Other Factory Tour / Demonstration Spots in Japan

  • Sapporo Beer Museum
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    4.0
    1251 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Hokkaido Sapporoshi Higashi-ku Kitashichijouhigashi 9-1-1
    Sapporo Beer Museum, located to the east of Sapporo Station, is the only museum in Japan where you can learn about the history of Japanese beer. Admission to the museum is free, but the paid tour (about 50 minutes) is recommended if you have the time. You can learn about the history of Sapporo Beer with the powerful 6K wide-screen theater and easy-to-understand guide. Also you can only sample the “Fukkokuban Sapporo-sei Bakushu” (Reproduced Sapporo Beer) that recreates the flavor at the time of Sapporo Beer's establishment as well as the iconic Black Label Sapporo Beer on the paid tour. Reservations through the website are required.

    This old Sapporo beer facility is like 70% a historical site, 30% a museum. The place tells a somewhat interesting story on how the Japanese started brewing beer in Hokkaido, showcases some...

  • Nikka Whisky Hokkaido Factory Yoichi Distillery
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    4.5
    1281 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Hokkaido Yoichigunyoichichou Kurokawachou 7-6
    The first Nikka Whisky distillery built in 1934 by Masataka Taketsuru who after visiting Scotland became the first Japanese person to master the whisky manufacturing process. Here you can come and see for yourself the whole distillery process. Inside the distillery you can find many things of interest such as displays on the history of whisky and its manufacturing process, a whisky museum where you can sample some whisky for yourself, and you can also see the former residence of Masataka Taketsuru which was originally in Yamada Town in the suburbs of Yoichi Town but dismantled and rebuilt here in the distillery. There are nine buildings on the distillery premises which have been designated as tangible cultural assets of Japan such as the distillation building and the first whisky storehouse.

    As a fan of the products and being in the neighborhood, I went for a visit to this complex. I was unable to book a tour of the facility, which I understand are only conducted in Japanese, but did...

  • Yamazaki Whisky Museum
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    4.5
    492 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Osaka Mishimagunshimamotochou Yamazaki 5-2-1
    The Suntory Yamazaki Distillery is located a 10-minute walk from JR Yamazaki Station. Japan's first malt whisky distillery, it was built in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii and went into operation that same year. Visitors who make reservations can take a tour of the Yamazaki Whisky Museum, where they learn about the history of Suntory Whisky and learn about the care that Suntory takes in the distillation process by viewing a miniature scale model and other exhibits. At the paid tasting counter, visitors can sample any of several dozen varieties of whisky and even taste pure unmodified whisky from the keg, an experience available only at a distillery.

    Amazing experience! Its super hard to get the reservation, but it is worthwhile. You will be amazed with the museum and history of suntory Whiskey. The tasting selection is great at a very...

  • Suntory Hakushu Distillery and Suntory Natural Mineral Water Minami Alps Hakushu Plant
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    4.5
    363 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Yamanashi Hokuto-shi Hakushucho Torihara 2913-1
    "This malt whiskey distillery, also known as the ""Forest Distillery"", is located in the foothills of the Southern Alps approximately 20 minutes by car from Kobuchizawa Interchange on the Chuo Expressway. On the grounds is the ""Whiskey Museum"" where visitors can learn about the history of the birth of the single malt whiskey ""Hakushu"", and the worldwide culture of whiskey. There is also a shop that offers goods limited to the distillery, as well as restaurants and bars featuring seasonal dishes made from local produce. There is no charge for admission but reservations (at least one day in advance) are required. A factory tour (including tasting) is also available (fees apply)."

    I love whisky distilleries and this one did not disappoint (except for one thing, to be mentioned below). The location was breathtaking, in the Japanese Southern Alps, and the tour was fantastic...

  • Kirin Yokohama Beer Village
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    4.5
    309 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Kanagawa Pref. Yokohamashi Tsurumi-ku Namamugi 1-17-1
    This Kirin beer factory is located in Yokohama, the birthplace of the Japanese beer industry. Of all the Kirin beer factories in Japan, this one boasts the longest history. The factory's 80-minute tour is popular. Tour goers get to learn about the careful production process involved in Kirin Ichiban Shibori beer and the secrets behind its delicious flavor, as well as sample malt, taste and compare first press and second press beer wort, and enjoy other unique beer factory experiences. There's also a tour which explores the factory's vast biotope, and a factory tour during which participants can have fun answering quiz questions, making this an enjoyable destination for families as well.

