Sakurao Distillery Forest Site

In the mountainous Yoshiwa district of Hatsukaichi City, where Hiroshima Prefecture surrenders to wilderness, Sakurao Brewery and Distillery broke ground in March 2025 on what would become their Forest Site distillery. Here, within the grounds of Miwaku Village, heavy snows blanket the landscape each winter, and when they melt, they feed the clear streams that will soon course through copper and steel.

The site embodies *monozukuri*—that distinctly Japanese devotion to craftsmanship—through careful selection rather than accident. These lush mountains don't merely provide scenery; they cradle springs that have filtered through ancient rock, emerging as the soft water essential to whisky-making. The Yoshiwa mountain streams carry the essence of their journey, mineral-light and pure, ready to unlock the grain's potential with gentle precision.

Sakurao's investment of several billion yen speaks to ambition measured in generations, not quarters. By fall 2025, the distillation building will house an intriguing marriage of traditions: German manufacturing equipment working alongside traditional Scottish Forsyths pot stills. This fusion reflects Japan's approach to whisky—respectful adoption of Scottish methods, enhanced by Germanic engineering precision, all guided by Japanese perfectionism.

The Forest Site will operate at roughly twice the capacity of Sakurao's original distillery, yet the expansion feels organic rather than industrial. The heavy snowfall that defines this region creates a natural rhythm—seasons of quiet accumulation followed by spring's generous release. It's a cycle that mirrors whisky-making itself: patient gathering of elements, then careful transformation.

When the visitor center opens in fall 2026, guests will witness this harmony between landscape and craft. The stills will stand like sentinels among the mountains, their copper forms catching light filtered through forest canopy. Each drop of new-make spirit will carry not just the character of grain and wood, but the essence of this particular place—where streams run clear, snow falls heavy, and the ancient Japanese pursuit of perfection finds expression in amber liquid aging quietly in the mountain air.