1. Whisky Distillery in Hokkaido

1. Hokkaido Region

1-1. Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery

Nikka Whisky founder Masataka Taketsuru, known as the father of Japanese whisky, started operations at this distillery in 1936 in search of his ideal home for whisky making.

Masataka Taketsuru believed that a cool and humid climate similar to that of Scotland, rich water sources and dignified, clean air were essential for ideal whisky production, and selected Yoichi, located at the base of the Shakotan Peninsula west of Otaru, from a variety of candidate sites.

This whisky distillery can truly be called the starting point of Nikka Whisky.

Location.	046-0003 7-6, Kurokawa-cho, Yoichi-cho, Yoichi-gun, Hokkaido
Access.	2-3 min walk from JR Hokkaido Yoichi Station. 30 mins drive from Otaru City. Approximately 1 hr 30 mins from Sapporo by car. Approx. 2 hr 30 mins from New Chitose Airport by car.
Start of operation	1936
Official website	Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery
Visiting	General public tours / Guided tours of the distillery are available by appointment only. *If a state of emergency is declared or priority measures to prevent the spread of the disease are issued or applied to an area in Hokkaido, tours and business (restaurants and shops) will be suspended until the measures are lifted.
Products	Single malt Yoichi
Shop attached to the distillery	Yoichi distillery Tasting bar Nikka Kaikan Restaurant Barrels

Representative whiskies of Yoichi Distillery.

https://jpwhisky.net/catalog/nikka/

More information about the distillery

If you want to know even more about the distillery, click here↓.

余市蒸溜所(ニッカウヰスキー)｜蒸留所詳細情報

日本で２番目に開設されたウイスキー蒸溜所「ニッカウヰスキー　余市蒸溜所」竹鶴正孝は、鳥井信治郎と共に「山崎蒸溜所」を開設後、スコットランドで学んだウイスキーづくりを一切の妥協なく再現するため、スコットランドに似た気候と自然環境を求め、たどり...

jpwhisky.net

1-2. Kenten Jitsugyo Akkeshi Distillery

The Akkeshii Distillery was set up as a new business separate from the company’s core business by Kanten Jitsugyo Co.
With a strong desire to ‘make whisky like Islay malt using traditional Scottish methods’, the distillery has installed equipment made by Forsyth in Scotland.

As with the whisky production on Islay, water that has passed through peat layers is used for the brewing water, and the whisky is matured daily on Akkeshi, a cool, wet and sea-breezed place.

The 24 Season Series releases whiskies bearing the names of the seasons (e.g. vernal equinox and summer solstice), which further divide spring, summer, autumn and winter into six parts. single malt and blended alternatives are released every three months and are highly popular.

As mentioned below, there are plans to build another distillery in Furano, and all-Hokkaido whisky is well on its way to becoming a reality.

Location.	088-1124 4-109-2 Miyazono, Akkeshii-cho, Akkeshii-gun, Hokkaido
Access.	15 minutes by taxi from JR Akkeshii Station. From Kushiro Airport to JR Kushiro Station, 50 mins by Akan Bus. From JR Kushiro Station to JR Akkeshii Station, approx. 50 mins by JR Nemuro Line.
Start of operations	Distillation started in October 2016.
Official website	Kakuten Jitsugyo K.K. Akkeshi Distillery
Tours	Organised by the Akkeshii Taste Terminal Concilier. Click here for application and details.
Products	Akkeshii Newborn 1-4, Akkeshii Whisky Saron Kamui, Single Malt Whisky Kankuro, Blended Whisky Amemizu, Single Malt Japanese Whisky Glauber, Blended Whisky Kisetsu, Single Malt Rittou, Blended Whisky Daichan, etc.

More information about the distillery

If you want to know more about the distillery, click here↓.

厚岸蒸溜所（堅展実業）｜北海道地方｜蒸留所詳細情報

北海道の東部、厚岸町で2016年に操業。アイラモルトのようなジャパニーズウイスキーを目指し、伝統的なスコッチウイスキーの製法を採用。アイラ島の気候に似た厚岸の地で熟成。厚岸二十四節気シリーズは愛好家からの評価も高い。厚岸蒸溜所の製造スペック...

jpwhisky.net

1-3. Kenten Jitsugyo Furano Distillery

The Akkeshii distillery is one of the leading craft whisky producers in Japan. Kakken Jitsugyo chose Furano as the site for its second distillery.

