The current Emperor of Japan (then Crown Prince) and his wife vacationed in Karuizawa (where the Karuizawa whisky distillery is located, a summer resort in Japan) in the summer of 1978. During their vacation, they received a bottle of Karuizawa whisky and subsequently ordered many more bottles. However, Karuizawa did not have enough stock at the time, so it was not used for marketing or brand promotion.