Visiting Yamazaki Distillery

Kyoto – Home of Sake and Whisky

While operating a sake tour in Kyoto, we receive many questions about Japanese whisky from guests. Where can people buy them? Which brand do you recommend?
As you know, Japanese whisky is very popular all over the world today. Some brand of bottles are even hard to buy so have to wait to purchase for a while. I stick to sake usually, but I thought it’s time to learn about whisky as well.

Fushimi, the leading sake producing place in Japan, is located at the foot of the mountain in the southeast of Kyoto. At the opposite side, the foot of the mountain in the southwest of Kyoto, there is Suntory Yamazaki distillery, where the first whisky in Japan was born. It is interesting that there are districts in the west and east of Kyoto that are the roots of the two major alcohols, sake and whisky, which the people around the world are now falling in love with. Yamazaki single malt whisky produced at Suntory Yamazaki distillery is very popular overseas. The distillery was fully renovated in 2023 for its 100th anniversary, and the visitor experience has changed a lot since then. Tours now require a lottery reservation months in advance, and even the free museum visit needs a booking. I’ll explain the details below.

　

Visiting Suntory Yamazaki Distillery

Yamazaki distillery is located in about 15 minutes by JR line from Kyoto station. Get off at Yamazaki station, and it’s 10 minutes walk from the station. You can also take the Hankyu Kyoto Line to Oyamazaki station, which is just as close.

The tour starts from this whisky hall. This is the museum where you can visit for free, but you now need to make a reservation online in advance. There’s a tasting counter that you can taste whisky of Yamazaki. It was one of the popular bottles that could be difficult to purchase. There’s also a shop where you can buy some souvenirs.

Since the 2023 renovation for the distillery’s 100th anniversary, tours have been renamed “MONOZUKURI tour & tasting.” The regular tour is 80 minutes and costs 3,000 yen. There is also a Prestige tour (120 minutes, 10,000 yen) with deeper access and Yamazaki 12 Year Old in the tasting. Both require a lottery reservation — you need to enter the lottery online about 2 months before your visit, pick your preferred dates and times, and you’ll find out about a month ahead whether you got in. It’s very competitive, so don’t plan your whole trip around getting a ticket.

English-guided tours are available, usually once per day. For Japanese-language tours, you can download the free audio guide app (available in English, Chinese and French) on your phone before you visit.

Note: You must be 20 years or older to join any tour or tasting. Children and minors cannot enter, even with a parent.

　

First, there was an explanation about history and the simple manufacturing process of the Yamazaki Distillery. One of the reasons why the first whisky distillery in Japan was made in Yamazaki is its water. Actually, the production area of sake, Fushimi, is also famous for its high quality spring water. I got to learn that the Yamazaki distillery and Fushimi sake use the same water veins of underground Kyoto.

Learning the Manufacturing Process of Whisky

After the explanation of the manufacturing process, we moved to see the actual manufacturing sites.

When we entered the distilling still room, there is a scent of “moromi” (fermented mash) that is distilled from the still. There are various shapes and sizes of the distilling still here. And each stills make different flavors, they explained. At this stage, the smell is more like a boiled beer.

　

Next we moved to the maturing room. Here’s a lot of barrels that is matured and let it stand until the blender’s blending. The scent changes completely in this room, it turns into a deep scent like a combination of forest and alcohol.

There are also barrels that have been aged since the year the Yamazaki distillery was built in 1923. Even if there are so many barrels, they say that there is no exactly the same unblended whisky.

Time for Tasting Whisky

After observing the maturing room, we had a tasting of some whisky at the tasting room. Here four whiskies were prepared in the glasses. One was matured in a barrel of white oak, the other one was matured in a wine barrel and the other two are common “Yamazaki single malt whisky”. Snacks that match well with whisky are also available.
　

The blender explained each whisky as smell of various food, which helped me to understand well.

Personally, I liked the whisky that was matured in a wine barrel the most. Because I am not used to drinking straight whisky that much, whisky with soda was the best for me.
　

After tasting, we returned to the starting point and then that is the end of the tour. I stopped by the shop at the last but they didn’t sell the Yamazaki single malt whisky. I still enjoyed it as there were various products related to whisky.

Recommend to Join the Tour!

Now I see the reason why Yamazaki whisky distillery tour is so popular. With a cost of 3,000 yen (or 10,000 yen for the Prestige tour), you get much information and tour itself is very enjoyable. Personally the best thing was that I was able to see the maturing room. It was somehow unforgettable smell.

The tour is mainly conducted in Japanese, but English-guided tours are also available, usually once per day. For Japanese-language tours, you can download the free audio guide app on your phone before you visit. Tours are now by lottery only, and it’s very competitive to get a reservation. But you can still enjoy visiting the museum space of the whisky pavilion for free — you just need to book online in advance. Even if you can not participate in a tour, it will be well worth visiting Yamazaki distillery.

If Yamazaki Changed How You See Japanese Whisky, Understanding Sake Will Change How You Appreciate It.

Yamazaki and Fushimi sit at the feet of opposite mountains of Kyoto — and they share the same underground water. Fushimi is one of Japan’s most important sake-producing regions, with over 400 years of brewing history. Most people just drink sake. But once you understand how it’s made, how different rice and water create completely different flavors, the way you taste it changes forever. When you are visiting Fushimi, why don’t you join Kyoto Insider Sake Experience and discover that for yourself? You will be able to find your most favorite bottle!

Suntory Yamazaki Distillery
Operating hours: 9:30 – 17:00 (Last entry at 16:30)
Closed: Over the New Year’s holiday and during distillery shutdowns
Reservation: How to make a reservation
Tour: Lottery system only (enter about 2 months in advance)
Regular tour: 3,000 yen / 80 min — Prestige tour: 10,000 yen / 120 min
Museum: Free (reservation required)
Age: 20+ only
Access: JR Yamazaki station or Hankyu Oyamazaki station, 10 min walk
From July to September, production area tour time may be shortened due to heat.