Visiting an awamori distillery on Ishigaki — Shirayuri's brewery tours, hands-on visits, and the owner's izakaya picks

Ishigaki itineraries tend to fill up with beaches. But this island also has a small distillery that has been making awamori the same way for more than seventy years — and you can see it at work.

Ikehara Shuzo, founded in 1951, is the home of the awamori Shirayuri. You will find it at 175 Okawa, in Ishigaki's town center, about 30 minutes by car from New Ishigaki Airport.

What you can do at the distillery — tours and hands-on visits, by reservation

The distillery offers brewery tours, hands-on awamori experiences, and label-pasting sessions — all by reservation. Since every step here is manual, from rice washing to distilling, bottling, and pasting labels, a tour means watching the actual craft, not a showroom. The pot still, in use for over 70 years, is the heart of the place.

There is no age limit on the experience menu, so families are welcome. Photography inside is generally fine, but rules can change, so it is worth confirming by phone before you visit (0980-82-2230).

If you want to go deeper, there is a "shikomi-gai" plan: you consult with the owner from the mash stage onward and decide the taste and the label together — an awamori that is genuinely yours. Details are available on inquiry.

The island's water, and the island's evenings — the owner's picks

Shirayuri is brewed with soft water from the veins of Mount Omoto, the highest mountain in Okinawa Prefecture. If you head inland before or after your visit, knowing that changes how the island looks.

In the evening, you can meet Shirayuri again at the island's izakaya. The owner's personal picks: Hananmaya, Haruichi, Paikaji, and Nishiki. The distillery supplies local shops and izakaya, so the craft you watched at noon continues onto the island's tables at night.

If your timing is right, there are also Shirayuri Nights — events combining awamori, music, and food — and pop-up stores inside and outside the prefecture. Ask via the official site for schedules.

Ask the owner before you go

Booking a tour, what the experiences involve, where to buy on the island — the questions you want answered before building your itinerary are fairly predictable.

This distillery has an online consultation window approved by the owner himself. Ask about the brewery, how to choose a Shirayuri, or Ishigaki itself, before your trip begins. It clearly discloses that an AI is answering, the content is based on the owner's first-hand information, and it is free.