A former herb farm that’s been repurposed into a brandy distillery certainly makes for an interesting day out from Tokyo. Located in Otaki, Chiba prefecture, Mitosaya was developed by owner-distiller Hiroshi Eguchi in 2018 on the back of a successful crowdfunding campaign, and released its first products last year in summer. It’s a sprawling, green hideaway comprising three buildings and two greenhouses, including an exhibition room containing over 500 specimens of medicinal plants, a legacy inherited from the facility’s former life as a herbal study and education centre.
Mitosaya makes botanical brandy using raw materials hand-picked from around 500 different herbs, fruits and vegetables that have been growing at the 16,000sqm farm for the last 30 years, including quintessential Japanese ingredients like yuzu and persimmon. Aside from fruit brandy, the distillery also produces herbal tea, cosmetics, herbal water, herb-based insecticides and syrups flavoured with cherry blossom, red shiso and cinnamon.
Mitosaya is only open to the public once a month, when you’ll be able to walk around the garden, get in touch with nature, and sample food and drinks at the bar set up in a light-filled renovated greenhouse.