Sakurao Distillery is located in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture on the western coast of Honshu and produces both Japanese whisky and Japanese gin from the same distillery site. The Sakurao whisky uses locally sourced Hiroshima water; the Sakurao gin uses Japanese botanicals including hirami lemon (flat lemon), oyster (from Hiroshima Bay, one of Japan's most famous oyster-producing areas), and local citrus varieties. Hiroshima Prefecture is known for mild, warm winters and the specific mineral character of its river water.

As a dual-category distillery producing both whisky and gin, Sakurao reflects the recent expansion of Japanese craft distillery production beyond the traditional Scotch-influenced malt whisky model into gin. The oyster botanical in the gin is a direct reference to Hiroshima's most famous food product and provides a uniquely Japanese botanical provenance not found in any European gin tradition. For programmes building a Japanese spirits section extending beyond the established whisky houses (Suntory, Nikka), Sakurao provides a regional craft distillery narrative from western Japan.