Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience
Hokkaido sake tasting experience

What you'll do

To truly appreciate Hokkaido culture, sake must be sampled – we don’t make the rules! So really, it would be wrong not to join a local insider in tasting some of the beverages that put Hokkaido on the map. You’ll sip on Kokushi Muso, one of Hokkaido’s most famous brands of sake, trying everything from Daiginjo-shu (high-quality sake) to seasonal, limited edition brews. At a local izakaya, try the iconic Chitosetsuru sake from the 150-year-old Nippon Seishu Brewery between bites of crispy yakitori (chicken skewers), or stock up on your own personal stash at the Chitosetsuru Sake Museum – part museum, part tasting room and part store (it even sells sake ice-cream) Need a break from sake? Hokkaido is also famous for its smooth, smoky whiskey. 

Where you’ll go

Sapporo might be most well-known for its eponymous beer, but Hokkaido is bursting with breweries and distilleries for beer, whiskey and, most importantly, sake. The quality of sake coming from Hokkaido’s 12 breweries is some of the best in Japan, and with a local host to lead the way, you’ll become a sake connoisseur in no time. In central Sapporo’s neon-lit entertainment district, Susukino, you’ll head up to the eighth floor of an unassuming building to find Sake Bar Kamada, a hidden gem with a super-friendly owner and over 300 kinds of alcoholic beverages produced in Hokkaido. From there, you could flit between your host’s favorite downtown izakaya, or maybe you’d prefer to stroll 15 minutes east to the Chitosetsuru Sake Museum.

  • Private & 100% personalized tour

  • 3 hours

  • Matched to your ideal host

  • Walking Tour

  • Hosted in English (On request: Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Spanish)

  • Meet at your accommodation or a central location

Experience outline

  • Indulge in the sake, beer and liquor that are part of Hokkaido’s rich culture
  • Take the experience at your pace, savoring 6 tastings over 3 hours with classic snack pairings like gyoza dumplings to keep you going
  • Flit between izakaya, sake shops and museums where you learn a little about the sake making process as you sample
  • Taste sake from different regions, different ages and at different temperatures – all in the name of discovery, of course!
  • Get your hosts recommendations on other sake-lover appropriate places and activities in Sapporo

Things to know

What’s included

  • 100% Private and personalised experience
  • 3 hours with your host
  • 4-6 drinks from a local recommended place (Sake, Whiskey, high balls or local craft-beer)
  • One small dish to share or bar snack
  • Authentic local insider knowledge and insights
  • Walking experience (if required, your host can suggest public transport or private taxi options)
  • Hotel meet-up (available on request for central location)

What’s not included

  • Food and drinks additional to the ones included in the experience
  • Tickets to any attractions
  • Transportation costs
  • Gratuities (optional)
  • A spot to take a nap after all that sake

Cancellation

  • Cancel 14 days before the experience for a full refund
  • COVID-19 Flexible Policy: you can cancel for free up to a day before the experience and receive a full refund.

Reviews

    Some friends and I were in Hokkaido over New Years and we wanted to do something fun and special while we were in Sapporo. Since we were only in Sapporo for a few days, I thought this tour would be a great way for us to see the city and find some good places to eat and drink. Our host, Asuka, was great! She emailed me well ahead of our trip with a rough plan for our tour, and with some input from me, she put together a great itinerary for us. She took us to a stand-up sake bar, and then to a small izakaya where we got to taste several different types of sake and had a great dinner with lots of local dishes (the dinner was extra), and then we ended at a parfait cafe where we had very elaborate and decadent desserts. All of the places that Asuka chose for us were very representative of, and unique to, the Japanese culture, and she walked us through the main shopping districts and gave us a good understanding of the layout of the city. Asuka was also such a good sport, answering all of the questions we had for her, about herself and Japanese culture in general. Also, I should mention that we had 10 people in our group, so it was so great that Asuka was able and willing to take us around the city and find places big enough for all of us, especially when most places were closed for the holiday. I would definitely recommend this tour for anyone who wants a personal guide to show them around the city and lead them to some great spots. And I would highly recommend Asuka as a great guide!

    December 2019

    Alissa W

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Meet our local hosts in Sapporo. One of them will tailor this experience to your wishes!

We’ll expertly match you to your best suited host based on your interests, personality and the experience vibe you’re after.

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