Osaka bound
Dave Broom gives us his tips on places to go when in Japan.
The rise of Japanese whisky has been one of the most heartening aspects of the global whisky boom.
Here’s the second part to our guide bars and retail outlets to make the planning a little easier. These days most whisky lovers will have tried at least one example and whisky tourists are beginning to make the long pilgrimage to the country to discover more. Whether you are visiting Japan on business, for sport or as part of a holiday you should make whisky part of your itinerary.
Where to Buy
The visitor will be wanting Japanese whiskies, while the Japanese wants Scotch. Such is the way of the world. For the widest selection it is best to go to the distilleries themselves: the Nikka-owned sites have a huge range of hard-to-get bottlings. That said, if you are in Tokyo and want to splash the cash the best place to head is either Hasegawa (Japanese Icon Winner), one of the branches of Shinanoya (Japanese Icon Winner), or the newly revamped whisky department at the Isetan department store,Tokyo’s equivalent to Harvey Nicks.Once again downloading a map is a good idea!
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO FIND
Here’s a question. If you were looking for this year’s top single whisky outlet in Japan where would you start? Shibuya? Ginza? Somewhere chic surely? You’d be wrong. You should instead try the basement mall of Tokyo Station where in-between sushi bars, toy stores, card shops, clothing outlets and newsagents is the open-fronted Liquors Hasegawa which is open from 10a.....
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By Dave Broom
Section : Visitor Guides
Page number : 36
