Japanese Whisky Tasting Experience At Local Bar In Tokyo

Gifted my husband the Japanese Whiskey tasting experience and we had an amazing time. Our guide to Japanese whisky was Shunsuke Moriyama-San, showed us great hospitality, taught us the history of whisky making in Japan and took us through a great line up of tastings. I must experience for whisky lovers. Hibiya Whisky-S Bar was a brilliant establishment, vast selections of whisky’s and the staff was attentive and incredible.

My wife and I love whisky, and this tour was perfect. The tour guide was incredibly pleasant and knowledgeable about the area, although I can’t remember his name. He took us to two local restaurants, and we thoroughly enjoyed the food. We were so full after the first restaurant that at the second one, we only ordered some delicious fried anglerfish. After our dining experiences, we visited a nice, quiet bar that had an impressive selection of whiskies. I lost count, but I would estimate that we tasted around six or seven different whiskies. The education we received during the tour was outstanding. I highly recommend this tour, and be sure to include the food tasting beforehand!

Crooks they sell you telling you they will match the prices. When I came back telling them each bottle of whisky I bought is 12k yen difference. They refused to match or refund. Horrible customer services. The Chinese guys working there lie and the Japanese guys don’t understand customer service to even apologize. Avoid this place

We took the tour with Shun! It was great! We took 6 drinks and chocolate. He explained Japan history and we even talked about our country! So much fun!

Incredible time, incredible whisky, excellent company - Duke was wonderful and gave us some great history. Duke was an excellent resource and incredibly thoughtful in his explanations Japanese whisky tradition. His enthusiasm has left us wanting for more. We can’t recommend him highly enough!

We showed up to the whisky tasting and were greeted with a unique environment to enjoy our drinks. Shun was highly knowledgeable and was engaging to our conversation. He guided us through the experience with class and with grace. The whisky itself was very tasty and was presented with rich history. I would highly recommend this experience to anyone who has the time in Tokyo, local or tourist.

Shun San did a great job! He accommodated changes in our schedule so we'll and had a lot of knowledge about whisky. We had a great time

Shun was an amazing guide, I had such an amazing time. The time flew by, wish it lasted longer. I would recommend this tour without a doubt.

Shun-san was an amazing guide to introducing me to the growing world of Japanese Whisky. I had the opportunity to have this experience solo, as there were no other people in attendance, so i was able to get an extremely personalized and well-planned tasting experience of many types and styles of Japanese whisky. Explanations were detailed, and he even had a printout to help go through with. Besides the whisky, he was also very good at answering my questions regarding the state of Japan, and answering all of my other questions about basically anything. Without a doubt, this was one of my most memorable experiences, even if it was initially advertised as a tasting of different whiskys. I would even dare to possibly do this tour again (but perhaps explore a different variety), but definitely this was worth it. After this experience, i'm more interested in learning more from other styles around the world, and more interested in visiting the Suntory Distillery. Thank you again Shun-san for your guidance and time!

Excellent experience during my first trip to Japan. Shun was our tour guide. Taught us about the history of Japanese Whisky (much better than the stuff I've had in America). And each whisky we drank tasted unique. Would highly recommend.

This was an excellent introduction into the history of Japanese whisky! Shun was a great guide, and was very knowledgeable about the history of this rare spirit! I highly recommend taking this tour while in Tokyo!

Shun was a great guide and shared very interesting knowledge about Japanese culture and the history of Japanese whisky. Overall, it was a great experience.

Shun was very knowledgeable and entertaining. A very enjoyable night with good people. I learned a lot about Japanese whisky

Izumi is very knowledgeable and is kind to share his experiences when it comes to whiskey appreciation. We were very impressed with the whiskey selection he put together. He shared the stores that these rare whiskey could be found and the estimated prices. We had a great time.

My husband and I were interested in a whiskey tasting tour while we were in Japan. We had hopes to go to Suntory Yamazaki Distillery but was it hard to go to and schedule a tour. We were happy to find this tour through Viator to give us a chance on trying out different Japanese whiskeys. We enjoyed our evening with Izumi who took us to a local whiskey bar that specializes in aged whiskey. The atmosphere of the bar kind of reminded me of a speakeasy, which had no other foreigners but us at the time. We got to taste 4 different types of whiskey (Chita, Hakushu 18 year, Yamazaki 18 year, and Hibiki Blenders Choice). All were good. Some were very rare and hard to find in any bar in Tokyo. Izumi talked about each whiskey and about the distilleries in Japan. After the guide, he showed us a few liquor stores nearby to purchase different Japanese whiskeys. Highly recommend this tour if you’re interested in tasting and learning about different Japanese whiskeys.