The distillery has been producing using barley from Furano for some time and has also been experimentally maturing its whisky in Furano.
Once the project was abandoned because it did not meet the town’s drainage standards, but a new candidate site was selected in the Nakafurano area.
The trademark has already been registered as [Furano Distillery].

It has already been decided that the whiskey from Akkeshii, which is matured in Furano, will be released in 2025.

 

Location.	Nakafurano Town, Hokkaido
Access.	Nakafurano Town, Hokkaido
Start of operations	From 2027 at the earliest
Official website	ー
Tour	To be determined
Products	ー

1-4 Hakkai Brewery Niseko Distillery

Hakkai Brewery (Minamiuonuma City, Niigata Prefecture), which produces Hakkaiyama sake and other Japanese sake, established a local subsidiary ( Niseko Distillery Co., Ltd.) in 2019.
Construction of a whisky distillery in Niseko Town, Hokkaido, started in April 2020 and completed in December 2020. Total investment is approximately JPY 500 million.
Start of distillation on 24 March 2021. Pod stills will be made by Forsyth, Scotland, and the whisky is expected to be released after 2024.
The annual production target is approximately 90kl.

The site area is approximately 9,900 m2, and both distilleries (including a shop) and storage facilities are single-storey buildings. The total floor space is 877 m2 and 291 m2 respectively, with a wooden-style design to blend in with the surrounding landscape.
A merchandise sales corner will open by July 2021. It is planned to start selling original gin, sake and goods.
→ Grand opening on 1 October 2021. The first product, craft gin ‘ohoro GIN’, will go on sale and distillery tours will begin. ohoro means ‘to continue’ in the Ainu language. Distillery tours are available four times a day, with a maximum of 10 people per tour, by prior booking two weeks in advance until noon the day before the desired date.

Location.	Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan. 478-15 Niseko, Niseko Town, Abuta-gun, Hokkaido
Access.	20 minutes drive from JR Niseko Station.
Start of operation	Distillation starts in March 2021.
Official website	Niseko Distillery
Visiting	Reservations can be made via the Niseko Distillery website (reservations can be made two weeks in advance until noon the day before the desired date).
Products	Niseko distillery
Gourmet food in the area	View a list of restaurants near Niseko Station on EatingLog View a list of restaurants near Niseko Station on Hot Pepper View a list of restaurants near Niseko Station on Gurunavi See a list of restaurants near Niseko Station on Yahoo!

Gourmet information around Niseko

ニセコ・ルスツ周辺で人気のグルメ ランキングTOP20 | 食べ...

ニセコ・ルスツ周辺にあるお店の中から、食べログユーザーおすすめの人気ランキングTOP20を発表！（2025年11月1日時点のランキングを表示中）グルメ ランキングは毎月更新！日本最大級のグルメサイト「食べログ」では、ユーザーの口コミ・評価か...

tabelog.com

Accommodation and tour information around Niseko Distillery

ニセコ・ルスツのホテル - 宿泊予約は＜じゃらん＞

じゃらんならおすすめ宿のお得な期間限定プランが満載。当日／直前のオンライン予約もOK。ホテル旅館の宿泊予約は国内最大級の旅行情報サイト＜じゃらん＞

www.jalan.net

1-5 Kamui Whiskey Company Rishiri Distillery

American entrepreneur Casey Wall has been visiting Rishiri many times for several years on trips and other occasions. He overlapped the island of Rishiri with the island of Islay, which is famous for its whisky production, and decided to make whisky in Rishiri, the northernmost island in Japan, in 2019 because of its rich nature and cool climate, which are similar.

He is enthusiastic about producing something that expresses the nature of the island. The distillery was built along the Kamii coast on the western side of the island, where the view of Rebun Island and the Sea of Japan can be seen. The facilities, including the distillery and office, are approximately 180 square metres in size. It is a one-storey wooden structure with black-painted walls and two distillation machines hand-made by craftsmen in the USA. Barley from Hokkaido and the UK is used as the raw material, and approximately 6,000-10,000 litres are produced annually. Project costs are undisclosed.

To date, only the new make has been sold and the maturation status is unknown; the whisky is scheduled for release in 2025.

