- Feature
- Savor excellent sake on “Sado: the Heavy Drinker’s Paradise”!
Savor excellent sake on “Sado: the Heavy Drinker’s Paradise”!
Sado's local sake, brought to you by Nature
Niigata Prefecture, one of the leading drinking places in Japan, boasts the greatest annual per capita consumption of sake and the largest number of sake breweries. Compared to many areas in Niigata, Sado is said to have a high percentage of Japanese sake lovers.
Sado’s sake brewing developed in tandem with its thriving gold and silver mines, and at present five breweries are devoted to sake making, adding a variety of ingenuities to their products. Liquors like doburoku (unrefined, cloudy sake), and those made from Sado’s famous persimmons are produced, too.
Quality water is indispensable to quality sake brewing. Sado, with both the Osado and Kosado mountain ranges, is a treasure trove of silky spring water, which bubbles up here and there, and contains plenty of nutrients from the earth. Sado’s sake, brewed from that rich water and high-quality sake rice, is highly valued not only on Sado, but in other parts of Japan, too. In recent years, Sado’s sake is becoming better-known in many aspects, as it is being shipped both domestically and overseas.
Thanks to blessings brought by nature and the breweries’ tireless efforts, Sado’s local sake continues to evolve.
Soft and gentle water nurtured by Satoyama Mountain
Tasty sake rice, the base for tasty sake making
Traditional performing arts connected by sake
Various performing arts, such as Ondeko (demon dancing and drumming), Lion Dance and Hanagasa-odori (flower hat dance) have been handed down in various regions on Sado, and Sado’s local sake is indispensable to these events. Sake is important in that it connects the people in those regions. On community festival days, bottles of local sake offered to the gods stand in a line at the shrines. At the time of kadozuke (presenting performing arts from door to door to drive away evil spirits), sake is served by the families, along with tasty local fare. People get together and pour each other sake, thus developing strong ties, and passing on their regional traditions. Sado’s sake is, so to speak, a bridge that connects generations.
A thankful feast is given at the houses where kadozuke is presented.
Sado's local sake is indispensable to festivals.
Tasty tidbits for tasty sake
The best way to savor Sado’s local sake is to have Sado’s delicacies as tidbits. In winter a lot of local fish like anglerfish and cod are landed. They go very well with sake.
Many breweries offer sake brewing tours, and some hotels and restaurants have introduced economical sampling packages.
Please do visit Sado in winter to discover your favorite sake brand.
Tasty tidbits for tasty sake
A variety of local sake, Sado's pride
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Gift Shops Sake BreweriesObata Shuzo Sake Brewery
Obata Shuzo Sake Brewery, the brewer of "Manotsuru" brand sake, was established in 1892. Obata Shuzo Sake Brewery has won the gold prize a total of ten times at the nation's most respected National New Sake Awards. It was also honoured three times with a prestigious gold medal in the sake category at the world's largest wine competition held in London, the International Wine Challenge, (in 2004, 2007 and 2015). They offer brewery tours and sake tasting as well a selection of sake for sale.
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Gift Shops Sake Breweries
Obata Shuzo Sake Brewery
Obata Shuzo Sake Brewery, the brewer of "Manotsuru" brand sake, was established in 1892. Obata Shuzo Sake Brewery has won the gold prize a total of ten times at the nation's most respected National New Sake Awards. It was also honoured three times with a prestigious gold medal in the sake category at the world's largest wine competition held in London, the International Wine Challenge, (in 2004, 2007 and 2015). They offer brewery tours and sake tasting as well a selection of sake for sale.
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Gift Shops Sake BreweriesKato Shuzoten Sake Brewery
Founded in 1915, Kato Sake Brewery is located in the Kanai area, where they transferred to seek out good quality water. Seventy per cent of their sake is consumed within the island. "Kintsuru," a favorite among Sado Islanders, is a hidden gem not very known outside the island. However, the company's sake-making policy and the resulting flavors, which are embodied in Jogen no Tsuki (a pure sake with highly polished rice organically cultivated with natural farming methods by their own workers), are attracting local sake connoisseurs all around Japan. Free tasting available!
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Gift Shops Sake BreweriesTenryohai Sake Brewery
Tenryohai Sake Brewery has consistently maintained a high quality of sake making. Sake rice "Koshitanrei" goes well with the underground water at Mt Kinpoku, the tallest mountain in Sado. The water produces aromatic, smooth and refreshing sake. Brewery tours are available with a guide within the sake brewing factory, where the precision and skills of brewers and cutting-edge technologies are mixed. A variety of "Tenryohai" brand sake can be purchased at the shop at Tenryo no Sato.
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Sake BreweriesHenmi Shuzou
This brewery was established around the time of the Meiji Restoration and a small number of its brewers continue to make sake in earnest. The brewers' combined experience, limited dependence on machines and attitudes of utilizing these two aspects when brewing sake, are all based on a natural stance. The irreplaceable water, from a well on the premises, supports this choice sake, called Shinryo. Use of an activated charcoal filter, which usually removes color from the sake, is restrained as much as possible. The strongest selling point of this sake is its“natural” flavor, created by leaving the finished sake as it is. You can take a tour of the brewery, and sample its sake, too.
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Gift Shops Sake BreweriesHokusetsu Shuzo Sake Brewery
Hokusetsu Shuzo Sake Brewery was established in 1872. Hokusetsu is a dry, smooth sake, which evokes images of heavy snow in the northern provinces. Committed in their passion to Sado's water, rice, climate and people, Hokusetsu wholeheartedly makes sake which can only be made by Hokusetsu, and explores the various possibilities of sake with sensibilities suited to the times. Sake produced by Hokusetsu is loved at Nobu restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, London, Milan, and Dubai, among others, which attract celebrities from around the world.