Taisetsu no Kura (大雪の蔵)
Taisetsu no Kura (大雪の蔵) is the fanciest of the three local Asahikawa sake breweries or kura.
At Taisetsu no Kura, the tasting room, gift shop, restaurant and lounge are all located in the same building. This building has a modern design, which sets it apart from the two other kura in town. Once you enter the building, you will notice a Spartan but elegant layout, complemented by locally-produced artwork on display and for sale. The interior is airy, bright, and meticulously clean. The gift shop has a variety of interesting items for sale including jewelry and ceramic-ware, not to mention the extensive lineup of their own sake. At the gift shop's tasting counter, you can try a limited selection of the kura's sake, which is produced in facilities adjoining the gift shop. This is a small "boutique" kura, so much of their sake is only available at their gift shop. The prices are reasonable for the 720ml and 1800ml bottles, though their smaller bottles seem a bit expensive. I was told that much of their sake is produced from Asahikawa locally-grown rice, which is always nice to hear. The sake that I tried was very good. Their tokubetsu honjozo (特別本醸造), in particular, offers the fragrant aroma of the rice used in production.
In the industrial area across the street, various types of shochu (焼酎) and other aperitifs are produced. Many of these are also available, both for tasting and purchase, in the gift shop. The shochu that is available for tasting includes two unique flavours. One is a kombu (昆布) shochu, which is definitely an interesting taste sensation. The other is a shiso (しそ) shochu, made 
from red shiso leaves. It tastes a bit like cranberries. Both of these are worth trying because of their uniqueness.
The gift shop building is also home to an elegant Japanese food restaurant. The restaurant has lunch and dinner meals for around 1,500Yen to 3,000Yen.
Taisetsu no Kura is located in Asahikawa at Minami 6-jo-dori 19-chome (旭川市南６条通１９丁目). The gift shop hours are 10:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day. The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch, and 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for dinner.