A delicious way of diving into Japanese history. Shinsuke is passionate about Japanese whiskeys and guides you through the many different styles and tastes.

Keizo, our guide, was very knowledgeable and entertaining & we got a good selection of whiskies from across Japan. A very good first introduction to the different whisky styles from Suntory. Keizo’s stories were very entertaining.

We had a great time tasting five different kinds of whiskies at a cozy local bar. Two other people joined us that night, and we talked a lot about our trip to Japan and cheering together. In addition to discussing the history of the whiskies, the tour guide also provided us with helpful tips on what to eat and where to go in Tokyo. It was a friendly night.

Seizo was a great guide! He explained the history of Whisky’s and we tried 5 great Japanese Whisky along with some great conversation. He gave us great recommendations for our onward journey in Tokyo. He also was super helpful with accompanying us to the metro station and showing us how to purchase day passes. Thank you for the wonderful experience Seizo :)

My husband and I had a wonderful time on this tour and learned a lot about Japanese whisky. Our tour guide was very informative and knowledgeable!

Shunsuke was an incredible host! Highly recommend him! He was knowledgeable, fun and very friendly. The whisky tastings we had were all fantastic.

Having been to Tokyo previously, I wanted to plan something new for my husband and myself to enjoy. What’s better than a whisky tasting? We met up with Izumi at the designated location and found that not only were we the only guests for the tasting, we headed into the bar we had just spent the last hour waiting for our meetup time! Small world and lots of laughter stepping back in after only a few minutes. Izumi delighted us with his easy demeanor and knowledge of the offerings at Bar Whisky. We started with a smooth, mild, easy sipping offering which we have not previously tasted. We moved onto a special Year of the Dragon whisky. The bottle is a work of art and no one skimped on the contents. Another solid whisky. In all, we enjoyed four different whiskies during our tasting, each with its own unique character and all delicious. Throughout, we enjoyed our conversation with Izumi. He offered tips on places to see and things to do around our plans and we’re excited to add Sumo to our plans this week due to his recommendations. Thank you, Izumi, for a wonderful evening. I feel as if I have a new friend.

We wanted to learn a little more about whiskey and try some samples. The tour is a bit expensive but it is worth it. We met Shun and walked to an underground bar. The bar was full of mostly locals. It was a cool scene. There was a large selection of whiskey including foreign bottles. We ordered one appetizer each and started with the Yamazaki and a glass of water. He explained to us the history of whiskey in Japan. He showed us a book that had the tasting notes of each whiskey we would try. He also told us the story of how Nikka was born from Suntory. It was good to get to know Shun and enjoy snacks and whiskey with him. The Hakashu was good. The Chita was my favorite. The Hibiki blend was very unique. We had the regular Yamazaki and the 18 year. I’d say overall it was a good sampling of what Suntory offers. I still want to try more whiskeys. Shun gave me a handout that he had prepared, to take home. We had booked for two and wanted to add a third person and we were able to contact the company directly to book the extra person. I am grateful for that. See pictures of our experience. The bar was a bit busy because of the holiday weekend so we stayed for awhile. We never felt rushed but you should be prepared to spend about 2 hours or more for this tour.

the whiskey and food are great, the guide is excellent and very knowledgeable, but the solo tour might not be worth it just for the price they are at, and unfortunately there weren't any group trip when I arrived.

A great experience, made so great by our guide Shunsuke’s strong knowledge and delightful conversation. The venue was perfect and his choice of Whisky’s to demonstrate the unique Japanese product. The knowledge learnt will certainly make my choice of which Japanese whisky to buy so much easier in the future.

Our evening with Izumi was very nice. Our tour included the food option, so we had a chance to sit down at 2 different restaurants. The second restaurant, under the rumbling train tracks, had this super-charged atmosphere that made it alive and fun. Plus, we got a chance to talk 'sake' before we talked whiskey. The food was ok. The final stop, the night's highlight, was a beautiful, dark-paneled whiskey bar where we got to sip 4 different kinds of delicious Japanese whiskey -- Made me a believer. #yum

Spent some time sipping on hard-to-find local whiskeys in a cool bar with fun strangers we met through the tour. Very smooth whiskey in a chill place - definitely recommend after a busy day of touring in Tokyo!

Shunsuke, our tour guide was amazing. We had great time trying different Japanese whiskey’s at a local whiskey bar. He was so knowledgeable and very helpful. This was one of our best tours here. Would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Japanese whiskey.

The food was great and the whiskey tasting was fantastic! Learned a lot of great things about Japan!

