From Wednesday, September 3 through Friday, September 5, 2025, the Furano area of Hokkaido will host “A Three-Day Adult Furano Journey Visiting Four Wineries with Senior Sommelier Katsuyuki Takahashi,” a tour designed to let guests experience the appeal of Hokkaido wine.
Reservations are already open.
For Japanese-wine fans, this is a tour worth knowing about. Here are the details.
About the Tour
This three-day journey uses wine as the key to exploring Furano.
From September 3 to 5, guests can enjoy both the wines and gastronomy of the Furano region.
One of the tour’s major attractions is that senior sommelier Katsuyuki Takahashi will accompany the group.
Takahashi previously served as head of production at the Furano Municipal Grape and Fruit Research Institute and is now representative of F PLANNING LAB LLC.
During his time at the Furano institute, he successfully produced Japan’s first ice wine meeting international standards in 2005. He has since served as a judge for the Japan Wine Competition and remained widely active in grape growing and winemaking, making him a veteran figure in Japanese wine.
For many years, Takahashi has said, “Furano will become the Bordeaux of Japan.” Anticipating global warming, he began cultivating Bordeaux’s major varieties, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, around 20 years ago as a long-term challenge.
After two decades of confronting the difficulties of the region, accumulated growing-season temperatures have finally moved closer to those of Bordeaux, and Furano has become increasingly suitable for cultivating these grapes.
During the tour, Takahashi may share insights into Furano’s appeal and challenges as a wine-growing region.
The Four Wineries on the Tour
The tour visits four wineries in the Furano area.
Kamuy Metot Nupuri (Tokapuchi), Kamifurano
The winery is named Kamuy Metot Nupuri, an Ainu expression referring to a “sacred mountain ridge” in the Tokachi mountain range.
It was established in Kamifurano by Tokapuchi, operator of one of Japan’s largest organic farms. The winery practices biodynamics and is pursuing rigorous low-intervention winemaking.
TADA WINERY (Tada Farm), Kamifurano
Tada Farm is a vegetable farm with more than 100 years of history, founded by settlers who arrived from Hyogo Prefecture in 1901.
Its fourth-generation owner combined knowledge and techniques accumulated through vegetable farming with a long-held desire to grow grapes—an ambition strengthened by the scenery he encountered while traveling through Napa Valley in the United States with his daughter—to create the winery.
DOMAINE RAISON, Nakafurano
Domaine Raison was established in Hokkaido in 2017 by the Raison Group, which also includes Maruki Winery in Yamanashi, the oldest existing winery in Japan.
Calling itself a winery that “makes wine with goats,” it aims to create wine in an environment where people and nature can coexist.
Furano Winery, Furano City
Furano Winery is a municipal winery operated by Furano City.
It enjoys such strong recognition that many people immediately associate wine from Furano with Furano Winery.
Furano Wine grew out of grape cultivation encouraged as part of agricultural development, and the winery celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022.
Experience an Exceptional Wine Journey in Furano
Accommodation for the tour is at the Shin Furano Prince Hotel and Jozankei Daiichi Hotel Suizantei.
At dinner, guests will be served Furano Ice Wine with dessert. Only 200 bottles of the 2023 release were sold exclusively in Furano City in December 2023, and the wine sold out. Guests can also enjoy exceptional dishes made from carefully selected ingredients sourced across Hokkaido.
The price of “A Three-Day Adult Furano Journey Visiting Four Wineries with Senior Sommelier Katsuyuki Takahashi” is ¥200,000 per person based on two people sharing a room.
Participation is limited to 20 guests, with a minimum group size of two.
The wine-resort journey to Furano begins at New Chitose Airport.
For the detailed itinerary and other information, check the URL in the reference section below.
Reference
“A Three-Day Adult Furano Journey Visiting Four Wineries with Senior Sommelier Katsuyuki Takahashi”
Apply for the tour here:
https://www.asoview.com/channel/activities/ja/furanobus/offices/2304/courses/26328/calendars
Travel Dates
September 3–5, 2025
Capacity
20 guests (minimum 2)
Tour Price
¥200,000 per person, based on two people sharing one room
※ Single-room use costs an additional ¥30,000 per person; room sharing with strangers is not available.
※ Minors may not participate.
Travel Conditions
【Included in the Tour Price】
Transportation fares and fees specified in the itinerary, meals, participation fees for experiences including winery visits and tastings,
travel handling fees, and tour conductor costs
【Accommodation】Day 1: Shin Furano Prince Hotel / Day 2: Jozankei Daiichi Hotel Suizantei
【Meals】2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners
【Bus Company】Furano Bus
【Tour Conductor】Accompanies the group from New Chitose Airport on Day 1 through return to New Chitose Airport on Day 3
【Bus Guide】Not provided
Members of the media will accompany the tour for coverage and plan to film during the trip, including inside the bus.
Guests are asked to cooperate with interviews and other coverage as part of their travel memories.