Helios Distillery and JUNGLIA: A “Black Warehouse” Where Casks Breathe, and a Bird’s-Eye Trip Through Northern Okinawa

2026.10.05

In short: a northern Okinawa route — gliding over the Yanbaru forest at JUNGLIA, then visiting Helios Distillery in Kyoda, Nago, which began with rum before whisky and awamori. Its warehouse walls are blackened by koji mould, three blenders manage fast tropical maturation, and a giant cask from the 2000 Okinawa Summit waits for 100 years from now. Plus a nearby soba stop. By Mika Tanimoto, owner of Bar Little Happiness in Hiroshima, Japan.

Northern Okinawa Island, far from Naha.

I glided through the sky at “JUNGLIA,” which is drawing attention from all over the world, and felt the Yanbaru forest from a bird’s-eye view.

But this trip had one more destination.

Deep in that forest: Kyoda, Nago City.

About 30 minutes by car from Junglia stands Helios Distillery, a place full of history.

This one is for those who love whisky, rum and Okinawa’s nature.

Touching the distillery’s philosophy, and finishing at a hidden soba restaurant loved by locals.

Here is that northern route for grown-ups.

Pure water from Kyoda, nurtured by the Yanbaru forest

The first thing Helios Distillery cares about in making spirits is “water.”

Seeking rich nature and pure water, they arrived at Kyoda in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture.

Kyoda, surrounded by the ancient Yanbaru forest, has long been called “the city of water.”

Rain that falls on this humid region all year round soaks deep into the ground, gathering minerals from the soil, and is slowly sent out into the rivers over time.

Upstream of the river behind the distillery lies pure natural water — the source of life for Helios Distillery.

A distillery that began not with awamori, but with “rum”

When people think of a distillery in Okinawa, they tend to imagine awamori.

I, too, had assumed that “an awamori company started making whisky.”

But Helios Distillery was a distillery founded on rum.

It made rum from Okinawan sugar cane, and two years later began making whisky.

Then came habu-shu and awamori…, leading to today’s full-range alcoholic beverage maker.

Even now, they make three styles of rum — traditional, agricole and kokuto (brown sugar) — and their diverse spirit of challenge amazed me.

The overwhelming “Ni-no-Kura” — amber guarded by three blenders

This time, I was allowed to tour “Ni-no-Kura” (the second warehouse).

The walls of the charming building look blackened — but it isn’t dirt on the building materials.

It’s because spores of black koji mould, essential for making awamori, are carried on the sea breeze, stick to the walls and multiply.

The sight of the whole plant turning black was a visible “proof of breathing” — of spirits being made powerfully on this land.

Inside the warehouse, a wall of oak casks stacked all the way to the ceiling stretched out before me.

Awamori, rum, and whisky.

All kinds of spirits are sleeping here, and the whole warehouse gives off a rich aroma of maturation.

According to our guide, three blenders work here.

Okinawa’s hot, humid climate dramatically speeds up maturation.

Spirits changing as the casks breathe and soak up the energy of the sun.

So as not to miss those delicate changes, the three blenders manage them strictly and meticulously, I was told.

Behind the stable quality produced in this tropical land are their sharp senses.

A promise to the future, spun by cask maturation

At the root of Helios Distillery is founder Tadashi Matsuda’s belief: “Spirits get better when you rest them in casks.”

Using high-quality white oak casks from trees over 70 years old, “Kura,” which brings Western spirits techniques to traditional awamori, could be called the crystallisation of that belief.

And what touched my heart most in the warehouse was the romance they entrust to the future.

In the warehouse is an extra-large cask filled to commemorate the 2000 Okinawa Summit.

In it is the founder’s strong wish: “I hope the world will still be peaceful enough to enjoy awamori 100 years from now.”

Precisely because of the sad history of so much aged awamori being lost in the Battle of Okinawa, they revive the culture and carry it into the future, together with peace.

I felt the amber liquid sleeping in the cask is like a time capsule for Okinawa 100 years from now.

Souvenirs from the trip, and a soba stop

On the way out, I bought a few bottles.

The whisky “Koyomi,” “Kura Sherry Cask Finish,” whose rich aroma stands out, and “Tiida,” the rum that is the distillery’s origin.

(↑ We serve these at Little Happiness — just ask.)

At the bar after the tour, you can enjoy quite a lot of different spirits, some free and some paid!

And after the distillery tour, please go here.

A soba restaurant, “守良屋,” just a few minutes’ walk from Helios Distillery.

The soba here is superb!

And the pig’s trotters were the best I’ve ever had!

After touching history at Helios Distillery, a lunch wrapped in the gentle aroma of dashi is something special.

Fly through the sky at Junglia, touch Helios’s philosophy, and finish with delicious soba.

This is the northern Okinawa route I’d like to suggest.

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[Photo Gallery]

Finally, here are some scenes I captured on this trip.

The overwhelming scale of Junglia, and the serene air of Helios Distillery. I hope you can feel two contrasting faces of “Okinawa.”

▼ JUNGLIA:

(↑ It looks pretty surreal on video… lol)

The Yanbaru forest seen from the sky was overflowing with life!

The food was really delicious, too!!

▼ HELIOS DISTILLERY:

▼ LUNCH:

“守良屋,” right near Helios Distillery.

Every encounter is meant to be. Welcome to the world of Rum&Whisky.

Mika Tanimoto, Bar Little Happiness