    A MUST visit while in Yokohama. We were not successful in registering for the beer factory tour before our travel. The staff were very accommodative in registering us for the 2pm slot. Not more than...

  • Kamaei (factory direct shop)
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    4.0
    430 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Hokkaido Otarushi Sakaimachi 3-7
    Kamaei is a long-standing kamaboko seasoned fish paste company founded in 1905. In addition to conventional kamaboko served on a wooden plank, Kamaei offers a wide variety of kamaboko products, including Shiokaze kamaboko formed by steaming it in a plastic film to shape it; kamaboko steamed with crab and other seafood on top; and Noshi Kamaboko, a terrine-like dish made by combining layers of kamaboko. The Kamaei plant offers factory tours as well as selling kamaboko direct to customers. There's also a cafe space where you can enjoy fresh-cooked kamaboko and unusual kamaboko dishes served no place else.

    Big range of fish cakes from sweet, spicy and savoury. And it stayed fresh overnight too as we bought some to eat in our hotel room the next day and it was still delicious. There is also a souvenir...

  • Fuji TV Headquarters Building
    Travel / Tourism
    Tokyo Minato-ku Daiba 2-4-8
    From this 100-meter high spherical observation tower, Hachitama, one can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the coastal area. Other limited time events are also hosted here. At the Fuji Television Gallery, on the fifth floor, one can tour and take photos of the replicated sets of aired programs and the wardrobes of various dramas. ※ The ongoing events calendar can be viewed on their website, https://www.fujitv.co.jp/gotofujitv/ . Located here is the only shop in Japan where one can purchase original Sazae-san program character goods.
  • Kanefuku Mentai Park Tokoname
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    3.5
    142 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aichi Pref. Tokonameshi Rinkuchou 1-25-4
    A mentaiko (Pollock roe) theme park operated by Kanefuku, a veteran company in the Mentaiko industry. The building’s exterior, topped with a giant smiling mentaiko, creates quite an impression. Inside, visitors, can view how mentaiko is made. The facility also sells mentaiko products direct from Kanefuku offered no place else. In the food corner, you can enjoy extra big mentaiko onigiri rice balls and mentaiko soft serve ice cream. There’s also a museum where you can learn about the history of mentaiko and how it is made. From children to adults, there’s something for everyone to enjoy at Kanefuku Mentai Park.

    セントレアに遊びに行った際に、お昼ご飯を兼ねて立ち寄りました。 りんくう常滑駅から徒歩12、3分。 中に入ると思ったより殺風景な感じです。 もしかしたら、コロナ禍で来場者が少ないからそう感じたのかもしれません。 店舗内は物販コーナーと飲食コーナーがあります。 飲食コーナーではぜひ明太子おにぎりを食べる事をオススメします。 1個380円程しますが、それだけの価値はあります! 一口食べれば、中...

  • Kirin Fuji Gotenba Distillery
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    4.0
    65 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Shizuoka Pref. Gotembashi Shibanta 970
    This distillery in Gotemba City offers three tours where visitors can learn the secrets behind Kirin's great-tasting FUJI SANROKU TARU-JUKU GENSHU 50° whisky. Its other attractions include a number of limited-time-only events, summer tours for schoolchildren, and more.

    The tour company took us on an unexpected, surprise visit to a distillery. Really, this is where I want to take my 12-year-old. In the spirit of learning about how things are made we watched the...

  • Kakukyu Hatcho Miso (Hatcho Miso no Sato)
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    4.0
    108 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aichi Pref. Okazakishi Hacchouchou Oukandori 69
    Hatcho Miso no Sato in Hatcho Town, Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, is owned by the Hatcho miso producer Kakukyu who have been making this kind of fermented soybean paste since the early Edo period. The black walled main building resembling a church and the storehouse built in 1927 have been designated as registered tangible cultural properties of Japan. In the old Meiji period storehouse now refurbished as an historical museum, visitors can see reproductions of how miso used to be made and the tools that were used. Visitors can also take a tour of the Hatcho Miso factory with guided tours available on weekends and national holidays. There is also a shop, an area to sample the miso, and a restaurant on site.

