Japanese beers have long been famous for variety and quality. There are many enthusiasts around the world for Japanese beer. Fortunately, the Kiroro Resort is located near Otaru, Yoichi and Niki. These are three districts known for liquor.

So in between enjoying outdoor activities at the resort, you can go for beer tours and wine tours nearby. You’ll be spoiled for choice, too. Some of the best craft breweries, sake breweries and wineries in Hokkaido are located with a short drive of Kiroro.

Hearing about our interest in beer, sake and wine, the concierge of the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel gave me an English brochure on the places to see and the best things to do near and around the Kiroro Resort.

ABOUT THE TANAKA SHUZO BREWERY

Fortunately for beer and sake lovers, Otaru is ground zero for great craft beer and sake. One of the best sake breweries in Hokkaido is the old-fashioned Tanaka Shuzo Sake Brewery. It’s been making sake since 1899 using Hokkaido rice.

ABOUT OTARU BEER

“You should also try Otaru Beer while you’re here,” said one of the restaurant team members at the Kiroro Premium BBQ. This is the outdoor barbecue dining venue organized by the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel. He added: “We’re very proud of our local Otaru beer. And the brewery tour is worth it.”

Needing little more encouragement for this, we drove to the Otaru Beer Brewery to join their tour and buy some beer to take home.

THE BEST WINES IN HOKKAIDO

Returning to the Kiroro Resort, we decided to stop by some well-known wineries along the way. Many of Hokkaido’s best wineries are located in the Niki area. Of course, even the best wines in Hokkaido are not as famous as wines from Europe or other traditional wine-producing countries. Nevertheless, these wineries have a growing following among some serious wine lovers.

At the top of our list was the Niki Hills Winery. This was highly recommended by a waitstaff at the Alla Moda Italian Restaurant of the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel. He said this winery produced excellent local wine.

“This winery makes use only of the best quality grapes, ” the Alla Moda waitstaff explained. “The grapes are grown right in a field in Yoichi.”

ABOUT KIRORO TRIBUTE PORTFOLIO HOTEL

This luxury hotel is the crown jewel of the Kiroro Resort in Hokkaido. The Kiroro Resort is an all-year round leisure destination 90 minutes from Shin-Chitose International Airport. It’s known for excellent skiing and winter sports. In the summer, it is a nature paradise for outdoor activities.

THE VERY BERRY FARM & WINERY

We also visited another winery mainly because of its interesting name. The Very Berry Farm & Winery Niki has been creating organic wine since 1999. They combine grapes and blueberries grown on the premises.

There’s also a winery in Otaru with a popular wine tour. Hokkaido Wine is made from 100% Japanese grapes. Many visitors seek out this winery because the tours are so fun. We certainly enjoyed ourselves, never lacking for interesting things to do on our stay at the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel.

Read more about the best hotels and resorts in Japan in Travelife Magazine.

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It was a beautiful summer day and we were in Kiroro, which is 20 minutes from the seaside town of Otaru. Otaru was once the capital of the world’s sardine industry, a business that created many millionaires in Japan.

The sardine industry is long gone. Today Otaru is more famous as a quaint tourist town with good sushi and canal houses. It’s also a jump-off point for cruising around the scenic Hokkaido coast.

LUXURY HOTEL FOR FAMILIES IN HOKKAIDO

We were staying at the lovely Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel, which is a great choice for families wishing to indulge in sports and hot springs bathing. It’s a famous ski resort in the winter However, it’s also wonderful for outdoor activities the rest of the year.

During our stay this summer, for instance, we took a Segway tour through the forest and hiked down to a waterfall. We also biked around the property and took the ski lift gondola to the top of the mountain.

CRUISES FROM OTARU

Lucky for us, the hotel had just launched a new cruise program option organised by the hotel team itself. Since the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio Hotel is just a short drive from Otaru, hotel guests have the option of day trips into Otaru.

For the cruise, guests are driven from the hotel to the marina, where a luxury cruiser awaits. The cruise itself takes 90 minutes, taking in the scenic coastline between Otaru and the whisky distillery town of Yoichi.

THE KIRORO CRUISE AROUND THE HOKKAIDO COAST

We boarded the Yamaha cruiser at 230 PM and were greeted onboard by our own hotel team. That afternoon, the hotel executive chef himself was taking care of onboard food preparations.

You see, the cruise comes with drinks and assorted appetisers. These are served just as the cruiser is at the halfway mark and ready to sail back to Otaru Marina. It’s the perfect time to do so. You can sit and relax on deck with sparkling wine and courses of appetizers.

READ ABOUT THE MOST ROMANTIC NEW HOTEL IN SPAIN

By the time you’ve had two drinks and some nibbles, the boat is sailing into the marina and you’ve just spent a lovely afternoon at sea. This cruise was very enjoyable, perhaps because the cruise experience is kept exclusive and the Kiroro Tribute Portfolio hotel team make sure that everything runs seamlessly.

We had a wonderful time. Then it was a short drive back to Kiroro. We returned just in time to jump into the hot springs for a soak before our barbecue dinner under the stars.

Read more about the best luxury hotels and lodgings in Japan for families in Travelife Magazine.

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