Yoichi Onsen Hokkaido

Yoichi, on the Sea of Japan coast of Hokkaido between Otaru and the Shakotan Peninsula, is internationally renowned as the home of the Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery — founded in 1934 by Taketsuru Masataka who chose this remote Hokkaido valley for its climate similarity to Scotland — which has produced some of the world's most celebrated single malt whiskies and created a whisky tourism culture that draws spirit enthusiasts from across the globe. Yoichi Onsen Hokkaido draws on chloride-rich coastal thermal waters from the marine geological formations of the Yoichi Bay coast, offering warming maritime baths in Japan's whisky capital whose extraordinary distillery heritage, fresh apple and cherry fruit cultivation in the Yoichi valley, and dramatic Sea of Japan coastal scenery of the Shakotan Peninsula approaches create a distinctively spirited and naturally beautiful spa setting. The Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery museum and tasting experience, the Yoichi valley apple and cherry orchard fruit picking culture in autumn, and the dramatic Shakotan Peninsula cape scenery with its cobalt blue sea and rugged rock formations make Yoichi one of Hokkaido's most characterfully distinctive and gastronomically celebrated thermal spa destinations.