Taragawa Distillery is located 180 miles southwest of Naha, the capital of Okinawa prefecture, on Miyako Island, which is a popular summer vacation destination for in Japan.
The Okinawa archipelago is famous for its sugar cane crop (called "uuji"), which were introduced by the first settlers in the 19th century. The lack of water in this semi-tropical region made it more difficult to grow rice, so inhabitants resorted to farming local sugar cane. The year-round mild temperatures and the mineral-rich soils are great for sugar cane crops. The top-quality sugar cane is very fine and well suited to producing rum, as well as Japan's famous black sugar.
