Local Guide
Sake brewery tour in Aizu Wakamatsu and Inawashiro area. 6 recommended breweries

Blessed with high-quality rice and water, the Aizu region is known as one of the leading sake-producing areas in Japan. Fukushima Prefecture continues to break the record for the largest number of gold medals awarded in the National New Sake Competition, with breweries in the Aizu region accounting for more than half of the awards. More than half of the breweries are located in the Aizu region, and there are many breweries in Aizu Wakamatsu, where visitors can enjoy tours and shopping at direct sales outlets. Why not enjoy a tour of some of the recommended breweries in the Aizu Wakamatsu and Inawashiro area?

*Please note that due to the prevention of the spread of the new coronavirus, the hours of operation may change and the cafe may be closed. Please check in advance before visiting.

Clean sake brewed with famous water from Bandai

From left:
From left: "Daiginjo Eishiro" (720ml, 5,500 yen), "Bandai Shibori" (720ml, 2,096 yen), "Sudachi Sake" (720ml, 1,870 yen)

Founded in 1869 in Aizu-Wakamatsu, the brewery moved to its current location in 1989 in search of good water suitable for sake brewing. The brewery brews sake using limpid groundwater from the "Bandai Nishiyamaroku Spring Group," one of the 100 best waters in Japan.
Eishiro", the representative brand of the brewery, has won the gold medal at the All Japan New Sake Competition, and is the work of the toji (master brewer). It is characterized by an aroma reminiscent of muskmelon and a mild and soft mouthfeel. Other popular products include "Bandai Shibori," a junmai ginjo-nama sake sold exclusively at the brewery, and sake-based plum wine and liqueurs.

Familiarize yourself with sake through factory tours and tastings

At the
At the "YUZUKURA" kiosk, you can sample representative brands.

The brewery also offers guided tours, which can be requested on the day of the tour except for groups. On weekdays, visitors can watch the bottling and labeling process from the aisles, and from May to October, when the brewery is closed, the brewing process is shown on monitors.
After the tour, visit the store "Yugura" located at the entrance of the factory. After the tour, visitors can visit the "Yutukura" shop at the entrance of the factory, where they can taste and select sake in an atmospheric building that was once a warehouse. There are also a variety of original goods such as sake cups and sake cups with the Eikawa logo on them, which would make great gifts for those who love sake.

Eisen Sake Brewery
  • Address 6841-11 Sarashina Nakasonehira, Bandai-cho, Yama-gun, Fukushima MAP
  • Direction 8 minutes drive from JR Bandai-cho Station
  • Business hours Yutukura 10:00-16:30
    Guided tours at 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00 (20-30 minutes)
  • Closed Wednesday (closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays in December)
    Tours: open year-round
  • TEL 0242-73-2300
  • Parking Free of charge

Historic brewery that continues to preserve the original Yamahai brewing method

From left: Kaegura Yamahai Junmai Sake (720ml) 2,000 yen, Junmai Daiginjo
From left: Kaegura Yamahai Junmai Sake (720ml) 2,000 yen, Junmai Daiginjo "Yume no Kaori" (720ml) 2,241 yen, Kaegura Daiginjo (720ml) 3,600 yen

The company was founded in 1850 (Kaei 3). In the early Taisho period (1912-1926), Suehiro Shuzo Kaga Kura invited Kinichiro Kagi, the founder of the Yamahai method of sake brewing, to begin experimental brewing. The sake "Densetsu Yamahai Junmai Suehiro," which is a legacy of this Kagi-shiki Yamahai brewing method, is an excellent sake that has won gold medals at numerous domestic and international sake competitions, and is one of the brewery's original products. Other conceptual sake offerings include "Genzai," a daiginjo packed with raw sake that has won a gold medal at a sake competition, and "Yumekaori," a junmai daiginjo made from Fukushima Prefecture's "Yumekaori" (fragrance of dreams) sake rice.

Don't miss the direct sales shop where you can get sake that is only available at the brewery.

At the direct sales counter, you can sample some of the brewery's recommended sake.
At the direct sales counter, you can sample some of the brewery's recommended sake.

At the Kaei Brewery, sake is brewed by hand the old-fashioned way, and guided tours of the brewery by Staff/staff members are available (free of charge). Reservations are not required to participate, and you can see the brewery and the tools used to make sake.
After learning more about sake brewing, a visit to the direct sales area will be twice as much fun. At the tasting corner, sake and ume (plum) wine, including brands exclusive to the brewery, are on display, allowing visitors to take their time in choosing the right one while checking the different aromas and flavors.
The sake brewery café "Kyou" on the premises is also a hidden healing spot. In a retro space converted from the oldest sake brewery, visitors can enjoy cakes made from daiginjo and coffee made with brewed water.

