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07:47:35
We were up bright and early to walk over to Sapporo station, from where we got a bus to Yoichi.
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09:52:54
The gatehouse entrance to the Yoichi distillery complex.
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09:55:26
Perhaps the most often photographed building (actually the maltings) in the Yoichi distillery.
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09:55:35
The same again - I think I was trying to get the "10" sign out of shot, but failed.
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10:07:51
One of the stills.
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10:07:57
The furnace under one of the stills.
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10:08:10
A line of stills.
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10:21:57
Some barrels.
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10:22:20
More barrels.
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10:23:08
A view through the archway into one of the maturing rooms.
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10:55:29
Taken from a viewing tower within the complex - interesting how the red distillery building rooftops poke out from the trees.
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10:55:54
More distillery buildings.
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10:57:55
This is a photo of the son of Taketsuru - the founder of the Yoichi distillery - with Koizumisan (the Japanese prime minister).
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11:04:59
Me, very much enjoying the tasting - I think this was the "Salty and Peaty" drawn straight from the barrel - marvellous.
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11:37:17
One of the other buildings was selling some rather special single cask bottlings. There was also a nice photo in here of Rita - Taketsurusan's wife, who incidentally was Scottish.
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11:45:13
Me and Chie with the Nikka Whisky sign.
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11:46:05
Those buildings again.
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11:46:27
Me and the famous barrels.
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11:53:31
Bizarrely next door to the Yoichi distillery is some sort of space museum thing.
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11:53:46
I think the cut-out on the right hand side here in meant to be Noguchi-san - the Japanese astronaut who recently went into space.
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14:01:52
In the afternoon, we thought we'd go for a nice relaxing walk along the coastline of the Shakotan peninsula. 4.7 KM - now that can't require any real effort, can it...?
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14:11:04
To start off with the walk was through this very cool and breeze woodland, very pleasant.
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14:15:49
By the time we got out of the woods though, our pleasant walk had turned into a hellish inferno. I don't think I have ever sweated so much in my life...
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14:26:04
...however the lovely scenery did at least partly make up for it!
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14:26:14
Lovely green hills, and very little sign of anything man-made.
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14:33:50
I think this rock, seen through the trees, is called the candle or something.
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14:38:24
The same rock again.
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14:39:28
Chie wasn't suffering from the hear quite as much as me, but still it was getting to her nonetheless.
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14:50:57
More cliff shots...
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14:52:04
...and more.
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14:53:39
A sign, which gave me some reassurance that the end was in sight.
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15:00:02
Being a cliff path, there was lots of up and down, which made it really hard work.
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15:00:50
Yet more coastal views.
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15:04:01
Not really much one can say about these!
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15:20:35
...still more of the same...
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15:20:56
...and more.
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15:30:31
A lighthouse.
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15:40:06
At the end of our walk was a rather nice beach - if only we'd bought our swimming things, a dip in the water would have been fantastic at this point.
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15:41:42
the beach was quite a nice spot in itself, with very clear water.
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15:46:32
Chie on the beach.
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15:46:51
Me on the beach - you may be able to get an inckling from this picture of just how hot and sweaty I had got.
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15:46:59
Nice rocks and stuff.
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15:47:04
Very clear water!
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18:54:47
After our walk around Shaoktan, we stopped off in Otaru on our way back to Sapporo. This is a port city, and pleasingly seems to also have its own beer.
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18:55:18
This izakaya type place in Otaru also had its own live entertainment which was a little... odd.
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18:59:43
Beer, etc.
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19:34:42
I think the beer was brewed on the premises.
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19:41:54
Elsehwere in Otaru, on a bridge over the canal.
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19:42:43
Stupid foreigners, tsk, tsk.
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20:28:20
Dinner in an Italian restaurant in Otaru - a minor celebration was in order as I'd received a job offer today.
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20:31:10
...although we didn't want to overdo it!
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