Mack was a great guide and was very knowlegeable about Japanese whiskeys. Highly recommend this tour if you are an aficionado of whiskeys and want to learn more while visiting Japan!

Mack was a great guide; he explained to us all about Japanese whisky and their difference between aged whiskey and single malt.

The host was very nice and extremely knowledgeable. It was a very intimate setting, only 4 people minimum. The location to meet was not clear, even with the google maps link. But the host found us looking for the space so we were relieved not to miss it completely.

Great tour and guide. Very knowledgeable, i would recommend to any one looking to try Japanese whiskys.

Great tour, food tour went to local popular places that might be hard to get in without assistance. Whisky bar was cool and seletion whisky was tailored to my likes. Guide Izumi was very nice and knowledgeable.

Mack is extremely knowledgeable and very interesting to talk to! We tried many types of Japanese whisky and different ages as well. I would recommend this for anyone interested in Japanese whisky!

I had an amazing time with my guide Shun Moriyama. Thanks to him I was able to explore many different foods and drinks, as well as learn a lot about the Japanese culture and history. Shun was a very friendly guide and very knowledgeable on many subjects, I was very fortunate to get to do this experience. 10/10 I highly recommend this to to anyone looking for a great time as well as a great cultural experience.

We had a lot of fun. We were expecting to go to a few bars and we only went to one, but we didn’t mind. Great atmosphere, historic review of whiskey, and awesome conversation.

My wife and I met up with Seizo tonight and had a wonderful time. The bar was nearby and served several of Suntory's mainstays, which are hard to come by at the moment. Seizo was kind and informative and we truly enjoyed ourselves.

Amazing food (we were the only tourists in the restaurant) and fantastic whisky with history of each. Shunsuke, our guide, was wonderful and took us to places we otherwise wouldn’t have found and had great energy. Very fun!

We did this tour when we missed our chance to see Suntory Yamazaki in Kyoto, and it was definitely worth it! Our guide helped us pick a wide range of very high quality Japanese whisky to sample and compare (and we paired them with some seasonal pickles, which was fun). It was a lot of fun in a very hidden spot in Gion - would never have found it on our own!

We recently took part in the whiskey tasting in Tokyo and had a great experience. Our guide, Fukuda Kazou, was tremendously knowledgable about his Japanese whiskey and came prepared with lots of information about the history and nuances of Japanese whiskey. The setting of the tasting at a local bar was great as you could relax and have some flexibility on what we sampled, compared to a tasting at a distillery which would be a bit more standarized. Thanks Kazou!

The bar was really nice and was indeed a local spot. The whisky was really good too, and there was a variety to choose from. The highlight of the tour, though, was Toshi-san! He's a really nice person, extremely friendly and easy to talk to. He was very knowledgeable as well and spoke great English. We were also a bit late due to some miscommunication, but he was very professional about it and it all worked out in the end. Would definitely recommend this experience to anyone who loves whisky and even to those trying it for the first time!

If you decide to take this tour I hope you'll get Mack for your guide. He was knowledgeable about the local food and great locations. In addition, his knowledge about the whiskey enhanced our experience.

Mack, our guide, was fantastic. He took us to several local restaurants to get a taste of the local food which was delicious. We really enjoyed the whiskey tasting and appreciated the knowledge that Mack had about how each whiskey was made, it's origin and history. Thank you Mack for a great tour!!

Makoto (Mack) provided our group with knowledgeable and historical insights and most importantly a fantastic look into the whisky business in Japan. Thank you, Mack!

This was an excellent experience. Mack was very knowledgeable and spoke very good English. I'm a big whiskey fan and have tried many over the years but this was an incredible tasting with very rare and delicious whiskeys. I would do this again in a heartbeat and would recommend it to anyone from the experienced whiskey drinker to the beginner.

We enjoyed the tasting. It was organised we in a nice bar in Ginza. Mats was excellent and he shared great information. After the tasting we felt more knowledgeable and we also thought we had made a new friend in Tokyo. Definitely worth it if you would like to try nice whiskeys in a very friendly context

Knowledgeable guide (Mack was great) and good bar to experience some of Japan’s best whiskys. My friend and I booked the small group but it ended up being just us so we got the private tour for free. Only issue was that the whisky brands that we were given were suntory brands and no other brands. We were hoping to try some local independent small brands. Makes sense given that the bar we went to had some relationship with suntory (that being said it did give us the benefit of trying a couple of rarer liquids).

Our tour guide Mack gave us a history of the local whiskey brands right from the beginning when whisky was first introduced in Japan, through the war times up until the present days.