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. 

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.