Kissyu Ikusei: A herb wine bar that creates new value from Kyoto to the world. - Part 2 -

Hiroaki Oda, who set up Ikusei Kyoto Distillery, the first non-alcoholic distillery in Japan, is also the bartender and owner of the herb wine bar "Kisshu Ikusei" in Gion, Kyoto. In the second part of the series, we visit "Kisshu Ikusei", where Mr Oda stands at the counter, and also go to the herb garden behind Mt Daimonji in Kyoto, where he collects medicinal herbs.

writer：Drink Planet　撮影：Takuya Oshima

The counter at Kisshu Ikusei.

A herbal liquor bar in Kyoto, crowded with foreigners.

Kisshu Ikusei, where Hiroaki Oda is the owner-bartender, is located on the third floor of a small building near the Shirakawa River in Gion, Kyoto.

When you open the door to the bar, you are greeted by a long, narrow counter with semi-private table seating in the back, a cozy-looking structure that looks comfortable.

However, if you turn your attention to the back bar, you will see a wide range of bottles of herbal drinks, including some with unfamiliar labels.

There are more than 400 varieties.

Yes, this is a bar specialising in herbal liqueurs, a rarity in Kyoto, let alone Japan.

On the day we visited, the bar was already crowded with guests from overseas, even though it had only just opened.

Oda says: "Originally, the ratio was 30% guests from overseas, 30% from Kyoto and 40% from Japan outside Kyoto, but since the deregulation of the Corona Disaster, overseas guests have been accounting for 50% of the guests.

And it's amazing that most of them are word-of-mouth!