanashi Province in the southern Japanese Alps. The distillery was built in the 1970s and is one of the largest distillery complexes in the world. Up to 30 million liters of Newmake could be produced here every year. Completed in 1973, the Hakushu distillery looks a bit oversized today - especially since the larger stillhouse is currently not in use. But against the background of the Japanese whiskies boom of the 1970s and 1980s, this mega-distillery makes perfect sense. Although the boom was primarily driven by blended whiskiess. At that time, Suntory was selling up to 12.4 million cases (each with 12 bottles) of the Suntory Old Blend - in Japan alone. This corresponds roughly to today’s annual sales of Johnnie Walker - Global! But Hakushu was built to meet the demand for malt whiskies for its own blended whiskiess.

How does Hakushu single malt taste?

Hakushu Single Malt are known for their creamy, but also fresh, green-leafy to mossy notes, which are often surrounded by a subtle smokiness.

The strong demand at home and in various export markets, especially in Asia, which has been sustained for around five years, also affected the Hakushu range. As seen with other Japanese brands, some age-related whiskies have either been replaced by NAS bottlings or have disappeared from the portfolio entirely. For example, the Hakushu Single Malt 10 Years, which is now simply offered in Japan as Hakushu Single Malt and for export as Hakushu Distillers Reserve, or the 12-year-old, whose production was suspended indefinitely in June 2018. If the age is indicated, the Hakushu Single Malt 18 years and the Hakushu Single Malt 25 years are still available outside of Japan. In addition, various, often very limited special bottlings such as The Essence of Suntory Hakushu Rye Type 2012-2018. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting postponement of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo to 2021, it is difficult to estimate what new bottlings will be presented by Hakushu in 2020. The Summer Games were an occasion for which many Japanese distilleries - including Hakushu - had planned special releases. These new releases will probably also be postponed to the coming year.

How is Hakushu single malt produced?

Wooden washbacks are used for fermentation and in the distillery leverages different sizes and shapes of pot stills for the distillation process, all of which are directly fired. For the maturation, Hakushu mainly relies on Hogshead oak barrels based on the Scottish model with a capacity of around 250 liters. The Hakushu production is very intelligently structured to be able to generate diversity and to show traditionality.

The distillery is located in a climate that is mild and cool by Japanese standards, with temperature fluctuations between 4°C and 22°C. The region is very fertile and is also used for viticulture. Hakushu is one of the largest distilleries in the world. The plant has two stills - one in the west (24 stills) and one in the east (16 stills - expanded in 2014). After a whiskies boom during the 1970s and 1980s, Japan experienced a major crisis in the 1990s. During this time, production in the larger of the distilleries was shut down and since then only the eastern distillery has been produced. This originally had 12 stills, but was expanded by Beam-Suntory by 2 more pairs in 2014 to meet the increased demand for Japanese single malt whiskies. The current annual production is an estimated 4 million liters.

Similar to Suntory’s first malt distillery Yamazaki, Hakushu also paid attention to the fact that the distillery can be used in a variety of ways. As a result, each pair of stills looks a little different and can be partially transformed. In addition, four different types of malt (from unpeated to heavily peated) are used. Two different yeasts are used in the wooden washbacks. Hakushu has huge, multi-story warehouses in which more than 450,000 barrels are believed to be waiting to mature. The oldest are probably from the 1970s.

40 years after founding the Yamazaki Distillery in 1932, Keizo Saji, the son of the founder Shinjiro Torii (1879–1962), was looking for a suitable location for a second distillery. The choice of Keizo Saji, at that time president and master blender of the company renamed “Suntory” in 1963, fell on an 825,000 square meter area between the two cities of Hokuto and Chino on the Kamanashi River near the Kaikomagatake mountain. He chose Hakushu (pronounced: “Hak-schu”) as the name for the distillery, which means “white sandbar” in Japanese and refers to this in the nearby Ojira and Jingu rivers. The location was chosen on the one hand because of the availability of first-class water from the sources of the Kaikomagatake mountain and on the other hand because of the local climatic conditions. While the Yamazaki distillery is 25 meters above sea level, Hakushu is at 708 meters. The annual average temperatures are 5 ° C lower than in Yamazaki, the whisky matures more slowly. The desired effect: The style of the whisky produced here is noticeably different. The Hakushu single malt is stronger, slightly smoky and has a fresher taste, while the Yamazaki malts, which are often stored in sherry barrels, appear lighter, finer and rounder. 83 percent of the site has been a nature reserve since the distillery was founded, most of which is used for bird protection. The dedication of the area was even carried out at the instigation of Suntory. Untouched landscape and the possibility of bird watching offer additional recreational value for visitors. Birds are also sensitive to a deterioration in water quality, so the distillery benefits from appropriate protective measures in the form of a long-term supply of consistently good spring water.