    The tour is free, but you have to register yourself at the reception counter inside the souvenir shop. You will find it located on your left once you enter the shop. You will be given a piece of...

  • Kirin Beer Fukuoka Plant
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    4.5
    75 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Fukuoka Asakura Mada 3601-banchi Kirin Beer Fukuoka Plant

    I went for cosmos festival. Actually I would like to visit also KIRIN factory, but unfortunately the tours had been fully booked. However, anyone can visit the souvenir shop of the factory where some...

  • Tanaka Sake Brewery Kikkogura
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    4.0
    109 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Hokkaido Otarushi Nobukachou 2-2
    Located only a 5-minute walk from the JR Minami Otaru Station, this is only sake brewery in Otaru. It proudly makes the Japanese sake brand, Takaragawa, Otaru Bijin liqueur, and Maho-no-Itteki hon-mirin, a sweet rice wine for cooking. Its stone masonry warehouse, built around 1905 is designated as one of Otaru's historic building. At the store, one can enjoy free sake-tastings of sake shipped direct from the brewery, Shiboritate fresh bottled sake without pasteurization, and approximately 10 other varieties of seasonal sakes. Brewery tours where one can observe the production process are offered for free all year round. *Reservations needed for groups over 10.

    Visited this factory on a guided tour and found the process of how they make sake very interesting. Our guide explained all of the processes and at the end of the tour we could drink as much sake as...

  • Sapporo Breweries Chiba Plant
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    4.0
    72 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Chiba Funabashi-shi Takasecho 2

    サッポロビール...

  • Okashinoshiro Nasu Heartland
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    3.5
    78 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Tochigi Pref. Nasugunnasumachi Takaku Kou 4588-10
    A cake shop with its own factory on the premises located on the Nasu Highway in Takakuko, Nasu Town. The shop sells homemade cakes such as their goyotei-no-tsuki, a custard cream cake wrapped in castella sponge, as well as local sake and dairy products. The Kogen Restaurant on the second floor serves meals and sweets, including their Nasu wagyu in a circular bento box, rice bowls, set meals, soba and ramen.

    お菓子は美味しいですが…。 知り合いの子が勤めていますが話を聞くと、今どきそんな会社があるのかと思うような事が多いです。 商品が良くても働いている人を蔑ろにするような会社はダメだと思います。観光客が来るので潰れることは無さそうですが同時に社員がいないと成り立たない商売な事を自覚された方がいいと思います。

  • Ebi Senbei no Sato Mihama Main Shop
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    4.5
    57 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Aichi Pref. Chitagunmihamachou Kitagata Kittanagare 52-1
    A direct sale shop for ebi senbei shrimp crackers which is also a popular tourist destination. From a large window in the factory tour area, you can watch as senbei are inspected and bagged. The sales corner is filled with some 40 different products, and you can also try some of them for free. The rest corner serves free tea and coffee. You can also buy squid fried in wine here. In the rest corner, there’s an area where you can try frying your own ebi senbei. The adjoining museum presents the history of ebi senbei.

    美浜町にあるエビせんべいの里です。 店内も広く、せんべいの種類も豊富で思わずたくさん買い物カゴに入れてしまいます。 せんべいコーナーと別の場所に大きな、休憩スペースがありそこでは、無料の珈琲、お茶のセルフサービスがありゆっくりくつろぐ事ができます。 せんべいの試食がないのは、仕方ないですが、残念です…

  • Suntory Tomi no Oka Winery
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    4.0
    76 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Yamanashi Pref. Kaishi Onuta 2786
    Suntory Tominooka Winery is located in KaiCity, Yamanashi Prefecture, and it handles all phases of wine production, from preparing the soil to cultivating the grapes to vinifying and bottling. Panels and videos have been set up to provide simple explanations of the processes that occur throughout the year. A tour of the plant and the vineyards is available for a fee, and afterwards, participants can enjoy a wine-tasting session.

