The distillery is situated at Mioyota, Japan. It was established in 1955. Production began in 1956. The distillery was owned by Mercian Corporation (wine merchants) and was the smallest distillery in Japan.

Karuizawa was mothballed in 2000 and closed in 2011. The equipment was sold to the Japanese firm Gaiaflow which was founded as an independent bottler and importer of whiskies in 2012.

Gaiaflow is building a distillery near the Mount Fuji in Shizuoka, which will start production in Spring 2016. The equipment of Karuizawa will be installed in the new premises.

Karuizawa whiskies  are well sought after.

The Gateway to Distilleries presents photos by kind permission of Tsuyoshi Kitakaji (2015). The photos are copyright by Tsuyoshi Kitakaji (2015) only.

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