Hakushu Terrace: Wood-Oven Pizza and Distillery Highballs

Hakushu Terrace sits inside Suntory's Hakushu whisky distillery, surrounded by forest. The draw is the Hakushu highball, made with whisky and the distillery's own water. Several reviewers call it the best highball they have had. The signature Hakushu Forest Pizza is star-shaped, baked in a wood oven and piled with local salad. Each point hides a small chipolata sausage, and you stuff the salad into the hollow crust. Staff then grate cheese over it at the table until you say stop.

Nearly every review praises the pizza and the highball, which are said to pair perfectly. Other dishes that come up often are the confit chicken leg with grilled vegetables, a coarse, meaty hambāgu (Japanese hamburg steak), crunchy kadaif-wrapped prawns, the mushroom pizza and the carbonara. Guests love the terrace and the large forest-view windows, and service is mostly described as warm and quick.

A minority found the food ordinary or poor value. Complaints include lukewarm soup and pizza, a carbonara that varied between visits, a curry that seemed pre-made and fried chicken that felt cheap. Portions can feel small for the price. Trucks on the service road can make the terrace noisy, and horseflies are a nuisance in summer.

This is a lunch venue. Reviewers in 2024–2026 paid around ¥2,200 for the forest pizza, ¥1,600 each for the carbonara and the hambāgu, ¥1,800 for seafood tomato pasta and ¥1,500 for the confit. Rice was ¥250 extra. The Hakushu highball cost ¥700, later ¥800, and fruit highballs ¥1,200–1,300. Expect roughly ¥2,000–3,000 per person at lunch with a drink. There is no dinner service.

The drinks are cheap for the setting, and most reviewers think the pizza and mains justify their prices. The food costs more than in a town restaurant, so sharing several dishes is the common advice.

• Getting there: from JR Kobuchizawa Station it is 20 minutes by shuttle bus (reviewers say the bus is free) or 15 minutes by taxi. Drivers cannot drink the whisky.
• Booking: walking in is not an option. You need a booking to enter the distillery, and a restaurant booking counts as entry. Book online ahead, especially for weekends. On the day, a ticket machine at the door lets you wait elsewhere. Phone: 050-1721-7155.
• Payment: credit cards, electronic money and QR code payments are accepted. Reviewers describe it as cashless.
• Allergies: the kitchen cannot accommodate food allergies.
• Ordering: by QR code on your phone, with free Wi-Fi. An English menu is available.
• Time limit: one hour when busy.
• Seats: 90 in total, 52 inside and 38 on the terrace. There are sofa seats and no private rooms.
• Children: welcome.
• Smoking: non-smoking.
• Parking: about 120 cars, including one accessible space. Large buses can park.