Hawaiian SHOCHU Company sits on the North Shore of Oahu in Haleiwa, bringing Japan’s traditional shochu-making craft to Hawaiian soil. Founded by Glenn Mikami, a local entrepreneur with deep Japanese heritage, the distillery opened in 2012 with the mission of creating authentic shochu using local Hawaiian ingredients. The operation runs out of a converted warehouse space that Mikami transformed into a working distillery, complete with traditional Japanese distillation equipment alongside modern stainless steel fermentation tanks. Mikami’s journey into shochu began during trips to Japan where he studied traditional distillation methods with master craftsmen in Kyushu, the heartland of shochu production. He returned to Hawaii determined to create something that honored both his Japanese ancestry and his island home. The distillery focuses exclusively on shochu production, using sweet potato, rice, and local Hawaiian ingredients like taro and ti root. What started as a passion project has grown into Hawaii’s only dedicated shochu distillery. Visitors get an intimate look at a craft that’s virtually unknown in American spirits. The facility isn’t large, but it’s packed with character and the kind of personal attention you’d expect from a family operation. Mikami often leads tours himself, explaining the differences between shochu and other spirits while walking guests through the fermentation and distillation process. The tasting room showcases the range of shochu styles, from light and clean to rich and earthy, all carrying subtle tropical notes that reflect their Hawaiian terroir.