In February 1973 the new plant was put into operation. Later also known as “Hakushu 1”, it initially had six wash stills with 30,000 liters each and six spirit stills with 20,000 liters each. As early as 1977 with the expansion “Hakushu 2” the number of wash and spirit stills and thus the total capacity was doubled. “Hakushu 3” was built in 1981 and has been operating under the name “Hakushu East” since 1988. With this expansion, smaller pot stills were built in to produce a greater variety of whisky, in smaller batches and with different malt blends. The malted barley - peated or unpeated - is imported from Great Britain. Previously, the large kettles made from Hakushu 1 and Hakushu 2 covered their own need for component whisky for everyday blends such as the Suntory Old Whisky or the Suntory Kakubin Blend. Before single malts became popular in the 1980s, Hakushu’s focus was simply not on such premium products. In 2006, Hakushu 2 was largely demolished and Hakushu 1 - known as “Hakushu West” since 1988 - decommissioned. In the 2000s, there was a noticeable drop in demand for Japanese whisky, so that the quantities that could be sold no longer used the production capacity. The logical - even if, in retrospect, perhaps not the best - measure was to reduce the system to the size required at the time. In 2010 a column still was installed for the production of grain whisky. The setup and experimentation phase lasted until May 2013, when it was integrated into regular operations. Since production of this type of whisky in Yamazaki was discontinued in the early 1980s, all the grain whisky for the Suntory blends came from the Chita Grain Whisky Distillery near Nagoya, which was also built by the group in 1972. The new Hakushu column opened up a wider range of different grain whiskies and at the same time increased Suntory’s capacities in this sector. The in-house whisky range grew and Hakushu was now able to offer so-called single blends (malt and grain content from a distillery). In 2014, Hakushu East was expanded to include two spirit and two wash stills to eight each. Today 16 pot stills, 18 wooden washbacks (75,000 liters each) and a steel mash tun (130,000 liters) are operated, which enable a maximum annual output of three million liters of pure alcohol. There are currently 17 warehouses on the site that can hold up to 600,000 barrels. The large steel shelves are designed for hogsheads or barrels up to around 250 liters. All other barrel types, for example those made from Japanese Mizunara oak or imported sherry casks, which are usually larger, are brought to the Ohmi Aging Complex 70 kilometers northwest of Yamazaki or to the Yamazaki Distillery itself. The Aging Complex was commissioned in 1972 to add to the very limited capacity of the Yamazaki distillery. Consisting of 72 warehouses, it is the largest whisky storage facility in Suntory in Japan. The Hakushu Distillery has its own cooperage, which, however, only produces hogsheads suitable for its own storage system. All other barrel sizes are made in the Ohmi Aging Complex. The majority of the barrels are made from fresh American white oak or they are Bourbon Casks from Jim Beam.

Hakushu factsheet

Can i tour hakushu.

Yes Hakushu distillery is tourable. On Trip Advisor the distillery has been rated as excellent by 165 of 364 tours to date. This gives Hakushu an overall rating of 4.5

Latest reviews

I love whisky distilleries and this one did not disappoint (except for one thing, to be mentioned below). The location was breathtaking, in the Japanese Southern Alps, and the tour was fantastic. There's a museum of whisky, and a restaurant on site. It culminated with a great tasting.The production capacity appeared very high, and there's a lot of barrels aging. Unfortunately there was no ability to buy a bottle of the whisky made on site. That was my only disappointment.The bar in the visitor's center was really special. They were pouring some incredible whisky for really good prices. This is a must-see day-trip from Tokyo.

By train you'll need to stop at Kobuchizawa station, we took a taxi from there down to the distillery were we waited for a tour. For a small fee we grabbed a english headset and followed our tour guide around the complex. My favourite room had to be the barrel room. It's no where near as massive as some of the others in japan, but the stack of barrels held 3 (?) metres from the floor and layered to the roof is phenominal. The smell when you open the doors to the barrel room is quite strong if you are sensitive to strong whiskey. Hakushu had the large vat rooms sealed off during our visit, and instead allow you to see in via large glass doors.The area is truly beautiful and while we missed out on the bird park attached i would like to return outside of winter to see some of the birds in the area. Well worth the trip.For getting back to the train station we asked the front desk to call at Taxi for us at a certain time, The staff were quite helpful in this.

Awesome afternoon. English language audio guide is informative and easy to listen to. Great value as ¥1,000 entrance fee includes tasting of 3 whiskeys, plus a Highball, plus chocolates and snacks

«Eigashima Shuzo

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Chip Tate, Founder of Balcones Distilling, is Tapped to Lead Spirits Expansion at Foley Family Wines

January 18, 2024 –––––– David Fleming , , , ,

Chip Tate, who founded Texas whiskey maker Balcones Distilling in 2008 and departed in 2014 after an acrimonious dispute with his investors, has been named master distiller for innovation at Foley Family Wines, the California-based wine company that has recently moved into spirits.

