Tokyu Hotels & Resorts (東急ホテルズ&リゾーツ) will begin pouring YA Goto (YA五島), a blended malt from Hombo Shuzo (本坊酒造) that was aged on the island of Yakushima (屋久島), at 15 of its hotels across Japan on November 1, 2026. Announced on September 29, it is the third whisky in the hotel group’s collaboration with the maker of Mars whisky, and the first in the series to be a blend rather than a single malt. For travelers, it is a Mars bottling that can be ordered by the glass at hotel bars in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakuba and Miyakojima.
Three malts, one island cellar
The full name is Yakushima Aging Blended Malt Japanese Whisky Special Edition Goto. It combines three malts: Tsunuki 2020 from the Mars Tsunuki distillery in Kagoshima, and Komagatake 2019 and Komagatake 2021 from the Mars Komagatake distillery in Nagano. All three were shipped to the Mars Yakushima Aging Cellar, a warehouse Hombo built on the island in 2016, and matured there in a warm, humid climate surrounded by sea and forest.
According to the release, a selection panel of hotel staff and Hombo’s team started with two malts of contrasting character: the lightly peated Tsunuki 2020, at 5ppm, and the fruit-led Komagatake 2019. They then added Komagatake 2021, a spirit fermented in wooden washbacks, to round out the blend. Hombo blender Tatsuro Kusano (草野辰朗) sums up the island’s influence as tropical and salty. Tokyu Hotels has not published the ABV, bottle count or age of the blend.
The first two editions were single malts: a 9-year-old Komagatake matured in new American white oak, announced in 2024, and a 7-year-old Tsunuki from Cognac casks, peated to 50ppm and bottled at 62% cask strength, announced in 2025.
Where to find it
From November 1, YA Goto will be served by the glass from ¥1,500 at restaurants and bars in 15 hotels, including The Capitol Hotel Tokyu, Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, Bellustar Tokyo, Kyoto Tokyu Hotel, Hakuba Tokyu Hotel and Miyakojima Tokyu Hotel & Resorts. Seven of the hotels also offer a bottle-keep service from ¥51,300, including service charge and tax. Bottles go on sale the same day through Tokyu Department Store’s online shop and at five of its liquor floors in the Tokyo area, at a price the retailer has not disclosed.
What it means outside Japan
There is no export plan in the announcement, and a hotel-exclusive bottling is unlikely to reach overseas shelves. Mars whisky itself is no longer a niche name abroad, with Iwai and Komagatake bottlings distributed in several export markets, but island-aged blends like this are rarely seen outside Japan. The practical route for international drinkers is a hotel bar during a visit. For background on the family behind the label, read our profile of Hombo Shuzo and Mars whisky. If you are shopping in the city, our guide to where to buy Japanese whisky in Tokyo covers department store floors.
Source: PR TIMES / Tokyu Hotels & Resorts (Japanese)