A Short History of Hokkaido Whisky — From 1934 Yoichi to Today

Hokkaido whisky starts with Masataka Taketsuru building a distillery at Yoichi in 1934. Taketsuru learned his craft in Scotland and chose Yoichi for its Scottish-leaning climate. That choice became one of the founding moments of Japanese whisky.

Three eras

1934–1980s — Establishment Centred on Yoichi. Japanese whisky crystallised around a Scotch-style template: peated malt, direct coal firing, sherry-cask maturation. Hokkaido's climate fit this template well.

1990s–2010s — Decline and rediscovery Whisky consumption fell in Japan. Stocks quietly aged. This long sleep later produced bottles that the world would rediscover as "vintage Japanese" in the 2010s.

Late 2010s–now — The craft era Akkeshi (2016), Mars Hokkaido Shinshu-Tsunuki (2020), Tankyu in Higashikawa. Smaller, regional, experimental — Hokkaido whisky is expanding again.

Where Tankyu sits

We reference the Scotch-leaning framework Taketsuru established, but put Daisetsuzan spring water and Higashikawa's four seasons at the centre of what we make. A distillery tour walks through both the lineage and what we're trying.