Chichibu’s story
Chichibu is a tale of two distilleries. When Chichibu was first established in 2007 it was Japan’s newest distillery and the first to be built in the country since the mid 1970’s. But the rise in popularity of Japanese whisky across the world created a problem for founder Ichiro Akuto. Demand was outstripping what he could produce so he took the decision to build a second distillery close by in 2019. So now there is Chichibu #1 (the original distillery) and the larger Chichibu #2.
Both distilleries are located in the town of Chichibu, close to the city of Saitama and about two hours to the north west of Tokyo. They are just a couple of minutes drive apart from each other, and they have also built a cooperage in the same vicinity. The idea of Chichibu’s founder Ichiro Akuto was to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and build a distillery. His grandfather had established the Hanyu distillery in 1946.
Hanyu ceased production in 2000 and was dismantled some time later, with Ichiro Akuto owning most of the remaining whisky stock. He has bottled and released some of these under the ‘Ichiro’s Malt’ label. Very little of this now remains and carries an ultra-premium price.
Chichibu’s history
Ichiro Akuto started planning the Chichibu distillery in 2007. After selecting the site, a Shinto priest was brought in to bless the ground upon which the distillery was to be built. This is local tradition in the Saitama province and must take place before any building work is started. It is believed to bring good luck and fortune.
The distillery, a bottling plant and a warehouse were all completed in rapid time and production started in Spring 2008. The distillery equipment was produced in and imported from Scotland, with the exception of the mash tun that was purchased from a local brewery. The majority of barley used for production is grown in the local area, with some also traditionally floor malted on site. This small and compact distillery is now known as Chichibu #1.
By 2018, interest in Japanese whisky and demand by consumers meant that Chichibu had already been outgrown. Therefore, Akuto decided to build a second distillery close by. This was named Chichibu #2 and had many of the same features as the original, but the stills are much larger. They also use mostly imported barley from Germany and the UK. The first spirit came off the stills in July 2019 and now both distilleries run simultaneously.
- How to pronounce Chichibu? chit-chee-boo
- Country: Japan
- Region: Saitama
- Founded: 2007
- Current owners: Ichiro Akuto
- Production capacity per year: ? #1 – 60,000 litres, #2 – 90,000 litres
- Mash tun: #1 – 240 litre, #2 – 2 ton
- Washbacks: #1 – 8, #2 – 5
- Stills: #1 -2, #2 – 2
- Visitor centre: No
Chichibu Distillery
49 Midori Gaoka
Chichibu Shi
Saitama
tel – +81(0) 494 624601
Did you know?
Owner Ichiro Akuto’s family were saki makers and records show them doing so as far back as 1625.
Chichibu
