Okinawa

Sake in Okinawa

Okinawa Prefecture lies in the southern half of the 南西諸島, the chain of islands that stretches from south of Kyushu to Taiwan, and is made up of 160 islands, large and small. The islands are scattered across a sea area about 1,000 km from east to west and about 400 km from north to south. At the center of Okinawa's drink-making is awamori. Awamori is a distilled spirit made by fermenting rice koji, grown with black koji mold, and water, and distilling the result in a single-distillation still. In June 1995 it was designated as “Ryukyu” under the geographical indication (GI) system, which protects the names of production regions of distilled spirits.

The sake brewery known in Okinawa has been 泰石酒造 in Uruma City. Founded in 1952, it has made sake such as “黎明.” In February 2024, 南島酒販, a wholesaler of alcoholic drinks in Okinawa, made the brewery its subsidiary. 南島酒販 describes 泰石酒造 as “the only sake brewery in Okinawa Prefecture and the southernmost in Japan.” 泰石酒造 suspended all production and sales at the end of March 2024, and plans to move to 石垣島 and resume making sake there with entirely new buildings and equipment. 請福酒造, an awamori maker on 石垣島, is to cooperate in production.

In February 2026, 南島酒販 received a grant decision for a subsidy (a large-scale growth investment subsidy for labor-saving and similar measures aimed at raising wages at mid-sized and small companies) for a project that includes building a sake brewery. The project is titled “Building a sake brewery to create a sake brand that is the only one in Okinawa and the southernmost in Japan, and to revitalize Okinawa's industry,” and the subsidized project is scheduled to be completed on March 31, 2027. As of October 2026, no announcement that sake production has resumed has appeared in 南島酒販's news.

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