Converting an 89-year-old Wooden Former School Building into a Distillery to Last 100 Years

Our company endorses April Dream, which aims to make April 1st a day for announcing dreams. This press release is a dream of Whisky Student Co., Ltd.

Our dream is: "To preserve the 89-year-old former Benkabetsu Elementary School's wooden building by renovating and utilizing it as a community-rooted craft whisky distillery, and to pass it down for 100 years into the future!"

Whisky Student Co., Ltd. was established in October 2024. In November of the same year, we received the Grand Prize at the Tobetsu Business Contest 2024, and in December, we were certified as a Hokkaido University-originated startup.

In 2025, we secured preliminary loan approvals and subsidy notifications, successfully raising the bulk of our funding. In July, construction began on the Tobetsu Distillery (Phase 1: Building Renovation). After the start of construction, we launched a crowdfunding campaign on CAMPFIRE, which successfully concluded at 2.4 times its target amount. In December, we received the Grand Prize in the Food category at the CAMPFIRE "Crowdfunding Award 2025".

In March 2026, Phase 1 construction was completed, and the building was beautifully restored. We also submitted an application for a liquor manufacturing license to the competent tax office. We will now proceed with preparations for the Tobetsu Distillery construction (Phase 2: Equipment Installation and Piping Work), aiming to start manufacturing in August of this year.

Since the company's establishment, we have been steadily, albeit slowly, moving step by step towards our dream. During this time, we cannot express how many people have supported us. Thank you very much. We will continue to strive for its realization, and we kindly ask for your continued support for Whisky Student Co., Ltd. and the Tobetsu Distillery project.

Takashi Tanaka, Representative Director, Whisky Student Co., Ltd.