Location.	097-0401 128-2, Aza Kamii, Kutsugata, Rishiri-cho, Rishiri-gun, Hokkaido
Access.	50 minutes by plane from New Chitose Airport to Rishiri Airport (*seasonal flights). Approximately 6 hours by car from Sapporo to Wakkanai, and 1 hour and 50 minutes by ferry from Wakkanai to Rishiri Island.
Start of operations	Distillation is scheduled to start in September 2022.
Official website	Kamui Whisky
Tours	Tour of the distillery
Products	Kamui Original Sake (New Make)

1-6.MAOI Corporation Maoi Distillery

Location.	Kagadori, Naganuma-cho, Yubari-gun, Hokkaido 069-1316, Japan
Access.	About 10 minutes by car from Furuyama Station, 1 hour on foot.
Start of operation	Start of distillation in 2022
Official website	Maoi Distillery
Visiting	Reservations can be made via the official website of the Umaoi Distillery: “Tours are held twice a day on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 13:00 to 15:00”.
Products	Metamorphosis (new make).

1-7. BEHIND THE CASK Dee Tripper Distillery

Location.	32-5 Motomachi, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0054, Japan
Access.	5-minute walk from Suehirocho tram stop.
Start of operation	Start of distillation in 2023
Official website	BEHIND THE CASK
Visiting	Visit
Products	Di TRIPPER HARVEST-22.1

1-8. Venture Grain Tomakomai Distillery

Venture Whisky Company, which produces Ichiro’s Malt, a leading domestic craft whisky, is building a distillery in Tomakomai. It plans to produce ‘grain whisky’ using corn and other ingredients.

The planned opening was in spring 2025, but seems to have been delayed a little. Production will begin after completion. A site of approximately 6.6 hectares has been secured in the eastern Tomakomai area, with an expected annual production of approximately 2.4 million litres.

The plant appears to be very large in terms of facilities, is highly automated and will be operated by about three people at any one time.

All design and equipment will be by Forsyth and the plant will use the company’s continuous distillation equipment.

Location.	Kashiwabara, Tomakomai, Hokkaido 059-1362
Access.	30 minutes by car from New Chitose Airport.
Start of operation	Currently under construction, scheduled to start in spring 2025.
Official website	Official website
Tours	Tour
Products	Products

1-9.Cedarfield Chitose Distillery, Cedarfield, IJW, USA

IJW has acquired a site close to New Chitose Airport in the USA, which is said to be about 165,000 square metres and is scheduled to start operations as early as the end of 2024. In terms of scale, it is larger than the Yoichi distillery in Hokkaido and comparable in size to the Fuji Gotemba distillery.

No detailed information has been released.
IJW seems to be a company doing something like a Kentucky bourbon bottler, but local articles say that the actual status of the company is unknown. It is said to have an incredibly large warehouse in the USA with tens of thousands of bourbon and rye whiskey barrels inside.

In Japan, the company seems to have both pot stills for malt whisky production and column stills for grain whisky production, while adhering to voluntary standards for Japanese whisky.

Location.	1007-122, 239, 241, 277 Izumisawa, Chitose City
Access.	Chitose City, Chitose
Start of operation	Scheduled to start within 2025
Official website	Official website
Tour	Tour
Products	Products

1-10. Hasegawa Sangyo Tokachi Distillery

The Tokachi Distillery was established by a new company funded by liquor importers and wholesalers Scotch Malt Sales and Shinanoya, as well as local company Hasegawa Sangyo, and is scheduled to begin production in spring 2025. The distillery is under the banner of ‘All Tokachi Whisky’.

There will be a two-storey distillery building with a total floor area of approximately 1,400 square metres, and three maturation buildings with a total floor area of over 1,000 square metres.

The annual production is around 300,000 litres. Pot stills will be manufactured by Forsyth. The total project cost is said to be approximately 700 million yen, but can a distillery be built from scratch for that amount?

A membership website ‘Tokachi Whisky Club’ has been set up for the Tokachi distillery to start operation in autumn 2025, membership fund type subscription sales have started and membership is being recruited, the owner’s casks are sold out and membership is still being offered.

The exterior of the building already appears to be completed.

