Toa Shuzo to Hold Grand Opening of Hanyu Distillery Visitor Center on May 16, 2012 and Start Accepting Reservations for Tours
(Head office: Hanyu City, Saitama Prefecture, President: Yasuhisa Nakata) announced on April 17, 2025 the grand opening of the Hanyu Distillery Visitor Center on May 16, 2025, a facility for tours of the Hanyu Distillery, which resumed distilling in 2021, and began accepting reservations via the tour reservation form on the Hanyu Distillery website. The Hanyu Distillery Visitor Center will be open for tours on May 16, 2025.
1.About the Hanyu Distillery Visitor Center
The initial plan for the reopening of Hanyu Distillery was to build facilities that would allow customers to tour the distillery and sample and purchase products, but due to the uncertain outlook for the year 2021 when the distillery reopens due to the Corona disaster, the distillery decided to start with Whisky production as the first priority.
In the summer of 2024, the distillery began construction of a tour facility, which had been suspended, and the Hanyu Distillery Visitor Center was completed. The Hanyu Distillery Visitor Center has been completed.
The distillery also has a QR code that can be read in four languages to explain the whisky process, and the store is exempt from liquor and consumption taxes.PR TIMES Hanyu Distillery Official Comment
１‐１．Outline of the facility
| Business hours | 10:00-16:00 (Shops are open without reservation) |
| Closed | Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Year-end and New Year holidays, occasional temporary closing If Tuesday or Wednesday is a national holiday, the museum is closed the following day. |
| Admission fee | 1,500 yen (tax included) per person over 20 years old by reservation including tasting
Up to 10 persons per group |
For tour reservations, please visit
1-2. About Toa Shuzo Co.
Toa Shuzo Co., Ltd. began brewing sake in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture in 1625, moved its headquarters to Hanyu, Saitama Prefecture in 1941, and became a Hinode Trading Group company in 2004.
Our Whisky business began in 1946 when we obtained a manufacturing license. At first, we blended and stored malt Whisky imported from England in barrels for sale, but in 1980, we introduced pot stills and began distilling our own malt Whisky. However, due to the shrinking whisky market, the distillery stopped distilling its own whisky in 2000 and ceased functioning as a distillery. With a desire to revive the distillery someday, we joined the Hinode Holdings group in 2004, and have been working to rebuild the business as our first priority.
Therefore, in 2016, we resumed blending and storing imported malt Whisky in barrels, just as we had done when we obtained our manufacturing license. We have been working to further stabilize our business foundation, believing that the only way to revive our Whisky business is to resume distilling our own malt Whisky.
In order to reopen the distillery, we made efforts to faithfully revive the distillery by having the same employees who had worked at the previous distillery, having the same company produce the drawings of the previous pot stills, and storing the barrels on the same site as before.From the official website of Hanyu Distillery
2. The last part
Hanyu distillery has many stories to tell, and the Hinode Group’s story is one that I can’t shake off, but I can see that they are trying to make a solid Japanese Whisky by reuniting the staff from those days and recreating the pot stills they used to use. As a malt lover, I have high expectations for this company.
Lastly: Recommended Books on Japanese Whisky
If you want to learn more about Japanese whisky, which is a global trend, we highly recommend these books.
(1).Whisky Galore Vol.29 December 2021 issue
In the December 2021 issue of Whisky Galore, published by the Whisky Culture Research Institute, we report on 11 Japanese craft distilleries, including some that are open to the public for the first time, under the title of “Japanese Whisky Craft Frontline,” the first of three consecutive issues. Why did the popularity of Japanese whisky and the craft boom occur? We will examine with interviews. Chichibu Distillery / Chichibu No.2 Distillery / Mars Shinshu Distillery / Mars Tsunuki Distillery / Kanosuke Distillery / Hioki Distillery / Ontake Distillery / Osuzuyama Distillery / Kaikyo Distillery / Hanyu Distillery / Konosu Distillery
(2). Japanese Whisky as an Education for Business
This is a book written by Mamoru Tsuchiya, a world-famous whisky critic and representative of the Whisky Culture Research Institute, titled “Japanese Whisky as a Culture that Works for Business” .
The book covers the basics of whisky, the introduction of whisky to Japan, the birth of Japanese whisky, advertising strategies and the rise of Japanese whisky, and the current rise of craft distilleries. This is a book that summarizes Japanese whisky in a very easy to understand way.
(3). Whisky and I (Masataka Taketsuru)
Masataka Taketsuru, the founder of Nikka Whisky, devoted his life to brewing whisky in Japan. This is a revised and reprinted version of the autobiography of a man who simply loved whisky and talked about himself. The book vividly depicts the days when he went to Scotland alone to study as a young man and overcame many hardships to complete Japanese whisky, as well as his companion, Rita.
(4). A Letter of Challenge from a New Generation Distillery
Launching in 2019. With the world experiencing an unprecedented whisky boom, what were the managers of craft distilleries thinking and what were their thoughts as they took on the challenge of making whisky? This book tells the stories of 13 craft distillery owners, including Ichiro Hido of Venture Whisky, famous for his Ichirose Malt, who inspired the birth of craft distilleries in Japan.
(5). Whiskey Rising
This is the Japanese version of Whisky Risng, published in the US in 2016, with much updated content. Not only does it describe the history of Japanese whisky in detail, but it also includes data on all the distilleries in Japan, including the craft distilleries that have been founded in recent years. The book also includes descriptions of the legendary bottles that have been released, as well as information on bars where Japanese whisky can be found.