    Very boring especially if you are visiting on weekend. No factory tour nor free wine tasting are available. Besides only beverage they have for people who do not/ cannot drink is ordinal grape juice...

  • Hakata Salt (Omishima Factory)
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    4.0
    66 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Ehime Pref. Imabarishi Omishimachoutena 32
    "Hakata no Shio (salt of Hakata) is familiar as a commercial ""Ha-ka-ta-no-Shio"". The salt is naturally dried to produce delicious salt with just the right amount of bittern left in it, the appearance of which is like a snowy mountain, and visitors can try their hand at making their one and only unique salt (reservations are required). It is also recommended to take home the salt you made and compare it with the salt you have at home. At the store, ""Shio soft cream"" (soft-served ice cream with salt) topped with large grains of salt is very popular, and its refreshing and sweet taste attracts many repeat customers."

    訪問は5月8日日曜日。ネットで見たところ、当日は15時30分までやっているという書き方であったので間に合うよう14時頃到着した。 工場の建物はネットに出ている写真と同じ、ここだと思い入口に。 そうしたら「コロナ禍のため当面見学は中止しています」との掲示。 「ええ-」という思いではあったが、持ち帰り用の伯方の塩セットが置かれていたので頂いて、折角来た記念として工場の写真をパチリと...

  • Ooshima Tsumugimura
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    4.0
    75 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Kagoshima Pref. Oshimaguntatsugouchou Akaogi 1945
    A facility where visitors can watch Amami Oshima tsumugi pongee cloth being made and try making it themselves located a two-minute walk from the Oshima Tsumugimura-iriguchi bus stop. Visitors can listen to a courteous guide and watch as Oshima tsumugi is laboriously crafted in the adjoining workshop. The facility also offers a variety of classes, including T-shirt and handkerchief dorozome mud dyeing, weaving, and kimono wearing. The facility’s shop sells Oshima tsumugi accessories and exclusive Oshima tsumugi items in both Japanese and Western designs offered no place else.

    大島紬の事が良く理解出来る施設です。 大島紬は生地を染色するので無く、糸自体を染色して色々に染色された絹糸を織り込んで大島紬を作って行くとか。その工程は、最初から製織り製品になるまで41の沢山の工程をへて出来あがるとか-そりや高価なのも納得です。その工程に沿って女性の係員の方が丁寧に説明して頂けます。製織りの工程で、機織しているお婆さんと話をしたところ、40数年此の仕事をしているとか。一番の苦労は...

  • Kirin Brewery Okayama Factory
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    4.5
    40 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okayama Pref. Okayamashi Higashi-ku Setochoumantomi 678
    "A beer brewery located in front of Mantomi Station in Mantomi, Seto Town, Higashi Ward, Okayama City. As a factory tour, they are offering ""Factory-Only Special Experience, KIRIN ICHIBAN Brewery Feel-the-Taste Tour"". This is a tour that beer-loving adults can enjoy by experiencing the taste of KIRIN ICHIBAN Brewery Draft Beer and its unique specialty. You can also try ""KIRIN ICHIBAN Brewery Draft Beer"" directly from the factory."

    Kirin beer factory can bookie to. 3 months in advance easy to get to on public transport approx 25 min from Okayama on local line, they had a shuttle bus waiting to collect us. Even thought the main...

  • Azamiya Minsah Craft Center
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    4.0
    90 Reviews
    Travel / Tourism
    Okinawa Pref. Ishigakishi Tonoshiro 909
    The Azamiya Minsah Craft Center is located about 10 minutes' drive from the Ishigaki Port Outer Island Ferry Terminal. Besides manufacturing Yaeyama Minsah textiles, the Center also has a display room and shop, and visitors can watch the fabric being made. The workshop and display room are on the ground floor; visitors can view part of the manufacturing process. The display room showcases historic and modern examples of Minsah textiles, and also has a display on the dyeing techniques that are used. Visitors who book their visit in advance may be able to try their hand at making Minsah fabric in the annex building; the price depends on the program chosen and the length of the experiential activity.

    We went to the Minsah Kogei museum on a cold and rainy afternoon. Make sure you call to make an appointment though. Young children can also take part but they need to be tall enough to reach the...

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