Visit a Sake Brewery in the Heart of Kanazawa

See how sake is made, then savor the product at historic Fukumitsuya Sake Brewery

Anyone looking to wet their whistle with a sip of Japan's signature beverage should plan a stop at the Fukumitsuya Sake Brewery. Conveniently located in Kanazawa's traditional city center, this historic brewery has been producing sake since 1625. The sake they brew with time-honored techniques passed down through the generations has long been treasured by residents of Kanazawa, as well as by sake fans far and wide. Check it out for yourself during a tasting at the brewery.

Kanazawa is blessed with pristine and abundant water, flowing from Mt. Hakusan, then and being filtered underground for over 100 years. With this water, together with premium sake rice, yeast, and koji (a mold used in the fermentation process), Fukumitsuya brews only junmai (pure rice) sake, the absence of additives ensuring a clear, rich taste.

Visit during the brewing season from November to March and you can take a guided tour of the brewery, giving you an inside look at the fascinating process by which sake is brewed. Tastings are available year-round; if you're not the drinking type, the brewery store also offers a range of healthful food and non-alcoholic beverage items, along with skin care products making full use of the power of fermentation.

Fukumitsuya has another gift shop in the city that sells not only sake, but foods created by fermentation and cosmetics made from sake.

Access: From Tokyo Station, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train to Kanazawa Station (about two hours 30 minutes), then take Hokutetsu Bus No. 12 to the Kodatsuno stop (about 13 minutes). The brewery is a one-minute walk from there.

Fukumitsuya Sake Brewery