[Oita Mugi Shochu Nikaido] A collection of nostalgic past commercials
Nikaido is a shochu made in Oita Prefecture using 100% barley.
Nikaido’s commercials have been airing since 1987, with a new one released every year.
They hardly ever show product introductions or drinking scenes; instead, they’re characterized by artistic visuals that strikingly capture nature, townscapes, and everyday scenery from various regions.
What’s even more iconic—so much so that it defines “a Nikaido commercial”—is the narration with its unique atmosphere.
Evoking nostalgia and speaking straight to the heart, these commercials have built a devoted following since they first began airing.
In this article, we’ll catalog Nikaido’s commercials and introduce their distinctive worldview.
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[Oita Mugi Shochu Nikaido] A Compilation of Nostalgia-Inducing Historic Commercials (11–20)
Nikaido Shuzo Oita Barley Shochu Nikaido 'My Path' Version
The “My Way” version released in 1992.
Nikaido’s commercials often feature expressions that evoke “life,” and this one literally takes life itself as its theme.
As we live, we touch, feel, and encounter many things.
That kind of story is packed into the narrated words.
Trains and tracks that suggest a journey, a man and woman’s parting—scenes that anyone can relate to in life are depicted here.
The footage includes Yusubaru Station in Fukuoka Prefecture and the section between Higashi-Fukuma and Togo stations on the JR Kagoshima Main Line.
Nikaido Shuzo Oita Barley Shochu Nikaido 'When I Look Back, It's Tomorrow' Edition
Amid our everyday lives, we catch distant rumors about former classmates and friends.
It’s the “When I Look Back, It’s Tomorrow” chapter, where we reflect on those precious times we spent together back then.
Even though it’s simply a sequence of empty classrooms and halls, for some reason you can’t look away.
Didn’t you also have friends you once talked about the future with? It’s a commercial that stirs a gentle ache—making you wonder, “I wonder how they’re doing now.”
Nikaido Shuzo Oita Barley Shochu Nikaido 'Astronomical Poet' Edition
This is the 1995 TV commercial for Oita Mugi Shochu Nikaido, titled “Astronomical Poet.” As with Nikaido’s specialty, the spot is crafted to stir the nostalgia and romantic sensibilities of middle-aged and older men.
An observatory atop a mountain and a familiar elementary school classroom.
The tagline reads, “My hometown is this star.” Constellations drawn on a blackboard and a school at dusk.
A boy holding a star chart gazes up at the night sky.
The passage of time and the story are conveyed purely through imagery.
Nikaido Shuzo Oita Barley Shochu Nikaido 'Organ of the Forest' Edition
The “Forest Organ” edition released in 1991.
In the footage, an organ and school desks and chairs are arranged in the middle of a forest.
It was reportedly filmed near Lake Yamashita in Yufuin Town, Oita District, Oita Prefecture.
The lush natural imagery, paired with the narration about how we grow up in such an environment, makes you overlay it a little onto our own days spent hurriedly, chased by time.
Deep down, we want to live freely, bound by nothing.
It’s a commercial that stirs that instinct.
Nikaido Shuzo Oita Barley Shochu Nikaido “Twilight Memories” Edition
While feeling a tender affection for the version of myself who knew nothing, I carry the life I’ve walked so far on my back and move forward… Every Nikaido Oita Mugi Shochu commercial truly puts me in a nostalgic mood.
The “Twilight Memories” installment aired in 2011.
The visuals feel like turning the pages of an old diary one by one, and even though the scenery should be unfamiliar, I can’t help but think, “How nostalgic.” If you were to meet your past self, what words would you say? It’s a commercial that really sparks the imagination in many ways.
Nikaido Shuzo Oita Barley Shochu Nikaido 'Dream of the City' Version
The “City Dream” edition released in 1989.
Unusual for Nikaido, who typically keeps product promotion to a minimum, this commercial puts the product front and center! And yet, it still doesn’t take the typical approach of simply showing people drinking alcohol.
The product pops up from various parts of nature, and there are even scenes where it flies through the sky like an airplane.
The narration is memorable too: Nikaido’s barley shochu is born from nature, and drinking it evokes memories of one’s hometown.
The footage was shot in Shiiba, Sawara Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
[Oita Mugi Shochu Nikaido] A Collection of Nostalgia-Inducing Historic Commercials (21–30)
Nikaido Shuzo Oita Barley Shochu Nikaido “Cinema Glass” Version
The whirring sound of the projector heightens the sense of nostalgia in the “Cinemaglass” spot.
In the commercial, buildings in Fukuoka and Kumamoto are used as if they were movie theaters.
Perhaps what the rattling, spinning projector is showing is one’s own life up to now.
You leave your hometown with a dream, and no matter how that dream turns out, everyone has a place they can return to.
The narration makes you feel that way.
Like in this commercial, when you’re tired of chasing your dreams, it might be good to go back home for a while.