Local Guide
6 Experience spots in Otaru area where you can enjoy the charm of manufacturing

Glass crafts and music boxes are perfect for the nostalgic atmosphere of the port town of Otaru. There are many places in the city where you can experience making things by hand. If you go a little further, you can visit a Property where beer, wine, and whiskey are brewed in a climate similar to that of Europe, and enjoy tours and tastings. Here are some of the places in the Otaru area where you can Experience the charm of craftsmanship.

Challenge yourself to an authentic glass-blowing experience while shopping!

Experience glass blowing for 3,850 yen and feel like a craftsman. The work is cooled overnight and delivered the next day or at a later date.
Experience glass blowing for 3,850 yen and feel like a craftsman. The work is cooled overnight and delivered the next day or at a later date.

Taisho Glass Museum" has 13 stores in Otaru City. Each of them has a different concept, such as a store specializing in sake cups and ornamental hairpins, and a gallery store of artists' works.
At the "Creative Glass Workshop" adjacent to the main store, visitors can experience authentic glass blowing while shopping. Visitors choose the item they want to make, such as a glass or vase, and the pattern and color they prefer, and then blow into the molten glass. Experienced Staff/staff members will be on hand to provide support, so those who are trying glass blowing for the first time can rest assured that they are in good hands.

Original accessories made by selecting glass flowers

Glass crafting experience at the glass bead pavilion starts at 600 yen.
Glass crafting experience at the glass bead pavilion starts at 600 yen.

For those who do not have much time or who want to enjoy the experience with their children, we recommend the glasswork experience offered at Tombodama-kan, located two doors down from the main store. The glass is melted with a burner to make tonbo dama (glass beads), which can be completed in about 15 minutes. While the glass is cooling down, you can enjoy shopping. The program to make accessories by gluing "millefiori," glass parts that mean "a thousand flowers" in Italian, is safe for small children because it uses an electric kiln instead of fire. Staff/staff members will do the finishing work and deliver them to your home at a later date.

Local Guide Comment
The Taisho Glass Museum's main store is a renovated historical building built in 1906 (Meiji 39). Please take your time to view the historic exterior as well as the beautiful glassware.
Taisho Glass Museum
  • Address 1-1-8 Shikinai, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido (main store) MAP
  • Direction 12 min. walk from JR Otaru Station
  • Business hours 9:00-19:00
  • Closed No
  • Admission Glass blowing experience (20 min.): 3,850 yen
    Experience of making glass works: from 600 yen
  • TEL 0134-32-5101
  • Parking None
  • Age Limit Glass Blowing Experience: 10 years old and up
    Other glasswork experiences: 3 years old and up
  • Memo Sosaku Glass Studio: 1-1-7 Shikouchi, Otaru City, Hokkaido
    Glass Bead Pavilion: 1-1-6 Shikouchi, Otaru City, Hokkaido
    Experience of glass blowing is available at the main store. Other Experiences are available at Tombodama-kan.

Visit the brewing site of craft beer brewed in Germany

Beer undergoing primary fermentation in a tank. After this, the beer is aged at low temperature for 8 weeks, which is the authentic German style.
Beer undergoing primary fermentation in a tank. After this, the beer is aged at low temperature for 8 weeks, which is the authentic German style.

Otaru Beer is a craft beer made with traditional ingredients and production methods based on the "Beer Purity Law" promulgated in Germany in 1516. There are two breweries in Otaru City, and the Zenibako Brewery offers paid tours by reservation only.
Otaru Beer is made only with organically grown malt from Germany, aroma hops, homemade yeast, and soft Hokkaido water. During the tour, visitors can learn more about the beer production process by tasting the malt and wort before it is turned into beer, as well as young beer, which is fermented by adding yeast to the wort.

Enjoy the charm of Otaru beer with special snacks

A tour of the brewery includes tastings of three kinds of beer and a snack plate for 1,650 yen.
A tour of the brewery includes tastings of three kinds of beer and a snack plate for 1,650 yen.

After the tour, it is time for tasting Otaru beer. After the tour, visitors are allowed to sample up to 20 pints of Otaru beer, a reference to the German beer festival "Oktoberfest," where 20 pints per person is the norm. The fact that mugs of various shapes and sizes are available for different types of beer is also an expression of the restaurant's desire to "let people know how good beer tastes in the German style.
The "snack plate" of sausage, sauerkraut, and brezel (German bread) also goes great with Otaru beer. This is a very satisfying tour that beer lovers should not miss.

Local Guide Comment
For those who cannot drink alcohol, homemade apple cider and non-alcoholic beer are available.
Otaru Beer Senbako Brewery
  • Address 3-263-19 Zenibako, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido MAP
  • Direction 5 minutes drive from JR Zenibako Station
  • Business Hours Tour starts at 10:00, 13:00, and 16:00 (90 min. each)
  • Closed December 29 - January 5
  • Admission 1,650 yen, elementary school students 825 yen, preschool children free (no snack plate)
  • TEL 0134-61-2280
  • Parking Free of charge
  • Memo Reservations by phone at least one week in advance (Mon-Fri 10:00-17:00). (There are days and times when tours are not available due to brewery special events.

