james21_h

From this trip....
Nikka red, black, Chichibu The Peat 2016, 5 Yamazaki LE 2016, 3 Date, Hakushu 12, Nikka Coffey Malt, The Nikka 12, Nikka Taketsuru, Talisker 18, Hibiki 21, Hibiki 17, Yamazaki 18. A great trip so far!!

mkjr

Nice haul. My cc would be warm after all those purchases.

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nishimark

No limit on how much you can get through customs?

AlwaysAisle

That sure looks like what Japanese media say “爆買い”.　

If james21_h was traveling with multiply people then can be possible to pass through customs without an official noticing large quantity of alcohol. But james21_h was traveling alone then I do agree that it would have been difficult to pass through customs without being noticed. Could be that james21_h’s final destination was a country with no duty free limit on alcohol (is there such country?) or alcohol tax beyond duty free allowance is very minimal at james21_h’s destination country?

Or could be that james21_h lives in Japan and took a trip around Japan in search for all these Suntory whiskies.

exerda

Or he could be gambling that even when declared, the customs folks feel the hassle of collecting duty to be too high. I came back with 12 bottles from Japan not too long ago, and the CBP guy just waved me through after asking what I was declaring. "Whisky over my allowance, sir." "Welcome back!"

Fingers crossed, I have *never* been required to pay duty when returning to the US, and I always declare my booze (which is almost always over the duty-free limit).

Guychicago

I did, however there seems to be only the last 4 pages in the last 6 months. Based on how quickly aged Japanese whisky is disappearing I'd say I made a fair and genuine attempt to know what is available locally these days.

AlwaysAisle

Sure, I have been traveling internationally least once or twice a year since 1979, and customs officials in the U.S. do not want to be bothered by small amount of items which exceed duty free allowance. I think they tend to focus on something bigger and more important. I have been always let go when I had a bottle or two excess of duty free alcohol limit. I can remember only twice I was searched by customs officers upon arrival into the U.S. Once was arrival by Thai Airways flight from Bangkok, looked like pretty much most passengers from this fight from Bangkok were receiving extra attention. Another time was arrival at DFW from NRT, I think that time simply I was unlucky one. Even secondary inspection officer immediately realized nothing interesting was come out of me and wanted to let me go fast.

Yes, I admit I never tired as many as james21-h, but bringing back that many bottles of liquors have to be obvious to customs officers and can we say for sure that most customs officers will treat people brining back that many bottles of liquors same as people bringing back just few extra bottles?

james21_h

Or james21_h spends 6 months of a year in Japan and flies back and forth multiple times or james21_h has some whisky mules to help out or james21_h drinks 6 bottles while in Japan or james21_h gifts them to the friends in Japan or james21_h has a jp whisky warehouse in Japan ? Which one can it be??

Why so many assumptions?? All I can say is if you bring more than what's allowed back to the states, claim it and see!!

Useful tips: Aged statement whiskies are disappearing quickly. Yes you will see some Yamazaki 12, Hakushu 12, and maybe some Hibiki 17 but they usually disappear very quickly. When you see them at the MSRPs not the marked up prices, grab the ones you are looking for!! I saw a 5-6 bottles of Yama 12 at Bic Camera one night and went back 1 hr later, they were all gone!!! Saw another bottle of Yama 18 at Y27,000, I hesitated and it was gone that same night!!

travelin_lite

Don Quijote can be a good spot for grabbing some Japanese whisky. I bought both NAS Yamazaki and Yamazaki 12 there last year. I believe the NAS was 6400 yen and the 12 was 8600 yen. I was unable to find any 18+ Suntory whiskies.

Don't forget to go to the tax-free counter to get your sales tax refund.

However, I did try Hibiki 30 year and some other hard to find whiskies at the Distillery near Kyoto. The tasting are was quite nice. I also visited the Suntory brewery that afternoon. That Master's Dream is good stuff.

ralphs

For what it's worth, it's possible to get Nikka Taketsuru state-side at reasonable prices.

Found bottles yesterday at Costco in Torrance, CA for $53.99. Item number 187008

invalyd

NAS? They are widely available for ~$60. Not really a great deal, would cost about $20 in Japan, but also not worth wasting baggage space for imo.

ralphs

NAS. I agree with your sentiment.

Postal007

Stopped by B I G in Ginza and saw only Hibiki 21. Bought myself a bottle, there are only one or two left. 23,500 yen after tax. Thanks for the heads up from the forum - made sure I stopped by on my trip through Tokyo.

chongl

BIC Camera or did you mean what you typed? I don't recall seeing a reference to B I G and I follow this thread pretty religiously.

Hoping to snag a bottle of 21 one day for a decent price

gokickrocks

Same here. Hopefully I can find one while in Japan towards the end of the month.