Nikka Whisky Sign

The Nikka Whisky sign is a massive neon display perched above the Susukino intersection, featuring a mustachioed gentleman known as the King of Blenders. This figure, often called the Nikka Uncle, is modeled after W. P. Lowrie, a nineteenth-century Scottish master blender. The sign was first installed in nineteen sixty-nine, timed for the arrival of the Winter Olympics in Sapporo, and it has remained a constant presence in the Susukino entertainment district for more than half a century.