Whisky you’re curious about? Buy it right there! The ‘Ultra Highball Festival’ debuts at Keyaki Hiroba in front of Saitama Super Arena!
Held for 4 days from Friday, February 20, 2026 to Monday, February 23 (Holiday)! Discounted advance tickets now on sale!
An event featuring 70 varieties of Whisky out of 120 total!
You’re probably wondering what kinds of Whiskys will be featured!
1. Overview
Held for the first time at Saitama Shintoshin Keyaki Plaza! Find your “perfect highball” at the Highball Festival!
The “Super Highball Festival in Keyaki Hiroba,” gathering over 120 types of spirits, will be held for a limited 4-day period from Friday, February 20, 2026, to Monday, February 23 (Holiday).
A new-style festival gathering “spirits to enjoy mixed with carbonated water”—from rare Whiskys to easy-drinking sweet liqueurs. Taste and compare to find your perfect highball!Source: PRTIMES Official
2. Event Details
・Enjoy tasting comparisons! (Main Event)
We’ve gathered over 70 types of Whisky, 15 spirits, 10 citrus & berry varieties, and 25 sweet liqueurs—offering a diverse lineup of over 120 drinks.
Freely sample and compare drinks from each category to suit your preferences.
・Freely taste over 120 varieties
Our lineup includes over 70 types of Whisky, plus spirits, citrus & berry drinks, sweet liqueurs, and more—over 120 varieties total. With a ticket system, you can sample small portions of each.
・Create your own “My Highball”
Use the carbonated water provided at the reception to create your highball with your preferred ratio. *Ice is provided free of charge.
We provide a taste chart visualizing sweetness, acidity, bitterness, and more. This allows you to intuitively select drinks you’ll enjoy, making it easy to try new flavors with confidence.
・Super High Kitchen (Food Booth)
We’ve prepared special dishes designed to perfectly complement highballs! The exquisite marriage of flavors created when enjoyed together enhances the taste many times over.
Additionally, we offer the bold “Boiler Maker” style combining beer and liqueur. Try this playful drink pairing slightly bitter beer with sweet cassis.
３. Food Menu
・Scallop Bacon
・Asparagus Bacon,
・Fried Chicken (Salted / Soy Sauce Flavor)
・Udon (Clam Consommé, Carbonara, Bolognese)
・Hot Chocolate
・Kyoto Beef Shabu-Shabu Oden
・Korean Sundubu Hot Pot
・Wild-Caught Snow Crab Hot Pot
・Mentaiko and Grated Yam Hot Pot
・Hakata Motsu Hot Pot
・Hakata Mizutaki Hot Pot
・Hiroshima Oyster Oden
4. Super Highball Bazaar (On-Site Sales Venue)
If you find a highball you love at the tasting area, you can purchase the base liquor at the “Super Highball Bazaar (On-site Sales Area)”.
Perfect for your evening drinks at home or as a souvenir. Enjoy it yourself or as a gift for someone special.
Please note that quantities are limited for some brands and items may sell out.
Domestic Whisky, produced by the many distilleries established in Japan in recent years, still has limited production volumes, meaning available quantities are restricted.
By “waiting” for the deepening flavor of whisky, which requires many years of maturation, we hope you will “support” these newly born domestic distilleries.
5. Event Details
【Event Dates】
2026
February 20 (Fri) 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM
February 21 (Sat) 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
February 22 (Sun) 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
February 23 (Mon) 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
【Venue】
Keyaki Hiroba | Saitama Shintoshin
(10 Shintoshin, Chuo Ward, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture)
3-minute walk from Saitama Shintoshin Station
7-minute walk from Kita-Yono Station
【Admission】
■Ticket Information
Advance Tickets Sales Period: January 9 – February 19
・14 Special Coupons (with plastic cup): ¥2,400
・14 Special Coupons (with Original Glass) ¥3,300
Day-of Tickets Sales Period: February 20 – February 23
・12 Special Coupons (with plastic cup) ¥2,400
・12 Special Coupons (with Original Glass) ¥3,300
6. Ticket Purchase
7. Summary
I felt it was definitely worth the trip, especially since they have rare Whiskys.
The Taketsuru shown in the image is also intriguing…!
How about considering it for the three-day weekend in February?
Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky
If you want to learn more about Japanese whisky, which is a global trend, we highly recommend these books.
(1).Whisky Galore Vol.29 December 2021 issue
In the December 2021 issue of Whisky Galore, published by the Whisky Culture Research Institute, we report on 11 Japanese craft distilleries, including some that are open to the public for the first time, under the title of “Japanese Whisky Craft Frontline,” the first of three consecutive issues. Why did the popularity of Japanese whisky and the craft boom occur? We will examine with interviews. Chichibu Distillery / Chichibu No.2 Distillery / Mars Shinshu Distillery / Mars Tsunuki Distillery / Kanosuke Distillery / Hioki Distillery / Ontake Distillery / Osuzuyama Distillery / Kaikyo Distillery / Hanyu Distillery / Konosu Distillery
(2). Japanese Whisky as an Education for Business
This is a book written by Mamoru Tsuchiya, a world-famous whisky critic and representative of the Whisky Culture Research Institute, titled “Japanese Whisky as a Culture that Works for Business” .
The book covers the basics of whisky, the introduction of whisky to Japan, the birth of Japanese whisky, advertising strategies and the rise of Japanese whisky, and the current rise of craft distilleries. This is a book that summarizes Japanese whisky in a very easy to understand way.
(3). Whisky and I (Masataka Taketsuru)
Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, devoted his life to brewing whisky in Japan. This is a revised and reprinted version of the autobiography of a man who simply loved whisky and talked about himself. The book vividly depicts the days when he went to Scotland alone to study as a young man and overcame many hardships to complete Japanese whisky, as well as his companion, Rita.
(4). A Letter of Challenge from a New Generation Distillery
Launching in 2019. With the world experiencing an unprecedented whisky boom, what were the managers of craft distilleries thinking and what were their thoughts as they took on the challenge of making whisky? This book tells the stories of 13 craft distillery owners, including Ichiro Hido of Venture Whisky, famous for his Ichirose Malt, who inspired the birth of craft distilleries in Japan.
(5). Whiskey Rising
This is the Japanese version of Whisky Risng, published in the US in 2016, with much updated content. Not only does it describe the history of Japanese whisky in detail, but it also includes data on all the distilleries in Japan, including the craft distilleries that have been founded in recent years. The book also includes descriptions of the legendary bottles that have been released, as well as information on bars where Japanese whisky can be found.
