Date of visit: 3 Jul 2015 - Day 7 in Kagoshima trip
Kojika Shuzo is based in Kanoya City in Ōsumi Peninsula side of Kagoshima prefecture.
After about an hour nice seaside and rural drive from Tarumizu City, my mother's home town where I stayed, I found a big factory in the middle of plain field.
Kojika Shuzo was established in 1971 as a co-operative partnership of small shochu distillars in Kanoya region. "Kojika", the company name as well as the brand, means "small dear", which represents that young owners of shochu distillars in the region gather and co-operate.
They also established Kojima Agricultuaral Association with local fermers to ensure the stable supply and quality of sweet potato from cultivation all the way to shochu production.
My school friend introduced Mr. Kodama working for Kojika to me, so I could have a chance to visit him.
Mr. Mizukami brought me to a factory tour followed by Mr. Kodama's welcoming me and providing an introduction of the campany. During the tour, I was always surprised by the size as well as modernized and macinarized factory (see some in the pictures). Believe me it is really "factory" than "shochu kura". There are many buildings and factories with big automated machines for the production generating 8,400kl of shochu a year. I was always impressed and It was off production season and very quiet, but all machines are full operation during the season. Wow!
In fact, I have visited some big shochu distillars which do have factory tipe of facilities during the trip.
Those big shochu manufacturers have many types of shochu factories from mass production to handmade and usually organize a tour for a tipical "shochu kura" for handmade type of premium shochu making. Thus, this is the biggest factory I ever saw and I was very impressed by the scale.
Special thanks to Mr. Kojima and Mr. Mizukami for guiding me in the distillery!!
Top: Sweet potate washing machine
Center: Automated koji mold making machine, Mr. Kodama(right) and Mr. Mizukami(left), potstill
Bottom: Stainless steel tanks
Kojika Shuzo website: http://www.shochu-kojika.jp/en/
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