Take a casual factory tour at Yoichi's oldest winery

The brewery building with fermentation tanks and cooling equipment. If the timing is right, you can see the brewery in action.
The brewery building with fermentation tanks and cooling equipment. If the timing is right, you can see the brewery in action.

Yoichi Town is located about 30 minutes by car from Otaru City. The town produces the largest amount of grapes for wine in Hokkaido, and the number of wineries has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Yoichi Winery was established in 1974 and is the oldest winery in the town. A tour course has been set up in the factory, and visitors are free to tour the winery.
In the winery building, visitors can see through glass windows the "fermentation room" where harvested grapes are first brought in, the "storage room" where white wine is stored in tanks, and the "barrel storage room" where red wine is aged in wooden barrels. Explanatory panels on grapes and winemaking are also on display.

A variety of cafes and restaurants where you can experience Yoichi's terroir

Pizza
Pizza "Margherita" baked in a stone oven using Hokkaido wheat and cheese, 1,600 yen

The site is also home to a Restaurant, Cafe, Wine Shop, Gallery, and Atelier. At the "Cafe & Bakery," a set of three different kinds of red and white wine is offered for 1,100 yen. Niagara soft ice cream" using Yoichi wine and apple pie using Yoichi apples are also popular. The Restaurant offers a variety of dishes that go well with wine, such as hamburgers made from Hokkaido beef and pizza baked in a stone oven with a dough made from a blend of Hokkaido wheat. Visitors can fully enjoy the bounty of Yoichi's nature while gazing at the peaceful countryside.

Local Guide Comment
The wine store offers a limited-edition wine that is sold only at the winery on an irregular basis. They often sell out quickly, so be sure to grab one when you find it.
Yoichi Winery
  • Address 1318 Kurokawa-cho, Yoichi-cho, Yoichi-gun, Hokkaido MAP
  • Direction 5 min. drive from JR Yoichi Station
  • Business Hours Wine Shop 10:00-16:45
    Cafe & Bakery 10:00-16:00
    Wine Factory Tour 10:00-16:30
    Gallery & Atelier 10:00-16:30 (closed Nov. to Mar.)
    Yoichi Winery Restaurant 11:30-14:30 (L.O.)
  • Closed May-Dec Tuesdays
    January - end of April: Tuesdays and Wednesdays
    *Subject to irregular changes
  • Admission Wine factory tour free
    Gallery & Atelier free
  • TEL 0135-23-2184
  • Parking Free of charge

Music Boxes" that you can freely choose the tune, case, and parts.

Self-made music boxes
Self-made music boxes" can be produced starting at about 1,100 yen, where you choose the music box, box, and parts for the foundation.

The owner of this store realized the world's first store specializing in music boxes in the 1980s with the idea of "bringing the sound of music boxes to the nostalgic town of Otaru. Based on a system whereby customers purchase a combination of their favorite song and case, the shop offers an Experience menu that allows customers to create their own original music box using optional parts and paints.
There are various types such as spring type and hand-cranked type, and more than 400 songs from standard to the latest hits. You can make your own one-of-a-kind music box by freely combining a wide variety of cases and parts, or by drawing pictures.

Unique patented technology allows you to order songs that are not available in ready-made products.

Custom-made music boxes start at 19,840 yen including arrangement fee. Boxes for music boxes and optional decorations are extra.
Custom-made music boxes start at 19,840 yen including arrangement fee. Boxes for music boxes and optional decorations are extra.

Music Box Hall ®️ KAIMEIRO has developed a "cylinder music box production machine" (patented) that can produce custom-made music boxes from a single unit. This technology also allows for custom-made music boxes with memorable songs, self-written songs, school songs, etc., which are not available in ready-made products. Including songs born from customer requests, there are more than 600 variations. There are few music box specialty stores in Japan that have such a large selection of songs.
It takes two to four months to complete an order. After carefully discussing your order with the store's Staff/staff member, waiting for the day when your Otaru memories arrive is one of the pleasures of ordering a music box.

Local Guide Comment
The music box making process takes about 20 minutes, but it takes a surprisingly long time to choose the tunes and parts. If you decide on a song from the song list in advance, the work will go smoothly.
Music Box Store ®️ Kaiminguro Honten
  • Address 1-20 Sakai-cho, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido MAP
  • Direction 14 min. walk from JR Otaru Stn.
  • Business Hours 9:00 - 21:00 (~18:00 depending on season)
    Music box handcraft workshop 9:00-19:00 (until 18:00 in winter)
  • Closed No
  • Admission Music boxes from 990 yen, wooden parts, etc. from 11 yen (estimate 1,500-2,000 yen)
  • TEL 0134-23-6505
  • Parking None

The starting point of the dream of Masataka Taketsuru, the "father of Japanese whiskey

The
The "pot still," a whiskey distilling pot in which coal was poured two years after the founding of the company, is still in use today.

