3. Whisky Distilleries in Kanto Region
1. Hokkaido Region / 2. Tohoku Region / 4. Chubu Region / 5. Kansai Region / 6. Chugoku Region / 7. Shikoku Region / 8. Kyushu-Okinawa Region
3. Kanto region (inc. Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Gunma, Tochigi and Chiba prefectures)
Saitama Prefecture
3-1. Venture Whisky Co. Chichibu Distillery
Chichibu Distillery started operation in 2008, and in just a few years has become the world’s leading whiskey maker of ” Ichiro’s Malt “.
Toa Shuzo”, which was run by the father of the founder “Ichiro Hido”, owned the Hanyu distillery and was producing whiskey. When Mr. Hido took over in 2001, the business was in a slump, and it was transferred to “Hinode Trading” in 2003. At that time, the decision was made to withdraw from the whiskey business, and the stored whiskey was in danger of being disposed of. The company scrambled to find a buyer and succeeded in obtaining cooperation from the Sasanogawa Brewery, and was able to move the whisky stored at the Hanyu distillery to a rented storage facility. Later, together with the Sasanokawa Brewery, they began selling whiskey made from the Hanyu distillery’s original sake.
In 2004, Mr. Hido established Venture Whiskey Co., Ltd. and in 2007, completed a whiskey distillery in Chichibu, which is his hometown and a good environment for sake brewing.
Whiskey Festival 2019 Exhibit. We were able to sample some of the products from the previous releases. There was always a line at the booth, showing the popularity of Ichiro’s Malt.
| Location | Chichibu, Saitama 368-0067 49 Midorigaoka, Chichibu-shi, Saitama |
| Access from Chichibu |
＜By train |
| Start of operation | 2007 (the first year of operation) |
| Official HP | Chichibu Distillery Facebook page |
| Tours | For professionals only. No public tours. |
| Products | Ichiro’s Malt Quercus Wood Reserve Ichiro’s Malt Double Distilleries Ichiro’s Malt & Grain…etc. |
Typical whiskies of Chichibu Distillery .
Detailed information about the distillery
If you would like to know more about the distillery, please click here.
2-2.Venture Whisky Chichibu No.2 Distillery
In 2018, the Chichibu 2nd distillery operated at a location about 400 meters away from the Chichibu distillery.
At the second distillery, the fermentation tanks were changed from Quercus crispula to French oak. In addition, the pot still was changed from indirect heating by steam to direct heating by gas.
The distillery’s production volume is about five times that of the first distillery, 160 liters of alcohol equivalent per day, while the second distillery produces 800 liters of alcohol equivalent per day.
Ichiro’s malt is currently difficult to obtain, but with the start of operations at the second distillery, the production volume is expected to increase significantly and the distribution volume of products will also increase.
Distillery Details
If you would like to know more about the distillery, please click here.
3-3. Toa Shuzo Hanyu Distillery
Toa Shuzo had suspended whiskey production in 2000 due to the sluggish whiskey market. Although the company once shut down operations due to poor business performance, it decided to rebuild its whiskey business, as its mainstay sake has been highly acclaimed both in Japan and abroad over the past few years and its business foundation has gradually stabilized.
The company decided to rebuild its whisky business, and since it still had hand-drawn drawings of the pot stills from those days, it asked the same production company to manufacture them as before. With various conditions in place, the Hanyu distillery was reopened in February 2021 for the first time in about 20 years, and in-house distillation was carried out.
They have already released a single malt and started selling it under the name of Hanyu Genesis.
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| Location | 4-1-11 Nishi, Hanyu-shi, Saitama 348-0054 4-1-11 Nishi, Hanyu-shi, Saitama |
| Access from the nearest station | Access from the nearest station Tobu Isezaki Line “Hanyu Station 5 minutes on foot from “Hanyu Station” of Chichibu Railway Access from the nearest IC |
| Start of operation | 1946 – October 2004 (operation until 2000) Resume operation from February 2021 |
| Official HP | Toa Brewery Co. |
| Tours | Yes |
| Product | Golden Horse Bushu Golden Horse Musashi Whiskey Kabuki Hanyu Genesis |
Hanyu Distillery’s representative whiskey .
