A new whisky distillery has opened on the upper reaches of the Niyodo River (仁淀川) in Kochi (高知) Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku. Niyodogawa Distillery (仁淀川蒸留所) was founded in March 2026 by Yudai Yamazaki (山崎祐大), a 35-year-old blender who taught himself to make whisky and later ran production at two other Japanese distilleries. Built from shipping containers in the mountain town of Niyodogawa (仁淀川町), it has started filling casks, and Yamazaki says the first whisky from this year’s spirit will be ready in 2029. He described the project in an interview with the Tokyo daily Nikkan Gendai published on October 12, while Kyodo News ran a feature on the distillery the day before.
The Niyodo is known across Japan for “Niyodo Blue” (仁淀ブルー), a name for the unusual clarity of its water. Yamazaki chose the river’s upper reaches for that reason. He said spring water from the mountain opposite the site tested clean, but he wanted water filtered through the ground. So he paid about 5 million yen to drill a well 30 meters deep into the river’s underground flow, even though the well driller warned him it might come up dry. He says the water he found has a softer feel than the mountain spring.
The site also has a wide temperature range. Yamazaki said the distillery sits above 30°C in summer, while in winter it gets no direct sun and drops below freezing. He sees that swing of about 30 degrees as right for maturation. He drew up the plans for the mash tun and stills himself and had them built to order. His models were Nikka’s two distilleries: Yoichi, which he says keeps a lot of character in its spirit, and Miyagikyo, which makes a lighter, more floral style. He says he is aiming for a “very standard,” middle-of-the-road house style.
The business was built on local help rather than capital. Yamazaki said he had no savings to invest and no management experience. Niyodogawa town hired him for two years through Japan’s regional revitalization volunteer program (地域おこし協力隊), which paid a salary while he set up. A local restaurant owner sold him the containers, and a fellow program member offered the land. He then walked into the Bank of Kochi (高知銀行) and asked to borrow 100 million yen. He says a bank officer helped him write the business plan, and the bank agreed to the loan.
A self-taught blender comes home
Yamazaki grew up in Kochi and studied at Kindai University. He then joined Plum Foods (プラム食品), a company in Wakayama (和歌山) Prefecture that processes ume plums. In 2017 the company started a whisky business, and he became its production manager. He knew almost nothing about whisky at first. He spent about a year teaching himself, first trying to mash snack barley that had already been cooked, before learning that he needed raw grain with live enzymes. He says those failures cost the company tens of millions of yen once larger equipment was installed. In 2024 he served as chief blender and production manager at Kishu Kumano Distillery (紀州熊野蒸溜所) in Wakayama and at the Nara distillery behind the Kamiki brand. He says his whiskies have won around 50 awards overseas. We have not checked that total, and the figure is his own.
Why this matters
Kyodo, citing the Japan Whisky Culture Promotion Association (日本ウイスキー文化振興協会), reported that Japan had 101 whisky distilleries as of April 2026. Our full list of Japanese distilleries shows how fast that number has grown. Many new projects come from established sake or shochu breweries, or from large companies. One example is the Nikko distillery just completed with the Tobu group. Niyodogawa is a different model. It is one person’s project, built in containers with a bank loan and support from the town. If it works, it shows a cheaper way into the industry. It also shows the risk: there is no other product line to carry the company through three years of waiting for whisky.
The 2029 date is not an accident. Under the industry’s Japanese whisky labeling standard, a whisky must mature for at least three years in Japan to be called Japanese whisky. Yamazaki is also betting on climate. He pointed to Taiwan’s Kavalan, which showed that whisky from a hot region can mature quickly. Kochi is one of the warmer parts of Japan, and he says he believes good whisky no longer needs ten years in the cask. That is his view, and his first release will be the test.
He also has some unusual plans. He wants to mature casks inside the nearby Odo Dam (大渡ダム), where he says the hollow interior is cold, humid and constantly vibrating. Later, he hopes to offer five-day stays where visitors join the fermentation and distillation and then paddle or raft on the river. Neither plan has a start date.
For readers outside Japan
- Nothing to buy yet. Niyodogawa has not released any whisky, and the first spirit filled in 2026 will not reach three years until 2029. No price, cask type or export plan has been announced. Be careful with any listing that claims to sell Niyodogawa whisky before then.
- What you can buy now. Yamazaki’s earlier work is linked to the Kamiki brand, which is sold in many export markets. Our guides to buying Japanese whisky in the US and the UK list retailers that carry craft Japanese releases.
- Visiting. The distillery is in the Takenotani (竹ノ谷) district of Niyodogawa town, Agawa (吾川) District, Kochi. It has not published a tour program, so contact the distillery before you travel. The Niyodo River itself is a well-known sightseeing spot, especially the Yasui Gorge (安居渓谷) area.
- Other new distilleries to watch. Several Japanese distilleries are on a similar timeline, including the seaside Oarai project due to open in 2027 and the Cedarfield distillery in Hokkaido.
We will report Niyodogawa’s first release when the distillery announces details.
Source: Nikkan Gendai (Japanese), Kyodo News via Hokkaido Shimbun (Japanese)