What other travelers are saying about Otokoyama Sake Brewery
When my wife and I researched places of interest around Furano, we came across Asahikawa, a city located about 56 km (1 hour 5 mins drive by car) north of Furano. Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum & Park in Asahikawa was a special interest as we enjoy sake.
From our hotel in Furano, the drive to Otokoyama Sake was scenic and enjoyable.
The museum showcases the history of Otokoyama and chronicling its historical brewing artifacts, brewing processes, collection of regional and international sake awards, etc. An audio-visual TV presentation is available in different languages, including English, and we found this very interesting. From the museum, visitors can view through glass panels into the sake production plant. Entry to the museum is free-of-charge.
In a separate building is the sake retail shop where sake tasting and soft-serve ice cream can also be enjoyed. As I was driving, I did not participate in the sake tasting. My wife did and she enjoyed the sake samples. There is a wide selection of sakes for sale at different price points. We purchased Otokoyama's top award-winning Naturally Pure Junmai Daiginjo, Yukimizuki Junmai Daiginjo, and Fukko Sake.
We observed an interesting activity by locals who brought large plastic containers to fill up with mineral water which was dispensed free-of-charge from taps. The mineral-rich water is drawn from underground wells for sake production, and the water sources are the very reasons for Otokoyama's location. Of course, we emptied our small drinking bottles and refilled them with the mineral water!
A small museum but we do can learn the whole process of making sake. A 200 Yan sake tasting gave nice experiences.
No charges for the factory tour also self guided. At the testing room you deposit your coin and push a bottom for sale to dispense!
Many old and traditional tools are on display to show how the sake were made during the past which was very neat!
The museum is free of charge and more of a self-guided type of museum. On the second floor you can see inside the sake making facility, and they show how famous the sake is worldwide. On the third floor you can watch an explanatory video (in many different languages), explaining the sake making process. They also showcase the traditional tools needed to make sake.
The real highlight was the sake tasting station though. Each person gets 3 free coins to try their mid range sake. If you want to try their most famous ones, you pay 200¥ per sake you want to try (3 different ones are available).
We also tried their sake ice cream and sake kasu chocolate, both incredibly flavourful ! It is recommended to come by bus or by taxi since you shouldn’t drive after the tasting. The bus stop is right across the museum.
The museum is a must-go for Japanese sake fans. You can explore 2 floors worth of history and events of their most famous sake, as well as watch a short film on the 3rd floor. It's all free admission and photography is permitted. it wasn't busy when we visited on a Sunday afternoon too.
The tasting and shop moved to a new location next Dorr but it isn't too far of a walk. Overall, it's worth the 10-15 minutes of exploring!
Lots of parking and a cute museum. The store is open for free and paid tastings (more expensive sale is 200 yen a tasting).
They also sell sale ice cream which my wife found delicious. They sell certain sake you can only get from the museum store and they have a wide selection of sake to choose from.