Suehiro Sake Brewery Kaeigura
  • Address 12-38 Nisshinmachi, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 6 minutes drive from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station
  • Direction Take a bus from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station, get off at Yamato-cho and walk about 1 minute.
  • Business hours 9:00-17:00 (last admission 16:00), Cafe 10:00-17:30
  • Closed Sake brewery: 2nd Wed. Dec. 31, Jan. 1, Cafe: Wed.
  • TEL 0242-27-0002
  • Parking Free of charge

Reputed for the meticulous sake brewing by the veteran and female toji

From left: Junmai Daiginjo
From left: Junmai Daiginjo "Aizu Chujo Tokusozhu (720ml)" 5,500 yen in a box, Junmai Daiginjo "Yuri (720ml)" named after the master brewer 2,750 yen in a box, Junmai Ginjo "Aizu Chujo Yume no Kou (720ml)" 1,540 yen

Founded in 1794 as a branch of the Eihoya family, which served as the head of the Aizu domain's imperial household, the brewery is also famous for having a mother and daughter toji, a rarity in Japan, including a veteran toji who was awarded the "Medal with Yellow Ribbon" in the fall of 2019. The brewery offers a variety of sake that can be enjoyed as a mealtime sake, including the mellow and delicious "Aizu Chujo" series brewed by the veteran toji, who insists on traditional manual labor, and the dry "Yuri" series, in which the mother is in charge of koji making and the daughter of the toji is in charge of brewing. The brewery has a deep love for its hometown, and is also engaged in sake brewing using "Gohyakumangoku" and "Yumenokou" rice suitable for sake brewing produced in Aizu, as well as yeast from Fukushima Prefecture.

Enjoy tasting sake while listening to the brewer's thoughts.

Sake tasting is always available at the direct sales counter.
Sake tasting is always available at the direct sales counter.

The wooden building facing Nanoka-machi Street in Aizuwakamatsu was built at the end of the Taisho era. Inside is a direct sales shop, where visitors can sample a wide range of sake, from standard sake to seasonal sake. If you are lucky, you can choose your sake while listening to the explanation of the toji (master brewer), which is unique to this small brewery. Each product is labeled with the rice and yeast used, flavor, and drinking temperature range, showing the love that goes into each bottle.
Sake brewery tours are available by advance reservation only, and since they are often not available during busy periods, early consultation is recommended.

Tsurunoe Brewery
  • Address 2-46 Nanokaicho, Aizuwakamatsu-shi, Fukushima MAP
  • Direction 5 minutes walk from JR Nanokaicho Station
  • Business hours 9:00-18:00 *Reservations required for brewery tours.
  • Closed January 1
  • TEL 0242-27-0139
  • Parking Free of charge (2 cars)

A popular brewery with a variety of excellent sake that is highly acclaimed both in Japan and abroad.

From left: Junmai Ginjo-shu
From left: Junmai Ginjo-shu "Zenki-ya (1,800ml)" 3,300 yen, Junmai Ginjo-shu "Gekyu (1,800ml)" 2,530 yen, Junmai Ginjo-shu "Gekyu Kahori (1,800ml)" 2,640 yen, "Nagurayama Daiginjo (1,800ml)" 5,500 yen, which was made to enter in a competition

Founded in 1918. The brewery is known for its meticulous sake brewing that aims for "clean sweetness," and has won the gold medal at the National New Sake Competition for 11 consecutive years until 2019.
Nagurayama Daiginjo, the face of the brewery, is sake made with the best ingredients, techniques, and conditions, and boasts a fruity taste that harmonizes the five tastes of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. Junmai-shu "Tsukiyumi," made with Fukushima sake rice "Kaori Yume no Kaori" and Fukushima Prefecture-developed yeast, is a bottle of sake that is both gorgeous and full-bodied, and offers a clean sweet experience.

Sake brewery tours open the rare brewing cellar to the public

The brewery with open tanks lined up.
The brewery with open tanks lined up.

Gold medal-winning sake and sake below the ginjo-shu level are brewed in separate breweries and thoroughly temperature-controlled to bring out the best flavor. Tours of the brewery are available year-round by appointment, and the best part is getting a close-up look at the storage tanks. The interior of the brewery, which was built in the Meiji era (1868-1912), also has a certain charm.
Since 80% of Nagurayama Brewery's products are shipped within the prefecture, it is recommended to buy locally. The sake has won awards at domestic and international sake competitions, making it an ideal souvenir for sake lovers.

Nagurayama Brewery
  • Address 2-46 Sengokucho, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture MAP
  • Direction Approximately 8 minutes from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station by car
  • Direction Take a bus from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station, get off at "Sengokuchuo" and walk 4 minutes.
  • Business hours 9:00-17:00 (reservations required to tour the warehouse)
  • Closed Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays
  • TEL 0242-22-0844
  • Parking Free of charge

Reviewing the design of sake quality to create world-class sake

From right, the main brands
From right, the main brands "Aizu Miyazumi" and "Shakuraku

Founded in 1955 in front of "Tsurugajo" castle in Aizu Wakamatsu City. Despite being a relatively young brewery, it boasts nationwide popularity. A major turning point for the brewery came in 2003, when the current fourth-generation brewer returned to his hometown. He quit his job as a system engineer and returned to the brewery as the fourth generation. As a result of his continuous pursuit of technology, "Collage" won first place in the Junmai-shu and Junmai-ginjo categories of the 2014 SAKE COMPETITION, a competition to determine the world's most delicious commercial sake, and was catapulted into the national spotlight.
The new brand "drawing" launched by the fourth generation for the national market, as well as "Aizu Miyazumi," which is mainly shipped within Fukushima Prefecture, have also won the grand prix at various sake competitions.

