A sake brewery with over a century of history has turned to crowdsourcing to help revamp its whisky distillery — the only one in the Hokuriku region near the Sea of Japan — and show it to more tourists.
Wakatsuru Shuzo in Tonami, Toyama Prefecture, has been raising money via crowdfunding and other sources to refurbish the dilapidated distillery, which has fallen on hard times since the company branched into whisky-making more than 60 years ago.
"I'd like people to see where we make genuine whisky," said Takahiko Inagaki, the 29-year-old board director of the parent company and leader of the project.