Location.	Tokachi Distillery, 160-72, Mizuho-machi, Fudauchi, Makubetsu-cho, Nakagawa-gun, Hokkaido, 089-0554, Japan.
Access
Start of operation	Scheduled for autumn 2025
Official HP	Official website
Tours	Tour
Products	Products

1-11.Sapporo Shusei Kogyo Sapporo Factory

Sapporo Shusei Kogyo was founded in Sapporo in 1933 as a shochu liquor manufacturer. The company celebrated its 90th anniversary on 27 October 2023.
The company is famous for its shochu, such as Sapporo Soft, which is made using water from Mt Teine, nurtured by the nature of Hokkaido.

Under the concept of ‘Hokkaido, the Land of Many Delights, Hokkaido’, the company produces Kitari, an authentic shochu made from ingredients grown in the land of Hokkaido, at its factory in the town of Atsusawabe in southern Hokkaido, as well as wine, whisky, liqueur, gin and other products made from Hokkaido ingredients.

There are two types of whisky: [Sapporo Whisky] and [Ezo].
As for production, currently only grain whisky is produced. The company also uses malt and grain from overseas, while developing its own blends of whisky.

Locations.	Head office: 1-1 Hassamu 10jo, Nishi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 063-0830 Atsusawabe Factory: 383 Aza-uzurazuzu, Atsusawabe-cho, Hiyama-gun, Hokkaido 043-1238, Japan.
Access	Access
Start of operation	Start of operation
Official website	SAPPORO WHISKY – Sapporo Shusei Kogyo Co.
Tours	Tour
Products	Sapporo Whisky, Ezo

1-12. Cheung Brothers’ Enterprise [Hong Kong] Tangu Distillery

Hong Kong gin manufacturer completes whisky distillery in Higashikawa, Hokkaido, Japan, in April 2025.
Started distilling in July of the same year.

The distillery is a ‘public-private partnership’ with the town of Higashikawa in Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido, with a site area of 1834 square metres, a floor space of 507.96 square metres and a construction budget of approximately 500 million yen each to be paid by Higashikawa Town and Tangyu Distillery.

The area uses melted snow water from the Daisetsu Mountains in Hokkaido for its tap water.
The facilities will incorporate cutting-edge technology, such as the iStill, a new-generation distiller from the Netherlands that enables precise computer-controlled distillation, and a mash filter from the USA that efficiently removes water from spent mash and facilitates the re-use of the nutritious dregs.
The project aims to fuse the cutting-edge with tradition, for example by combining the traditional wooden vat fermentation process handed down in Japan.
Spanish sherry and Mizunara oak casks will be used.
Annual production of up to 60,000 litres of whisky.
There is also a tasting room at the Tan Hill distillery in Hong Kong.
The 150 m2 tasting room is located in The Mills, a renovated former spinning mill, where special tasting sessions and lectures on spirits are also held.

Location.	Head office: 301 The Mills, 45 Pak Tin Par Street ,suen Wan,Hong Kong Distillery: Building A, 1-7-18 Higashi-cho, Higashikawa-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido
Access.	Access
Start of operation	Start of operation
Official HP	Tankyu Distillery: Award-Winning Perfume Trees Gin & Single Malt Japanese Whisky
Visiting	Permitted *Reservations required.
Products	Perfume Trees Gin

1-13.Taiki Cosmic Glen Distillery

Construction of the distillery was announced with entrepreneur Takafumi Horie as director and Master of Whisky Shizutani.
The first cask owners have already been recruited. The distillery excels at spreading the word through social networking and information tools, such as media unveiling of the construction site and crowd-funding.

The aim is to have a locally made whisky, with the aim of burning Taiki Town peat on Taiki Town dent corn and maturing it in Taiki Town Quercus and other oak trees.

The first lot is matured in bourbon barrels. The distillery is also under construction, so we will cover the facilities and other aspects if there is further news.

Location.	18-3, Sanjo-dori, Taiki-machi, Hiroo-gun, Hokkaido.
Access.	The distillery is located at 18-3 Sanjo-dori, Sanjo, Hiroo-gun, Hokkaido.
Start of operation	Start of operation
Official HP	Instagram
Tour	Visit
Products	Products

1-14.Whisky Student Corporation Tobetsu Distillery

The distillery is located in Tobetsu-cho, Ishikari-gun, Hokkaido, in an 88-year-old wooden school building with historical value, which will be renovated and turned into a distillery with the aim of preserving it for future generations.
The distillery is small-scale (about 1/7th the size of a typical craft distillery), with 150 kg of malt per batch and a maximum annual production of 24,000 litres, but produces authentic malt whisky by single distillation and double distillation.
A style of Japanese whisky that follows the traditional Scottish process of distilling and separating the original spirit.
The area is also rich in peat and wheat cultivation, and has many aspects suitable for whisky production. By utilising local resources such as locally produced barley, Quercus crispula and peat, the company aims to produce whisky that is unique to Toubetsu.
The representative, Takashi Tanaka, has solid experience from eight years of whisky production at the Atsukishi distillery.
The company aims to start construction in June-July 2025.

