SHINDO LAB STAND, a concept store created by long-established sake brewery Shinozaki, offering new encounters and experiences with sake that have yet to be discovered.

A 40-minute bus ride from Fukuoka Airport takes you to Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, a peaceful town dotted with countless rice paddies and dotted with the Chikugo River. Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, is a peaceful town dotted with countless rice paddies and bordered by the Chikugo River. Shinozaki, which has long been engaged in sake brewing in this location, has opened SHINDO LAB STAND, a concept store that offers an experience that only a physical store can provide.

Creative direction was provided by Seiji Ono, the founder of Concept Conception*, a design direction company that has worked on numerous projects, and the leader of HOUYHNHNM's well-known brand "UNTRACE". The store was designed by Hirokazu Yamazaki, an interior designer and guitarist for the rock band "toe," whose performance at Fuji Rock is still fresh in our minds, to create a hybrid space that combines the coziness of a local shop with a modern design that does not look local. The space is a hybrid of local comfort and modern design.

. We went to Asakura City to discover the whole picture of this facility, which is nestled comfortably in the midst of rich nature.

A new challenge for a long-established brewery .

Shinozaki" started sake production in the late Edo period and celebrates its 220-plus year anniversary this year. Starting with sake production, 40 years ago, the company began producing rice malt amazake, which until then was considered a traditional beverage to be made at home. Kunikiku Amazake, made using brewing expertise in koji and fermentation, later became the company's signature product and gained the No. 1 share of the domestic market for bottle-type amazake. And in 2021, the company opened the "SHINDO LAB" as a new challenge, focusing on whiskey and wine making.

The SHINDO LAB operates a whiskey distillery and barrel aging facility , and a natural wine brewery and temperature-controlled aging facility. The site area is a whopping 5,500 tsubo! SHINDO LAB STAND" is located in a corner of the site.

The mortar-like space is lined with rounded fixtures , designed to evoke a Japanese design. The store offers a diverse lineup of alcoholic beverages, including the popular Kunikiku Amazake, the amber-colored shochu "Millennium Sleep," which is aged for a long time, the Asakura series of liqueurs based on barrel-brewed barley shochu, craft gin, natural wine, and more.

One of the most notable features is the hand-filling experience, which allows visitors to bottle their own whisky directly from the cask. While this is commonplace in Scottish distilleries, it is very rare in Japan, and this equipment was specially ordered for the opening of SHINDO LAB STAND. The whisky recommended at the time is served, and after bottling, you can write your name and the date on the original label. Among whisky lovers overseas, a culture has taken root in which they dare to paste labels backwards or at an angle to complete their own unique bottle design.

There are other attractions as well. The shop will also offer apparel that can only be purchased here, and will be directed by "Antrace. In addition to T-shirts and caps that express Shinozaki's concept "THE QUEST FOR THE ORIGINAL" with the "Q4O" logo, a collaboration with Fukuoka-based graphic artist WOK22 has also been released. In addition, a collaboration with WOK22, a graphic artist based in Fukuoka, has also been released.

Sneak into the precious whiskey aging room!

SHINDO LAB also offers distillery tours where visitors can experience the whisky production process, and on this day, we were allowed to take a look at the whisky aging room. As I stepped into the distillery, I was surprised to see..,

A breathtaking sight with countless barrels lined up! At this location, whiskey is aged in barrels with different dissolving components, such as "bourbon barrels" in which bourbon is once stored and "Quercus barrels" which have a characteristic oriental aroma. Even if the whiskey is put into the same type of barrel, no two barrels will have the same flavor, and the blender regularly checks the maturity of each barrel. Even a drop or two blended with a dropper can greatly change the aroma and flavor of the whiskey from one barrel to another. SHINDO LAB's whiskey is the result of slow and careful aging and the delicate craftsmanship that makes the most of each barrel's unique characteristics.

SHINDO LAB STAND offers a glimpse of SHINDO LAB's approach to sake brewing. When you travel to Fukuoka, why not take a short walk from the city center and spend a slow moment with nature and sake at this place?