The Chichibu Distillery

Located in the city of Chichibu in Saitama, Japan, just two hours west of Tokyo, Chichibu Distillery (both the original distillery founded in 2007 and Chichibu II, opened in 2019) produces some of Japan’s most coveted whiskies.

Master Distiller Ichiro Akuto descends from a long lineage of distillers and brewers—his family has been producing sake for over 300 years. In 1945, his grandfather established the Hanyu Distillery and began distilling malt whisky that took off in popularity with the rise of the Japanese economy in the 1980s. However, when the bubble burst in the 1990s, so too did the first Japanese whisky boom, leading Hanyu—like several other distilleries—to shutter its doors.

While the distillery was sold off, Ichiro saved his grandfather’s old inventory and subsequently released the Playing Card series. This collection, which debuted to a slow start in the early 2000s, is now considered unicorn whisky, the stuff of legend. With the success of the playing cards, Ichiro saw that the Japanese whisky revival was imminent and in 2007 built his first distillery in Chichibu. He has since established himself as one of the great whisky producers of the world.

Today, Chichibu represents the gold standard for Japanese whisky excellence and innovation. Akuto Ichiro is an icon of the whisky world—a 21st century whisky maker who embraces the heritage and heart of the Scots while artfully executing the Japanese shokunin (artisan) philosophy.