3-4. Hikari Shuzo Konosu Distillery
The distillery will start operation in 2020. Konosu distillery is located one hour from Tokyo station without transferring trains, making it the most accessible distillery from the city center.
The building has a Scottish style and has a different atmosphere from other distilleries in Japan.
The mash tun (saccharification tank) and pot still (distillation machine) are made in Scotland by Forsyth. The pot stills are two units with a lantern head type 5,500 L for the first distillation and a bulge type 3,600 L for the second distillation, characterized by their straight, low necks and downward pointing line arms. There are six washbacks (fermenters) in total, all made of stainless steel and fermented for four to five days.
Currently, English malt is used. Both non-peated and peated malts are used in the brewing process. The malt is milled at a ratio of 2:7:1 (husk:grits:flour). They hope to use barley from Konoha in the near future.
The company has one aging cellar, which is mainly a dunnage-type, bourbon-barrel aging facility.
They are taking their time in production with the goal of sales after 2025.
They are also experimenting with experimental elements such as rice whiskey, grain made from rye and wheat, malt smoked with manuka wood, and aging in a jar for shochu.
They have stated that more than 90% of their whisky is for export, so there will likely be few opportunities to drink it in Japan.
| Location | 369-0133 625 Kotani, Konosu-shi, Saitama |
| Access | 20 minutes walk from JR Kitano-Konosu Station |
| Start of operation | 2020 |
| Official HP | Hikari Sake Brewing Company Official Facebook The website is currently under construction. |
| Tours | Not available at this time. Scheduled to begin around 2025. Tasting, sales, and a café will be set up. |
| Merchandise |
Products |
Ibaraki Prefecture
3-5. Kiuchi Sake Brewery Nukuda Brewery/Yasato Distillery
Image source: Kiuchi Shuzo official website
Founded in 1823 in Naka, Ibaraki Prefecture, Kiuchi Shuzo produces sake, Kikumori, as well as shochu, wine, liqueurs, and craft beer, Hitachi-no Nest Beer.
In 2016, the company began producing a whiskey unique to Hitachino by utilizing Kaneko Golden, a fantastic Japanese beer wheat that was revived in the process of making Hitachino Nest Beer. After maturation, it was first offered at directly managed stores, and in April 2019, it was commercialized as a highball in a can.
Then, to further pursue Japanese whiskey making, we built the Yatsugo Distillery at the foot of Mt. Tsukuba and started operation in 2020.
Image source: Kiuchi Shuzo official HP
| Location | 315-0151, Ishioka, Ishioka City, Ibaraki Prefecture 1300-8 Sugama, Ishioka-shi, Ibaraki |
| Access from Ishioka City |
＜By train |
| Start of operation | 2020 Yago Distillery (Nukada Brewery will start distilling in 2016) |
| Official HP | Kiuchi Brewery, Yago Distillery |
| Tour | Tour of Kiuchi Brewery |
| Products | Products |
Typical craft beer from Ysato Distillery
Typical Whiskey from Ysato Distillery.
3-6.Meiri Shurui Co. TAKAZO Distillery
Meiri Sakarui Co., Ltd. a general liquor manufacturer, obtained a license to produce whiskey on September 26, 2022.
The distillery started whiskey production in 1952, but returned the license about 60 years ago due to a fire at the factory. Since then, the company has given up whisky production.
As for single malt, we plan to organize experiences and tasting events at the distillery so that customers can enjoy the process of growing up as Japanese whiskey with us, from 0 months, 6 months, 1 year, 1.5 years, 2 years, and 3 years.
Copper is incorporated inside the distillation machine to remove sulfides and clear the finish, and mash tuns are installed that have been assembled and tested for production overseas.
The mash tun has been assembled and tested overseas. The current plan is to use American white oak bourbon barrels and sherry barrels for aging. In the future, the company plans to increase the variety of barrels to produce various types of sake.
Production will begin at the end of September, with malt whiskey made from barley malt and grain whiskey made from rice, taking advantage of the brewery’s strengths.
