Ahh okay good to hear - yeah it's selling out like crazy everywhere. The ABC store (state-run liquor store) near me in North Carolina stocks Yamazaki 12 but they've resorted to giving me their phone number and telling me to just call before I come in because it's selling out the second it hits the shelf if they even get it at all

My brother just returned from Tokyo (via HND) and indicated he had a heck of a time trying to find a bottle of Hibiki in most stores in Tokyo.

Hibiki starts from 12 years, where whisky has sit in a barrel for 12 years so number of bottles of 12 years Hibiki available was determined 12 years ago. Suntory whisky has become popular lately but there is no way to increase number of bottles available in market just because it has become popular.

Shortage of Hibiki at liquor stores will continue for next few years long as popularity of Hibiki continues. This is nothing liquor stores or Suntory can do about it…

That's disappointing. Thankfully I grabbed a bottle of Yamazaki 18 stateside (ezras.com has a phenomenal selection and ships to NC).

However I'm getting low on the Hibiki 17 I grabbed last year (on the what now seems ridiculously cheap 8000 yen) and really hopping to be able to grab 2 bottles when I'm in Japan in 5 weeks from either local department store / liquor store or the NRT / HND duty free (will be in both though NRT only to connect JL International to JL Domestic)

If we are arriving Narita, are we able to visit here or is this only for departures?

No, airport duty free shops are for departing passengers only in Japan.

Not quite at HND/NRT or duty-free, but when researching places to buy in Tokyo for my dad, I kept stumbling across recommendations for this place in Tokyo Station:

www.liquors-hasegawa.com

Easy enough to stop in if you're taking the N'EX to NRT.

this place is great!! now if i was posting TR's, i'd post a picture of some of the stuff and you can try it too...NOTE - they do not take credit cards!! don't get me started about why i don't post TR's.

cash only. but there is a 7-11 around the corner that takes foreign cards.

price was not as good for the Nikka 17 i bought versus the airport but not horrible.

they did have the 18 year old Kirin that i had not seen before that i grabbed...

http://www.scotchblog.ca/scotch_blog...ld-whisky.html

Good to know, I would've assumed with CC logos plastered on the site that it wouldn't be a problem.

Do you remember roughly how much the difference was? If it's marginal I'll probably just grab it so I don't risk finding that it's sold out at the airport.

Sorrry, I said Nikka but I meant hibiki 17. I recall it was 8800 at the airport and about 9500 at the Daimaru in Tokyo station. And 10000 at hasegawa.

Kirin 18
 

How much did you purchase the Kirin 18 for?

I think is was 19000 or 20000Y.

Btw, in NYC, picked up 3 bottles of the hibiki 12 for 67$us a bottle. 75cl bottles so decent. Price. Bought at Astor.

A little late but I wanted to thank you for this great synopsis. I'm watching Massan sporadically but I'm always amazed at the lead actress who speaks Japanese in the dorama by memorizing her lines phonetically.

I knew I should have picked up the Yamazaki 18 last time I was at NRT; they were sold out this time through. I did pick up some Hibiki 17 (8000 yen), and a Nikka Taketsuru 17 for a bargain at 3500 yen. I'd bought a couple of the other (younger) Taketsurus in the US for double that previously, and have seen them as much as quadruple that.