The Nikka Whiskey Yoichi Distillery was established in 1934 by Nikka Whiskey founder Masataka Taketsuru. Ten buildings on the site are now designated as national important cultural properties.
Yoichi, with a climate similar to that of Scotland, the home of whiskey, was an ideal home for Mr. Taketsuru. Yoichi Distillery continues to produce whisky by following the "direct coal-fired distillation" method that Mr. Taketsuru insisted on. Visitors can learn about the whiskey production process and the history of Nikka Whiskey while touring the distilling properties with a guide on the "Guided Distillery Tour," which is available by reservation only.

Nikka Museum, where you can experience the deep appeal of whiskey.

The passion for whiskey making inherited from Mr. Taketsuru, the
The passion for whiskey making inherited from Mr. Taketsuru, the "father of Japanese whiskey," can be seen everywhere.

At the "Nikka Museum" located on the premises, visitors can learn about the work of the "blenders" who are in charge of blending the original whiskey and the world view of Nikka's representative brands, and experience the deep appeal of whiskey. The museum also exhibits many materials related to Mr. Taketsuru and his wife Rita, who became famous for the TV drama "Massan," and is well worth seeing.
Inside the museum, there is a tasting corner where visitors can try a variety of whiskeys, including distillery-exclusive products, for a fee. The pot still in the center of the space reminds visitors of the passage of time from distillation to pouring into a glass after a long storage period.

Local Guide Comment
The scenery of red roofs and soft stone buildings is so exotic that you may forget that you are in Japan. There are also plenty of photo-worthy spots.
Nikka Whiskey Yoichi Distillery
  • Address 7-6 Kurokawa-cho, Yoichi-cho, Yoichi-gun, Hokkaido MAP
  • Direction Approx. 4 min. walk from JR Yoichi Station
  • Business Hours Guided tour of the distillery (reservation required, approx. 60 min.) 9:00-16:30 (last tour at 15:00)
    Nikka Museum 9:15-16:15 (last order for paid tasting is 16:00)
    Store 9:15-16:15 (last admission 15:30)
  • Closed December 25 - January 7
  • Admission Guided distillery tours Free
  • TEL 0135-23-3131
  • Parking Free of charge
  • Memo Advance reservations are required for the distillery guided tours through the website.

A winery complex that proposes a trip to experience the charm of wine

You can see places that are normally inaccessible, such as the barrel cellar, and after the tour, you can taste three kinds of wine.
You can see places that are normally inaccessible, such as the barrel cellar, and after the tour, you can taste three kinds of wine.

Niki Town, about 40 minutes by car from Otaru City, is a town where fruit tree cultivation is flourishing. In recent years, the town has been promoting "wine tourism," which combines wine and tourism. NIKI Hills Winery, which plays a central role in this, is a winery complex that opened in 2019. It has vineyards, a winery, a restaurant, and an accommodation building on a 33-hectare site.
Only one group at a time can take a "private winery tour" to closely observe the winemaking process and facilities. The terrace overlooking the winery and vineyards offers a spectacular view, and the expansive garden, which is decorated from spring to fall with more than 400 varieties of plants, is also a highlight.

A variety of tours to experience the four seasons of nature in Niki Town

Snowshoe trekking tour
Snowshoe trekking tour" to experience the nature unique to Niki Town where there is a lot of snow.

In addition, a variety of other one-day Experience tours are offered. Outdoor programs include a "Nature Trekking Tour" to enjoy nature observation and forest bathing, and a "Snowshoe Trekking Tour" to explore the snow-covered vineyards. We also recommend the "Mountain Bike Tour with Electric Assist" that takes you around the winery and the town.
The guide for these tours is Keizo Funatsu, general manager of Niki Hills Winery and the world's first person to cross the Antarctic Continent by dog sled. Experience the great nature of Niki Town with a world-class adventurer as your guide.

Local Guide Comment
Aperçu, the Property's restaurant, offers creative French cuisine and wine by reservation only. The panoramic view of the hillside vineyards and Yoichi Bay beyond the window is also breathtaking.
NIKI Hills Winery
  • Address 148-1 Asahidai, Niki-machi, Yoichi-gun, Hokkaido MAP
  • Direction 7 minutes drive from JR Niki Station
  • Business hours 10:00-16:00
  • Closed Closed on weekends and holidays
  • Admission Private winery tour (60 min.): 3,300 yen *includes 3 tastings. Free for elementary school students and younger, drinks not included.
    Nature trekking tour (90 min.): 5,500 yen *Free for elementary school students and younger
    Snowshoe trekking tour (120 minutes): 16,500 yen
    Mountain bike tour with electric power assist: Winery area (90 min.): 7,700 yen, Tour around town (120 min.): 11,000 yen
  • TEL 0135-32-3801
  • Parking Free of charge
  • Age Limit Nature trekking tours, snowshoe trekking tours: excluding infants
    *Program content adjusted according to guest conditions and preferences)
    Mountain bike tours with electric assist: 150cm or taller
  • Memo Reservations required for all tours. Winery tours can be booked on the day.
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.