First, the company plans to release NewPot, a single malt, and to produce and sell blended whiskey blended with Scottish malt whiskey.
| Location | 338 Motoyoshidamachi, Mito, Ibaraki 310-0836, Japan 338 Motoyoshidamachi, Mito-city, Ibaraki, Japan |
| Access | By car: 15 minutes from Mito Minami IC on Kita-Kanto Expressway |
| Start of operation | September 2022 |
| Official HP | Official website of Meiri Sake Brewery Co. |
| Tour | Tour |
| Products |
Premium Craft Gin “Wa GIN |
Representative products of Meiri Brewery 
Tochigi Prefecture
3-7. Nishibori Sake Brewery Co. Nikko Kaido Oyama Distillery
Image source: Nikko Kaido Oyama Distillery
The brewery has a long history and was founded in 1872.
The company’s policy is to “incorporate the brewing techniques of national and Japanese sake” in keeping with its roots, which are its greatest appeal as a sake manufacturer.
In the fermentation process of distilled spirits, we use pure domestic sake yeast, and we also use a special brewing process that incorporates ideas from sake brewing.
The use of sake yeast also changes the sulfur and off-flavor, so the pot still is also specially designed.
This is an original distillation still modified by applying copper plates to the inside of a Japanese-made stainless steel distillation still.
Because it is stainless steel, it can be used for both atmospheric distillation and decompression distillation, and both direct and indirect steam heating can be used together, so there are many options for distilling different types of sake.
The grains used for distillation are rice flour, which is produced when sake rice is polished.
Single malt whiskey fermented and distilled from 100% malt at our own distillery
(2) Single grain whiskey fermented and distilled with malt and rice flour at our distillery
Domestic spirits (craft vodka, craft gin) fermented and distilled with sake yeast
These three types of spirits are currently being produced.
The company has already released its first new product, Tetsu, the first Japanese whiskey from Tochigi Prefecture.
| Location | 1452 Oaza-Awamiya, Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture |
| Access | Approx. 50 minutes from JR Tokyo Station to JR Oyama Station by Shinkansen bullet train |
| Start of operation | 2022 |
| Official HP | |
| Visiting the distillery | Reservations can be made at the official HP Reservations must be made at least 7 days in advance for a 1-hour course from 14:00-15:00. |
| Merchandise |
Yume Nikko Vodka |
Typical product of Nishibori Brewery 
3-8. Yasui Shoten Co. Stork valley Distillery
Image exhibit: distillery’s official website
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Yasui Shoten, a liquor wholesaler in Ibaraki Prefecture, opened a whiskey distillery inside group company Nozaki, a liquor wholesaler.
Distilling will begin in the summer of 2023.
STORK VALLEY” stork, which is the name of the distillery, means stork and is a symbol of nature in Oyama City, and is named after the storks that have successfully bred in the artificial nest tower in the Watarase Yusuichi.
The brewery does not use imported sake, but only its own sake, and it also makes use of its own craft beer brewing know-how in the formulation of yeast and malt.
The barrels used are made of cedar, cypress, and mizunara oak grown in Nikko.
The company aims to sell about 12,000 bottles a year, and is considering using Mashiko-yaki, a specialty of Mashiko Town, Tochigi Prefecture, for the bottles.
In addition, the company obtained a license in January to produce whiskey, spirits, and liqueurs, and is also working on craft gin brewing.
It is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2023, using prefectural products such as yuzu from Motegi Town, Kunimi oranges from Nasu Karasuyama City, sansho and wasabi from Nikko City, mulberries from Oyama City, and blueberries from Nasu Town.
| Location | P.O. Box 323-0034 4-1-53 Kamitoriya, Oyama-shi, Tochigi |
| How to get there | From Oyama Station, take the bus bound for Mamada Station West Exit. Get off at Oyama Daisan Elementary School North |
| Start of operation | 2023 |
| Official HP | |
| Visiting | Undecided |
| Product lineup | Undecided |
Chiba Prefecture
3-9. Sudo Honke
Image source: from the official Krafan page
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This traditional brewery has been in business since 1885.
It is famous for its “Amanohara,” brewed with Kururi’s famous water, the only water selected from Chiba Prefecture in the “100 Best Waters of the Heisei Era.
In 2018, it became the first brewery in Chiba Prefecture to obtain a license to produce whiskey.
Only one bottle of “Boso Whiskey” has been released.
