Monday, June 11, 2012

Whisky Festival 2012 Osaka


Not often do whisky enthusiasts of West Japan have the pleasure of having a whisky festival in their own backyard, usually a journey to the Kanto region is needed. Luckily for residents of Kansai, you only need to travel to Umeda, Osaka, for an up coming event. In collaboration with the Scotch Whisky Research Center, Whisky World will be throwing Whisky Festival 2012 Osaka on Sunday, July 15, at the OMM (Osaka Merchandise Mart) building. The event will start at 11:00am and wrap up at 6:00pm according to promoters. Advanced tickets can be had at a reasonable price of 3,000 yen or 4,000 yen on the day. There is going to be a great line-up of availability, brands, and choice (over 30 stalls). For those with a passion for Japanese whisky will be interested to know Sake Shop Sato will have a booth at the event, so be sure to see an adequate selection of Ichiro's Malts. Besides the standard scheduling of the day, which includes seminars and what not, a free market (strictly whisky) will run during the festivities. Booths, which are relatively small in size, are available for the day at the rate of 5,000 yen, for those who wish to unload any unwanted whisky from collections. I will be heading in and making a day of it. See you there.

11 comments:

  1. I expect a full-fledged blog entry!

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    1. I'll do my best Pierre. I certainly have to control my self in terms of dram intake before I put pen to paper.

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  2. Thanks for the info, Clint. I will try to make it to the event.

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    1. Should be a good day out, it's basically two stops from Umeda on the Tanimachi subway line. You get off at Temmabashi station, this is where the OMM building is located.

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  3. Clint, can you advise me of any nicely stocked Whisky stores in Osaka?
    I'll be in Japan 10 days after the event and would have loved to visit.
    I found it difficult to find a decent Whisky retailer, like Hasegawa or Shinanoya in Tokyo that have a nice selection of Japanese single cask/rare bottles in Osaka.

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    1. Niels, Sake Shop Sato is probably one of the most well known shops in Osaka (06-6855-1903). Another good place to check out is Takamura (06-6443-3519). I do have one more recommendation but I can't think of the name right now, the info is at home, when I get back ill post it. Also, it appears recently Bic Camera, the electronics retailer have some good single cask bottles available. Hope that helps.

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    2. Niels, the other shop I was thinking of, which unfortunately I haven't been to as of yet but heard good things about is BONRUPA at Shinsaibashiten (06-6251-4464).

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    3. Thanks. Any info on locations, other then the bonrupa one?
      I can probably find the shinsaibashi one.

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    4. Niels, Sake Shop Sato is in Toyonaka-Shi Osaka, while Takamura is in Osaka Nish-ku, Edohori. Not the closest of places, but the trek should be fun.

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  4. Today, July 12, I received news that the mentioned whisky market (garage sale) at the festival has been canceled due to lack of interest. Shame really, IMO this would have worked well. I presume it also has something to do with the average punter not have a license to sell.

    Think about it, a whisky garage sale (market), what a day out. Works well for both sellers and buyers. Perhaps I need to make it my mission, or at least look into getting one going on a quarterly basis, and what are the legalities that go with it!

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