Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery

Niigata prefecture’s fertile soil and pure water have combined to make it a celebrated rice-producing region since ancient times. Besides this culinary staple itself, potent sake rice wine (nihonshu in Japanese) has long been central to Japanese culture, and Niigata boasts more sake makers than any other Japanese prefecture. Imayo Tsukasa Sake Brewery is among the most revered of these, and as the first brewery you encounter when leaving Niigata Station, it serves as a gateway to the world of Niigata nihonshu. At the forefront of efforts to ensure sake remains relevant in the 21st century, it invites visitors to join a free brewery tour that gives fascinating insight into the drink’s history and production.

Imayo Tsukasa was established as an inn and sake shop in 1767, at a time when Niigata was booming with a population said to have been larger than that of Tokyo (then known as Edo). Midway through the Meiji era (1868-1912), the business transformed itself into a fully fledged sake brewery, with Imayo Tsukasa becoming an acclaimed premium nihonshu brand.

Not that the going has always been smooth. The reputation of Niigata sake suffered a few decades back when other local producers began using an excessive amount of water in their brewing process to increase production, earning Niigata nihonshu the nickname “goldfish sake,” said to be so diluted that a fish could survive in it. Imayo Tsukasa strove to rectify this tarnished image by going to the other extreme, using only natural water, in moderate amounts, that flows from the nearby Suganatake mountain. Since 2006, the brewery has also adhered to the junmai process, which eschews the use of any additional ingredients to tweak taste or alcohol content and so requires painstaking handling of the rice every step of the way.

That battle having been won, Imayo Tsukasa is now on a mission to ensure nihonshu retains its domestic popularity, in a globalized age when pretty much every alcoholic beverage from around the world finds its way to Japanese cities. This it approaches by adopting more contemporary branding and label design than that of most other traditional sake breweries. At the same time, Imayo Tsukasa’s identity is unmistakably Japanese. It’s a similar aesthetic to that of forward-thinking Japanese restaurants found in cities such as Tokyo and Osaka.

This same contemporary Japanese style is present as you approach the Imayo Tsukasa building, a roughly 15-minute walk from Niigata Station. The age-weathered wooden slats of the upper stories are neatly set off by a minimal, pure white first-floor facade.

Inside, passing through a curtain emblazoned with the Imayo Tsukasa emblem brings you to the fully operational brewery itself. Staff give “nihonshu 101” lessons on walkthrough tours of the brewing process and put the beverage’s story into historic and cultural context. The tour is in Japanese, but the exhibits feature English titles and illustrations, and by connecting to the wifi in the warehouse you can join the Japanese tour while simultaneously watching video guides in English. At the heart of the production area, it’s interesting to see that the equipment exhibits the same mix of tradition and modernity seen in Imayo Tsukasa’s branding.

The brewery’s esteemed products can be sampled at the end of the tour, with more than 10 varieties on offer as well as sweet and creamy, non-alcoholic amazake. There is also the opportunity to have photos taken while dressed as a sake artisan and wielding the tools of the trade.

Finally, you reach the brewery’s shop, converted from the original kitchen inside the sake brewery, offering the full Imayo Tsukasa lineup.

Imayotsukasa Sake Brewery

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Nigata Pref. Nigatashi Chuou-ku Kagamigaoka 1-1

0252450325

9:00-17:00

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