Crowdfunding has supported the project to the tune of JPY 24 million, which is a major boost to the start-up.

Location.	Head office 3-11, Shinkotoni Jujo 5-chome, Kita-ku, Sapporo
Access	Access
Start of operations	Production is scheduled to start in August 2026.
Official website	https://www.whisky-student.com/
Tours	Tour
Products	Products

1-15.Yoichi Rita Farm Sawamachi Distillery

This company produces highly regarded naturals in Yoichi.

The malt is mainly from Germany and matured in bourbon casks.
The company made an unusual sale by offering NFTs that could be exchanged for Rita Farm & Winery whisky at Furusato.

The company’s newly named distillery as Sawamachi Distillery has been in production since 2024.
The Yoichi Barley Subcommittee will be set up in 2025 to produce all-Yoichi whisky, using the town’s Mizunara oak casks, among others.

Location.	Sawamachi, Yoichi-cho, Yoichi-gun, Hokkaido
Access.	8 minutes by taxi from JR Yoichi Station.
Start of operation	Start of production in 2024
Official website	http://www.rita-farm.jp/index.html サワマチ蒸溜所 サワマチウイスキーは、北海道余市町にあるウイスキーの蒸溜所です。 ウイスキーの造り手であり農家でもある私たちは余市町の耕作放棄地（農地）で本格的な大麦の栽培を開始します。秋に収穫する余市産大麦は最新の製麦機を使い麦芽もウイスキーの造り手自ら... sawamachi.jp
Tours.	No tours are conducted.
Products	1-16.

1-16.Seibu Holdings and Karuizawa Distillers’ Manufacturing FURALISS Furaliss Distillery

FURALISS Furashi Distillery was announced by Karuizawa Distillers, which owns the Komoro distillery, on land in Furano City owned by the Seibu Group.

The two companies and Furano City have signed an agreement and the distillery is scheduled to open in 2028.

Location.	2204-1, Aza Furano-shiri-kishibanai, Furano City, Hokkaido
Access.	Access
Start of operation	From 2028 at the earliest
Official website	Official website
Tour	Tour
Products	Products

WHISTECH Corporation Kamifurano distillery (temporary)

There is no longer a website and the plan has been scrapped.

The plan is to build a facility with camping, spa and distillery tours, as well as distillery consulting services.
As the distillery has not yet been built, consulting and other services will probably have to wait, but it appears to incorporate a distillery as part of the entertainment facilities. After distillation, the distillery will be matured in Mizunara and owner’s casks using NFT will be sold in the future.

Other things related to the whisky business, such as Mizunara cask sales and stick sales, appear to be already in motion.

2025/5/27 Postscript.
The company’s website is now under maintenance. Unclear whether plans are ongoing.

Location.	Kamifurano Town, Sorachi District, Hokkaido
Access.	Kami Furano Town, Sorachi County, Hokkaido
Start of operation	Start of operation
Official HP	Kamifurano distillery and surrounding entertainment facilities project – WHISTECH Co.
Tour of the distillery	Tour
Products	Products

Age Co. Hokkaido Whisky Co.Chitose Distillery

Due to rising construction costs, news of the abandonment of construction came on 9 July 2024.

The parent company is AZE, which operates the Benizakura and Chitose distilleries.
It seems that a whisky distillery and a sake brewery will be built on a site adjacent to New Chitose Airport, the gateway to Hokkaido.
The site is 6034.76 m2, on the former parking lot of the Chitose Outlet Mall Rera.

Image credit: AZE holding.

Location.	1 Kashiwadai Minami, Chitose City, Hokkaido
Access.	Close to JR Minami Chitose Station.
Start of operation	Scheduled to start operation in 2026.
Official website	https://chitosedistillery.com/
Tours	Tour
Products	Products