According to the official comment, “It is a blend of our own malt and British Scotch secured through our own channels, resulting in a less smoky and more gorgeous sweet aromatic flavor that the Japanese like.” The official comment is that it is “a blend of our own malt and English scotch secured through our own channels.
Since the order of the ingredients is grain and malt, it is assumed that the grain is highly weighted and the main ingredient is English malt base alcohol.
The product was crowdfunded in an unusual way: it was packaged and sold in 4L, 8L, and 50L American oak casks.
Incidentally, only the 50L casks were sold at cask strength of 65% alcohol by volume.
What looks like a distiller was shown in the images on the site, but the actual equipment is not very clear.
| Location | 16-10 Aoyanagi, Kimitsu City, Chiba Prefecture |
| Access | 15 minutes walk from Kururi Station on JR Kururi Line |
| Start of operation | 2018 |
| Official HP | |
| Tour | Tour |
| Merchandise |
Boso Whisky |
Representative products of Sudoh Honke 
3-10. mitosaya herb garden distillery
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Image source: Official Instagram |
Hiroshi Eguchi, former owner of the bookshop Utrecht, founded mitosaya in 2016 after studying under Christoph Keller of the Steelemühle distillery, master distiller of Monkey 47, which once revolutionized gin, in 2013.
The former town-owned medicinal herb garden has been renovated and repurposed as a guesthouse, event space, etc., with an office building and training building renovated.
The site covers an area of approximately 5,000 tsubo.
It is managed by a group of eight creators, including Shigeharu Asagiri, head of COEDO Brewery, and Yasutsugu Ishiwata, producer of Blue Bottle Coffee.
On weekends, it runs an unmanned fruit stand where fruits grown by neighborhood residents are sold, as well as new products.
Since its first release in 2019, the company has worked on more than 100 different spirits.
They farmed the land from scratch, rolled the seeds, harvested the malt, dried it, and ground it with a millstone, and tried substituting peat with seaweed, which is also a member of the iodine family.
Only 4 liters of sake was produced, and six bottles of 500ml and 10 bottles of 100ml, for a total of 16 bottles, were sold out immediately.
| Location | P.O. Box 298-0216 486, Otaki, Otaki Town, Isumi District, Chiba Prefecture |
| Access | 20 minutes on foot from Otaki Station on the Isumi Railway |
| Start of operation | 2016 |
| Official HP | |
| Tours | openday” is held every spring and fall Unattended sales “HONOR STAND” is held on weekends Detailed dates and times will be announced on SNS, etc. |
| Merchandise |
Each release has its own theme and concept. |
Kanagawa Prefecture
3-11. Kumazawa Brewery Shonan Distillery
Image source: Kumazawa Sake Brewing Company
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The company has been making sake since 1872.
Currently the only sake brewery in Shonan.
The company’s corporate culture is “Yobarai makes Japan richer.” In addition to sake, the company also produces craft beer, organizes numerous events, and runs an interior design store and gallery.
In 2018, they started producing gin using a hybrid stainless steel distiller from Yokoyama Engineering, which can be used for both direct and indirect distillation as well as column head type decompression distillation and atmospheric distillation.
The cooling pipes can be fitted with copper plates, and the specifications can be changed between distilling gin and whiskey.
The craft gin Hakutengu-Lemongrass is released.
The company obtained a whiskey production license in 2020 and began production in 2009.
The barrels are oak barrels that used to contain the company’s own Kijo sake.
In the future, the company plans to use the barrels in a cyclical manner, from kijoshu, to whiskey, to beer, to whiskey.
Mr. Tetsuro Igarashi, a company owner of Kumazawa Shuzo, appeared as a guest on “Distillery Class,” a radio show on the theme of “distilling” run by distiller Hiroshi Eguchi on the “Podcast” content radio show on “Spotify,” and commented that the name of the whiskey he plans to release in the future is “Aka Tengu,” although the release date is still unknown. The name of the whiskey will be “Aka Tengu” (Red Tengu), although the release date is still unknown.
The 180 ml version of “whisky Aka Tengu,” which will be released as a limited sample of 100 bottles on December 1, 2023, sold out immediately.
This whisky Aka Tengu is a distillation of the Shonan beer using the highest quality malt, which will be the signature product in 2020.
