Takebe Orimono (Nanao/Noto)
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First whisky distillery in the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture. Established by Takebe Orimono, a textile business pivoting to whisky production. Located in the former Tonan Junior High School (closed 2009) in Kurosaki-cho, Nanao City -- a 6,069 sq m site with a two-story reinforced concrete building facing Toyama Bay. Production scheduled to begin summer 2023. Vision is to produce 'all-Noto whiskey' matured with local clear water, Noto-grown barley, and Noto hiba (Japanese cypress) wood. A striking example of Japan's rural school-to-distillery conversion trend.
Production Details
The Takebe Orimono (Nanao/Noto) Tale
On the windswept shores of Toyama Bay, where the Noto Peninsula reaches into the Sea of Japan, an abandoned schoolhouse has found new purpose. The former Tonan Junior High School, silent since 2009, awakens in 2023 to the sound of copper and flame.
Osamu Tanaka stands in corridors that once echoed with children's voices, his vision transforming classrooms into a whisky sanctuary. His company, Takebe Orimono, built its reputation weaving textiles—now he weaves a different craft, threading Scottish tradition through distinctly Japanese sensibilities. The pivot from fabric to whisky speaks to monozukuri, that deep Japanese philosophy of making things with pride and dedication, regardless of the medium.
The two-story concrete structure, sprawling across 6,069 square meters, faces the bay where Noto's maritime winds carry salt and stories. Here, Tanaka pursues his vision of "all-Noto whiskey"—a complete expression of place that would make the peninsula's essence liquid. The Noto clear water flows pure from local sources, while plans call for barley grown in Noto's own soil, a radical commitment to terroir in Japanese whisky-making.
Most striking is Tanaka's intention to mature his spirit with Noto hiba, the region's native Japanese cypress. This wood choice represents more than innovation—it's cultural assertion, replacing foreign oak with timber that has sheltered these shores for centuries. The hiba will breathe its resinous character into the whisky, creating something unmistakably of this place.
The distillery joins Japan's remarkable trend of rural renewal, where closed schools become temples to craft spirits. In these repurposed halls, the pursuit of harmony between tradition and innovation continues, each drop a meditation on what it means to capture a region's soul.
As summer 2023 arrived and production began, the Noto Peninsula claimed its place in Japan's whisky story. The schoolhouse that once shaped young minds now shapes liquid dreams, proving that in skilled hands, any space can become sacred ground for the ancient art of distillation.