Yoichi

Type: Distillery

Coal fires heat the pot stills at Yoichi, Nikka Whisky's first distillery, founded in 1934 at the base of Hokkaido's Shakotan Peninsula. The straight-head stills and their direct coal heating are central to its identity. Nikka traces the method to founder Masataka Taketsuru's training at Longmorn in Scotland.[1]

Yoichi's setting and character

Mountains stand on three sides of Yoichi; the distillery faces the Sea of Japan. This was a practical setting for Taketsuru's enterprise as well as a striking one. Snowmelt fed the Yoichi River, barley and peat were available in the surrounding area, and coal came from the Ishikari Plain, according to Nikka's account.[1][3]

Water, grain, peat and fuel bring the choice of location into focus. The landscape was part of the production story from the beginning, with resources available for the distillery Taketsuru intended to build. Hokkaido was more than a backdrop.

Nikka identifies heavily peated malt as a Yoichi signature.[1] That gives the reader a clear starting point, though not every expression follows it: the producer's chronology records a Yoichi Single Malt Non-Peated release in 2021.[2]

The distinction matters when moving from the distillery to a particular bottle. A signature describes Yoichi's production identity, not an unchanging recipe for everything bearing its name.

Taketsuru's route to Hokkaido

Masataka Taketsuru's route to Yoichi began in a sake-brewing family. Born in Takehara, Hiroshima, in 1894, he was the family's third son. He joined Settsu Shuzo in 1916 and, in December 1918, enrolled at the University of Glasgow and the Royal Technical College, according to Nikka's account.[3]

In 1919 he trained at Longmorn and learned about the Coffey still at Bo'ness. At Hazelburn in Campbeltown, he studied malt production and blending. Nikka connects the Longmorn training specifically to Yoichi's direct coal firing.[1][3]

Taketsuru returned to Japan with Rita in November 1920. His own company followed later: Dai Nippon Kaju Co., Ltd was established on 2 July 1934, and construction at Yoichi was completed that October.[2][3]

Story box: apples before the first whisky

Story title: Apples before Yoichi's first whisky

Founding story: Masataka Taketsuru established the enterprise behind Yoichi in 1934. Dai Nippon Kaju Co., Ltd was set up on 2 July, and distillery construction was completed in October, according to the producer's account.[2]

Turning point: Nikka dates its first whisky release to June 1940. Its name is disputed: Nikka calls it Nikka Whisky, while the Oxford Companion calls it Rare Old Nikka Whisky.[3][5]

Documented record: Nikka's founder account records that the brandy stills led on to whisky.[3]

Claim and verdict: Unsold, returned apple juice was distilled into brandy before the move into whisky. Documented, as classified in the site's verified fact sheet.[3]

Last checked: 7 November 2026.

Nikka Apple Juice launched in 1935, followed by Nikka Apple Wine in 1938. Whisky and brandy making began in 1936; the first whisky and brandy releases arrived in 1940, according to the company's chronology.[2]

The name carries that earlier business into the present. Nikka's founder account explains that “Ni” and “Ka” were taken from “Nippon Kaju”. In 1952, the company was renamed The Nikka Whisky Distilling Co., Ltd.[2][3]

What makes the distillation distinctive

Straight heads, downward lyne arms and direct coal heating define Yoichi's stills. The lyne arm is the pipe that carries vapour from the still head towards condensation. Nikka presents the coal-fired method as a continuation of the approach Taketsuru encountered at Longmorn.[1]

The producer describes coal-fired distilling as “rarely seen in the world today”. That assessment belongs to Nikka; the defining fact at Yoichi is the continuing place of direct coal firing in its published production account.[1][4]

Still shape and coal firing alone do not establish a particular bottle's flavour; Nikka's identification of heavily peated malt as a signature is the supported character statement.[1]

Barrels are another important thread. Nikka says Taketsuru recruited beer-barrel coopers and told them: “I’ll make great whisky, you make great barrels”. The producer records that Yoichi's cooperage skills were subsequently passed on to Miyagikyo and the Tochigi factory.[1]

Yoichi's contribution to Nikka therefore extends beyond the whisky produced on site. Its barrel-making knowledge travelled too, linking the distillery to other parts of the company. The relationship with Miyagikyo is worth exploring through that practical inheritance, as well as through the whiskies associated with each name.

A production and release timeline

Construction at Yoichi was completed in 1934, whisky making began in 1936, and Nikka dates its first whisky release to June 1940. Those dates mark three different achievements: a completed distillery, working production and a whisky ready for release.[2][3]

Reading Yoichi's expression names

Yoichi's release history reaches beyond one fixed style of bottling. It includes an age-stated single malt in 1989, a Non-Peated expression in 2021, and the 10 Years Old limited edition and Aromatic Yeast releases in 2022.[2]

These are historical release entries, not a statement of present availability or a complete current range. The Non-Peated release is a documented exception to Nikka's description of heavily peated malt as a signature.[1][2]

Keep Yoichi and Nikka distinct, too. This was Nikka's first distillery, but the company's story extends beyond the site. For the broader history, continue to Nikka Whisky.

Buildings, heritage and a visit

Ten of Yoichi's buildings were designated Important Cultural Properties by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2022, according to Nikka's chronology. The Hokkaido Tourism Organization also identifies this group of ten protected buildings in its account of the distillery.[2][4]

For a visit, check the official distillery website before making arrangements. Confirm booking requirements, accessibility, age rules and which parts of the site can be visited, rather than treating a historical description as a promise of access.

The buildings and the production method offer clear threads to follow. Look for the relationship between the site and its beginnings, alongside the direct coal-fired distillation described by Nikka. The protected buildings place that production history within a recognised architectural heritage.[1][4]

Where to go next

• Miyagikyo: follow Yoichi's cooperage knowledge to another Nikka distillery.
• Nikka Whisky: explore the wider company's history.
• Yamazaki: continue exploring Japan's distillery histories.

Sources

[1] Nikka Whisky. Hokkaido Yoichi Distillery. Producer's account, undated web edition supplied in fact sheet TOP-A330; checked November 2026. https://www.nikka.com/en/distilleries/yoichi/

[2] Nikka Whisky. Nikka Whisky's History. Producer's account, undated web edition supplied in fact sheet TOP-A330; checked November 2026. https://www.nikka.com/en/story/history/

[3] Nikka Whisky. Founder of Nikka Whisky Masataka Taketsuru. Producer's account, undated web edition supplied in fact sheet TOP-A330; checked November 2026. https://www.nikka.com/en/story/founder/

[4] Hokkaido Tourism Organization. Nikka Whisky Yoichi Distillery. Undated web edition supplied in fact sheet TOP-A330; checked November 2026. https://www.visit-hokkaido.jp/en/spot/detail_10170.html

[5] Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails. Nikka. Undated web edition supplied in fact sheet TOP-A330; checked November 2026. https://www.spiritsanddistilling.com/dictionary/acref-9780199311132-e-161

This article is desk research based on the site's supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing Nikka's own historical and production accounts from the tourism organisation's description.

Last checked: November 2026.