An Emotional Goodbye. Tears and Laughs
You were special Sato-san
This wasn't the New Year's post I expected to write.
There's a 2024 Year in Review post sitting in my drafts, but it's not the one you're getting today. Instead, I'm sharing something I had to write: a eulogy for the first person on Rishiri who believed in my dream for whisky in Rishiri.
Had history taken a slightly different turn, had Sato-san not been the person assigned to greet us on that fateful Friday in July 2017, we wouldn't have a distillery in Rishiri today.
Sato-san passed away at the start of this year after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 50.
Who he was and What he meant
Sato-san was one of the rare individuals, that could see a vision. He was creative1, could see possibilities. From the moment I shared my dream for Kamui Whisky (K.K.), he understood. He was a risk taker.
And he combined this with real skills. He could get stuff done. He moved fast, but also when needed he moved slow, in order to move fast later. Rishiri can be quite a political place. He knew all of the hidden political cartilage and sinews, where there was tension, where there were bruises where there was unsaid concern, who would block, who might support. For six years, he guided me through all these potential snags and roadblocks, ensuring Kamui didn’t die before we were even born.
This combination of creative ability and vision coupled with real skills and execution ability was uncommon.
And biggest of all he loved Rishiri. The projects, and he would tackle, including hairy, audacious ones were all for a better future for Rishiri.
Most people with his skills and ability would have done this in Tokyo, if not Sapporo. People like him would either go to the regional capital Sapporo, or to the national capital, Tokyo. Where the game is bigger, the opportunities greater, where they can really test their skills.
He didn’t.
He remained in Rishiri to use his talent to build.
Without the luck of meeting him that first day, him excited enough to try and sell me an abandoned Middle School, without him spending the next 6 years navigating me through the choppy waters of what it is to start a new business in Rishiri, Kamui Whisky K.K. would not be here. There would be no Rishiri Whisky.
We exist because of Sato-san.
And not only that am I thankful for. I loved his smile. I loved his giggle. These last few years, I would always give him hugs when I saw him or said goodbye. Those moments added up to love, and made my life much better.
Getting to Rishiri in the New Year
Sato-san made it into 2025. Passing away on the second day of the year. The Otsuya, and the Funeral were schedule for a few days later. The 5th and the 6th.
I was in Tokyo. Single-fathering my toddler when I received the news.
There was little time to plan, but within hours I had my ticket to Wakkanai booked. I would have to take the ferry route, as the plane route was sold out within those few hours between hearing the news and booking my ticket. Many people would be traveling for Sato-san.
I called to the place I usually stay - Shobukawa Ryokan - but they were away for the New Year’s holiday. Frantically I started calling more hotels but everywhere was shut. By the time I was boarding the plane there still wasn’t a fixed place for me to stay. Of course, I could crash at someone’s house, but I was imaging I would be sleeping in the car, with the car on all night, the heater on full blast. It’s -5°c now in Rishiri, and with the wind chill add another -10°c. Imagining spending the night in the car, in what would end up being a -15°c snow storm2, was a dread mixed with adventure.
As it was, I could get into the distillery. Thankfully, the electricity was still on. No running water though. I was able to turn the heater on and sleep on a futon. In the morning, the challenge of a morning pee. In that -15°c, bleary eyed, knee deep in snow… was memorable. Half asleep, I had to remember don’t piss into the freezing wind. 😂
Otsuya and Funeral
The Otsuya, the wake, was held a couple hours after I arrived. The formal ceremony was packed. His family, his friends, and in rural Japan the work colleagues make a big contingent, were all there. Standing room only.
After the hour long Buddhist ceremony most people left. Low tables were brought out, enough for about 30 - 40 people. Then food and alcohol were served. It started out subdued, but about an hour in it turned into a party on the tatami mats. It became a celebration. There were still tears but increasingly more laughs.
As we got to about 11pm it really got lively. Guitars were brought out. Sato-san loved rock music. A singer he had commissioned to make an original song for Rishiri got up and sang a moving rendition.
This was all next to the body. Sato-san’s body was laid out, with a viewing window for his face. A window that could be opened. As the night went on, plenty of drinks had been had, different emotions had been navigated, a lot of pictures would be taken next to him. There was talking to his body; some caressing of his face.
The party went on until very late. At 2am most of the low tables were removed. A handful of his closest friends and family and some of those deepest into their cups would remain. I bowed at this time, knowing I’d have a short fitful night of sleep in the cold before the funeral.
The next morning was the funeral. A formal rite. At the end was the final goodbye to the body. Everyone could lay flowers on Sato-san’s body before he would be taken for cremation. A final letter from Sato-san, probably written in his last days, was read out just before the body was carried away. It was very emotional for everyone. A full flow of tears. His message: he lived a full life, he was happy, don’t feel sorry for him, he lived how he wanted, he loved his family, he loved Rishiri.
Then a bus, converted into a hearse, drove away with Sato-san as everyone waved and bowed.
For me, it was a special two days. I’m so glad I dropped everything, made the trip in the middle of winter to Rishiri without a place to stay to be able to be there for Sato-san’s last goodbye. It was a sad, solemn time, but it was happy too. There were laughs and it became a celebration of his life. Sato-san was surrounded with many, many people that loved him.
I was one of the one’s that loved him.
My Funeral
In the long trip back from Rishiri, and to be honest, during the hours of sitting on the tatami mat with hurting knees during the ceremonies, I was thinking about how my own passing would be.
If it could be like Sato-san’s, I would have had a life well-lived. Surrounded by loved ones, the intimacy, being celebrated.
I’ve said many times, publicly, that I’d like to be “buried3” in Rishiri. The small, local funeral style - how it is intimate and genuine. Not overly formal. Unlike the austere funerals I’ve been to in Tokyo, it seems the right way. Let people get drunk, let people have fun and be themselves.
Due to timing, and not wanting to spend another cold night with no running water and just a wall heater, I spent the return night in Wakkanai. I had a quiet drink at the top floor bar in the Surfeel Hotel. A couple of Negroni’s4. This place has that melancholy and desolate beauty that attracted me to Rishiri. Similar to the rainy day in Rishiri I first met Sato-san.
For my funeral ceremonies, if I have the money, I’ll leave enough for a couple of days of open bar here at the top floor in Wakkanai for everyone who makes the journey to Rishiri. To drink, reminisce, laugh, and enjoy the beauty.
Fun fact: If you stack 14,026 cans of Japanese whisky highballs on top of each other, they would reach the height of Mount Rishiri. Not recommended as a climbing technique. (Mt Rishiri: 1721m = 172,000 cm; 350ml can = 12.2cm. Divide. 14,026 cans)
For the adventurous whisky enthusiast: Combine your love of Rishiri and whisky by attempting to make your own "Rishiri Mist" using melted snow from Mount Rishiri. Results may vary, and local authorities may not approve.
I’ll be cremated.
Negroni is our first official cocktail from Kamui. We’ve been working on a recipe, and came up with a sublime tasting Kamui Genshu Negroni. A video on how to make it will be released soon.