Tate took the craft whiskey world by storm as the creative force behind Waco, Texas-based Balcones, initially with Baby Blue in 2010, which is made from a mashbill of roasted blue corn, and later with Texas single malts, bourbons, ryes, and other styles. Jared Himstedt, a friend from Tate’s brewing days who’s been at Balcones from the beginning, became master distiller after Tate’s departure and still has that role today.

Tate went on to found Tate & Co. Distillery, just down the road from Balcones in Waco, gaining a distillery license in 2017 and opening in 2018. Tate & Co. is both a distillery and a copperworks, with Tate and his team building stills and equipment with the aim of producing whiskeys for its own labels and for other distillers.

Foley Family Wines is owned by entrepreneur Bill Foley, who made his fortune in the real estate and financial services industries. The company’s entry into distilling began this past spring when it acquired the shuttered Bently Heritage Estate Distillery in Minden, Nevada, which has since been renamed Minden Mill Distilling. In September, it reintroduced Charles Goodnight bourbon ($80), named for a legendary Texas cattle driver who’s also Bill Foley’s great-great uncle. It’s a robust, high-rye Texas bourbon with an ABV of 57.5% and a mashbill of 60% Texas-grown yellow #2 corn, 36% unmalted rye, and 4% barley. Charles Goodnight scored 94 points in Whisky Advocate ’s Winter 2023 Buying Guide.

Tate’s new role at Foley Family Wines will be a full-time commitment, leaving Tate & Co. to be managed by investors. He’ll be working with Foley on existing projects, including Charles Goodnight, but he’ll also have free rein to create new and interesting spirits, working with other Foley distillers and potentially with craft distillers from around the U.S. and elsewhere.

With the exception of giants like Gallo and Constellation, California winemakers’ ventures into spirits are at a very early stage. But considering Foley’s trajectory in the wine business, he’s a player well worth watching. He started in the wine business in 1996 when he and his wife Carol bought a vineyard in Santa Barbara as a weekend hobby. Today he owns more than 20 wineries in California and around the world, including Oregon, Washington, and New Zealand, with a portfolio that includes famous names like Chateau St. Jean, Chalone, Ferrari-Carano, Sebastiani, and Chalk Hill, among others.

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• Suntory Hakushu Distillery

Suntory Hakushu Distillery サントリー白州蒸溜所

2913-1 Torihara, Hakushu-cho, Hokuto-shi, Yamanashi-ken

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Sample whisky at a distillery that draws on natural spring water in Japan's Southern Alps

Set among the forests lying at the foot of Japan's Southern Alps is a whisky distillery that is an extremely popular local attraction. If you enjoy whisky, don't miss this experience.

• The distillery room, where you will see an interesting collection of pot stills
• The warehouses filled with thousands of barrels of whisky, and the intoxicating aroma of evaporating whisky
• The generous whisky tasting at the end of your tour (don't drink on an empty stomach)
• The distillery's museum

Quick Facts

In 2006, Suntory's single malt whisky "Hakushu 18-years-old" won the gold award in the prestigious International Spirits Challenge

How to Get There

Suntory Hakushu Distillery is located in northern Yamanashi. Rail access is via the JR Chuo Main Line, which runs from JR Shinjuku Station to JR Matsumoto Station, followed by bus.

If you take a limited express train to JR Kobuchizawa Station on the JR Chuo Main Line, board the free limited shuttle bus that is available on weekends and national holidays from late March to November. On weekdays, take the limited express train to the JR Nirasaki Station, board the bus from platform 3, and get off at Matsubarakami. The distillery is a 10-minute walk from the bus stop.

Book a tour

The distillery is very busy on the weekends, so book your tour well in advance. You might also want to request a multilingual audio guide for English, Chinese, or French commentary. The 80-minute tour includes a whisky tasting.

Fermentation room

The first room you will enter during the tour is the fermentation room. This room is filled with four-meter-high wooden vats.

Distillation room

The next room you enter is the distillation room. If you look closely, you will notice that the distillery room contains a variety of pot stills.

Apparently, each pot still brings out distinctive flavors in the whisky. Suntory boasts that it is one of a small handful of distilleries around the world that still works with several different types of pot.

Distillery bus

To get to one of the many whisky warehouses at the distillery, you will have to board a distillery bus. This is the highlight of the tour, as you get an intoxicating aroma of evaporating whisky (the angels' share) from the thousands of whisky barrels.

Lesson on tasting

After the warehouse tour, you are invited to taste several grades of whisky. The tour guide gives quite an in-depth lesson on tasting, so you might want to request one of the multilingual information booklets that they keep behind the bar.

25-year-old single malt

Just before exiting the facility, you walk through the distillery bar, where you can try their 25-year-old single malt.

The latest information may differ, so please check the official website

* The information on this page may be subject to change due to COVID-19.

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