From The Kyoto Distillery and the Tokyo Riverside Distillery to the Mitosaya Botanical Distillery in Chiba, it’s no secret that, in recent years, Japan has been experiencing a domestic craft spirits boom. One of the latest to join that group is the Tokyo Hachioji Distillery, located in the western suburbs of Hachioji and producing gin under the clever name, Hachio Gin.
A lot of domestically produced Japanese craft gin uses shochu as a base, explains the new distillery, which just began operations in late 2021. But in order to stay true to the roots of gin, Tokyo Hachioji Distillery imports a neutral corn spirits from Europe.
We haven’t been able to sample the Hachiyo Gin yet because it’s sold out everywhere but we love it from a design perspective, which also pays homage to the roots of gin. With creative direction from Shizuka Tatsuno and art direction by Chikako Oguma, the bottles are a throwback to gin’s medicinal past. Meanwhile, the modern octogonal label takes inspiration from the number 8, which is the first character in the name Hachioji (八王子).
Situated near the beautiful Mt. Takao, a visit to Tokyo Hachioji DIstillery could make for a splendid day-trip! You can also keep up with them on Instagram.