It is bourbon barrel aged, but a twist has been added here as well: it is an original bourbon barrel aged with its own strengths fully utilized, made by having its own product, Shonan Beer “Imperial Stout”, put into it for one year.
The 180ml version will be 54% cask strength without addition of water.
We can’t wait for this release.
As a side note, there is an air-raid shelter on the property.
| Location | 7-10-7 Kagawa, Chigasaki, Kanagawa 253-0082, Japan |
| Access | 10 minutes walk from JR Kagawa Station |
| Start of operation | 2018 |
| Official HP | |
| Tours | Tours are available for restaurant patrons Official site |
| Products | Products |
Typical products of Kumazawa Brewery 
Gunma Prefecture
3-12. LINK Co. Kitakaruizawa Distillery
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Image source: Official Instagram
Tatsuhiko Sakamoto, the current owner-bartender of Bar LAG in Ginza, established LINK Co. in February 2022.
He will manufacture whiskey in parallel with his bar business.
Construction of the Kitakaruizawa distillery started in July of the same year.
Construction was completed in March 2023, a whiskey production license was obtained in May of the same year, and test production began in July.
The distillery is located 1,100 meters above the Amrut distillery (920 meters above sea level), which is known as “whiskey in the sky.
The distillery aims to create a unique flavor by taking advantage of the lower boiling point when distilling at a higher altitude. (Decompression distillation is equivalent to this).
The pot still is custom-made by Hwang Ho Company in Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture, which was involved in the design, manufacturing, and adjustment of the still.
The body is a composite of stainless steel and copper, and the head is made of copper using the traditional Japanese “hera-shibori” stretching process, in which the craftsman’s skills shine through.
A single machine can also serve as both the initial distillation and redistillation.
The brewing water is groundwater from the foot of Mt.
The malt is redistilled from 1,500 liters of wort from 300 kg of distiller’s malt from Crisp Malt of England, three times the initial distillation.
One brewing per week is expected to yield approximately 20,000 liters per year.
The storage method is paratizing using pallets.
This storage method is a paratizing method, in which barrels are usually placed vertically, but since there is a high risk of leakage, the barrels are stored horizontally, a twist has been added.
The distillery is currently located at the highest altitude and has the smallest and original distiller in Japan, so there is no shortage of topics.
The owner’s casks are also being offered at the store.
WHISKY ONEYEAR” to be launched in 2024
| Location | P.O. Box 377-1412 1991-127, Kitakaruizawa, Naganohara-cho, Agatsuma-gun, Gunma |
| Access | Approximately 40 minutes by car from JR Karuizawa Station |
| Start of operation | 2023 |
| Official HP | |
| Visiting | Undecided (will be open for tours as soon as it is ready) |
| Merchandise | Currently, NEWPOT and other products are available for sale from the official website. |
3-13. makino sake brewery kurabuchi distillery
This long-established distillery, which was established in 1690 and produces Haruna’s local sake, “Taibai,” produces whiskey in its own distillation facility. The distillery has been producing rice shochu (rice liquor) for some time, and from the video, it appears that the distillation equipment is the same as that used for shochu production.
The company has already released a new single malt, Kurabuchi, in December 2023, and says that it will continue to age the whiskey and “promote it as a ‘local whiskey’ made by a regional brewery.
Not being bound by the definition of Japanese whiskey, the company will also sell whiskey blended with single malt whiskey and its own sake lees spirits.
| Location | 2625-1 Gonda, Kurafuchi-cho, Takasaki, Gunma 370-3401 |
| Access |
Approximately 60 minutes from Takasaki IC on Kan-etsu Expressway By public transportation |
| Start of operation | December 2023 |
| Official HP | |
| Tour of the brewery | Tour of Makino Brewery |
| Products | New Make Kurabuchi |
https://en.jpwhisky.net/4109-2/1_hokkaido-2/
https://en.jpwhisky.net/4109-2/2_tohoku-2/
https://en.jpwhisky.net/4109-2/4_chubu-2/
https://en.jpwhisky.net/4109-2/5_kansai-2/
https://en.jpwhisky.net/4109-2/6_chugoku-2/
https://jpwhisky.net/japanesedistillery/7_shikoku/
https://en.jpwhisky.net/4109-2/8_kyushu_okinawa-2/