This Week in Tokyo – 16 August 2022

Welcome to ‘This Week in Tokyo’, a review of the Maction Planet week that was and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the city. Hosted by Mac, our Founder and Lead Guide, you can check out photos from our tours and read insights into our explorations as we get under the skin of the World’s Greatest Metropolis, and beyond! This week: Back in Maction II; All About Japanese Whisky; Yama no Hi; Shirokaku is back and The New Yoichi 10 – REVIEWED.

Back in Maction II: Hot on the heels of my first tour for non-residents of Japan in 28 months that I conducted last month, here is the second! It was an honour to spend two days with Jared and Chris, showing them parts of Tokyo that they wouldn’t have thought to explore! We focused on history, culture, food and whisky!

Things are beginning to pick up again for tourism in Japan. Coming up this month, I have a Mount Fuji hike and several days of Tokyo touring. Further out this year I am guiding two big cross-country tours and lots of day tours, whisky and sake tastings and more.

This is a unique time to visit Japan before independent travel resumes.

If you are here on business or are interested in a longer package tour-style trip arranged by my partners and me, don’t hesitate to drop us a line at info@mactionplanet.com!

All About Japanese Whisky: If you love Japanese whisky — or just whisky in general — you’ll want to make your way over to the All About Japan website to check out my article about four must-know Japanese craft distilleries!

The Kanosuke Distillery in Kagoshima, the Shizuoka Distillery in Shizuoka, the Sakurao Distillery in Hiroshima, and the Akkeshi Distillery in Hokkaido get the spotlight in this piece. Enjoy, and Kanpai!

Yama no Hi: Thursday 11 August 2022 was the date of this year’s 山の日 – Yama no Hi – Mountain Day – in Japan!

It was observed for the first time in 2016, and is a day to celebrate and honour the many mountains which cover over 70 percent of Japan. I will be celebrating in delayed fashion by climbing Mt. Fuji next week – close enough!

I celebrated by creating a new 山崎 – Yamazaki – playlist on Kanpai Planet. It featuresg the planet’s most comprehensive reviews of Yamazaki NAS, 18 yr, Limited Edition 2021 and Essence of Suntory Vol. 5!

Shirokaku is back: In the words of The Cranberries, “Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?”

Japan drinks social media is full of photos of the new ‘Shirokaku’ from Suntory. New because it was discontinued in 2019 (except for the canned mizuwari product) and is now back… for a limited time. You can buy the whisky itself or the canned pre-mixed Shirokaku highball, which I am holding here!

Compared to the famous Yellow Kakubin, the white version contains a larger component of liquid from the Hakushu distillery and a different type of Chita grain.

Also, I like buying Suntory products at appropriately named shops!

The New Yoichi 10 – REVIEWED: I am extremely proud to present the world’s first English-language review of the NEW Yoichi 10! In the latest video on Kanpai Planet, I put the new Nikka Whisky Yoichi 10, back after seven years off the shelves, head-to-head with the Old Yoichi 10 and the Single Malt Yoichi No Age Statement bottle! Check out Part 1 for all the background info you need to understand the context for this historic re-release!

Maction Planet runs bespoke Private Tours and Experiences in Tokyo, and beyond. To book yours, or to purchase a gift card, contact us at info@mactionplanet.com

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