Uncompromising sake brewing using high quality water and rice

The brewery is highly regarded not only for its quality, but also for its sanitary management.
The brewery is highly regarded not only for its quality, but also for its sanitary management.

The rice fields cultivated jointly with contract farmers produce locally grown sake rice such as "Gohyakumangoku" and "Yumen no Kou". In addition to locally grown rice, we also use rice that is rarely handled in Japan, such as "Sake Mirai", "Hanezu Homare", "Akaban Omachi", "Tojo Yamadanishiki", and "Yoshikawa Yamadanishiki", which are classified as special A rice for sake brewing, and are constantly working to improve sake quality. As for storage, while most breweries store sake in large tanks at room temperature, Miyazumi Brewery does not store sake in tanks to prevent oxidation by air and deterioration at room temperature, and instead bottles all of its sake for refrigerated storage.
The factory is not open for tours, but the plaster and wood exterior of the brewery alone is worth seeing.

Miyazumi Meijo
  • Address 8-7 Toei-cho, Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 7 minutes drive from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station
  • Direction Take a bus from JR Aizuwakamatsu Station and get off at Kita-Demaru-Odori (1 min. walk).
  • Business hours 9:00-16:30 (No tours allowed)
  • Closed Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays *Shops are open daily.
  • TEL 0242-27-0031
  • Parking Free of charge

Long-established sake brewery loved for its strong, unfiltered, unfiltered sake

From left,
From left, "Inagawa Daiginjo (1,800ml)" 6,600 yen, Junmai Ginjo Unfiltered Genshu "Shichijuro Red Label (1,800ml)" 3,247 yen, Junmai Sake "Hyakugo (1,800ml)" 2,648 yen

Founded in 1848 in Inawashiro Town, the brewery focuses on unfiltered, unfiltered sake. Its signature product, "Shichijuro," is a sake bearing the venerable name of the head of the brewery, which has been passed down from generation to generation, and the brewery specializes in a series of junmai unfiltered sake.
The striking name "Hyakujugo" (one hundred and fifteen) is a gem of a sake, named after the National Route 115 that passes by the rice fields where the rice is grown, and where the toji (chief brewer) handles everything from the cultivation of the rice to the production of the sake.
Inagawa Daiginjo, which has won the gold medal many times at the National New Sake Competition, is another brand that has many fans.

Valuing local distribution as the only brewery in Inawashiro

A small community-based brewery. In addition to sake, sake kasu (sake lees) is also sold.
A small community-based brewery. In addition to sake, sake kasu (sake lees) is also sold.

The store name "Inagawa" is named after rice, the lifeblood of sake, and "river" after the underground water from Bandai-san. The brewery's toji and all Staff/staff members are from Inawashiro Town and the surrounding area, and they place great importance on brewing sake with local rice and water. There used to be five or six breweries in Inawashiro, but now there is only one, Inagawa Sake Brewery. The brewery is not open to the public, but visitors can buy sake at the office and store. Most of the brands are distributed locally, so many of them are not found outside of the prefecture, making them a pleasure to taste.

Inagawa Sake Brewery
  • Address 4916 Shinmachi, Inawashiro-cho, Yama-gun, Fukushima MAP
  • Direction 7 minutes drive from JR Inawashiro Station
  • Direction Take a bus from JR Inawashiro Station, get off at "Bus Center" and walk about 2 minutes.
  • Hours of operation 8:30-17:00
  • Closed Closed on weekends and holidays
  • TEL 0242-62-2001
  • Parking Free of charge (2 cars)

After enjoying sightseeing, how about relaxing at a resort hotel located at the foot of Mt. You can feel the history and culture of Aizu during your stay at the hotel.

An inn where you can fully enjoy Aizu culture and stay active all year round

Guest rooms based on the concept of
Guest rooms based on the concept of "Aizu Modern

Bandaisan Onsen Hotel by Hoshino Resorts is located in a place where "Bandaisan," one of the 100 most famous mountains in Japan, towers in front of you and Lake Inawashiro shines like a mirror below. With a heated swimming pool, spa, and hot springs, guests can enjoy a stay that brings them into contact with the unknown culture of Aizu. You can stay active from the season of fresh green to the season of blazing autumn leaves and deep snow. Enjoy a highland resort stay amidst magnificent nature and the changing seasons.

Bandaisan Onsen Hotel by Hoshino Resorts
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.