Eight Saijo sake breweries near the railroad station

The red roundish stamp on the smaller one images a ceder ball hanging at breweries;
the final stamp you get when you are finished with your walking rally.

See nine stamps we got!

The first ART in Sakagura event is now being held until September 25, 2011. A lot of fun to see the artworks done by local college students displayed in the areas of the sake factories that are usually off limits. They are planning to make this event annual. Good job!


The flyer for the event is well-done, carrying unaffected, friendly, artistic atmosphere. My friend and I loved the nine seals used for the stamp rally. We happily walked collecting stamps at nine locations around the sake factories. Start with Stamp 01 and collect the rest and you are given nine animated images depicting sake making in sequence.


Click and see the flyer and signs for the event. Pretty good.




Nine sake breweries in Saijo, Higashi-hiroshima joined hands under the collective brand name, Saijo Sake, with the slogan, Taste Japan.


Eight of them have their factories and offices near JR Saijo Station, making your stroll into the Sakagura Dori (Sake Brewery Street) simple and easy.


How sake is made, the history and development, etc. are all interesting topics but once at the street, please taste Japan, which means not only sipping sake but also using all your senses to experience the local magic. You might slightly smell fragrant sake at each brewery though this year's sake making has not started yet, which I thought was very special.


Here let me give you a quick summary of the eight breweries to encourage you to visit all of them. If you'd like to buy bottled sake, I recommend you do it after you've visited them all. I believe you do not want to carry the bottles around while enjoying your walk. You can easily go back as the sake brewery zone is not that large. The breweries are listed in the model walking course.


1. KAMOTSURU
The largest in the area; well-established; large premises good for photo taking; can casually taste several kinds of sake as well as sake-making water in the former sake making building.


2. FUKUBIJIN
Founded and adopted the modern corporation system for the first time in the sake industry in 1917; once served as a sake-making school; has the tallest chimney (27 meters).


3. KAMOIZUMI
Famous for the junmai ginjo (refined pure rice sake) with a tint of gold due to no carbon filtering; Shusenkan, which accommodates a sake cafe/shop (sake cosmetics/soap, sake goods, their sake, sake sweets, etc on sale), sake library (you can sit down and take a rest free of charge), and others, is open on the weekend and holidays; at the sake library, the KAMOIZUMI sake introduction video, narrated in English, can be watched freely. It lasts about 25 minutes. One of the three narrators was no other than me to reduce the video production cost. The translation was done by me helped by the other two narrators who happened to be both Canadians.


4. KIREI
Tastes beautifully dry and clear; the store carries interesting food (udon noodle for example), snacks and goods besides sake; ladies, sometimes gentlemen, are always friendly and smiley; has a special kind only sold at their brewery not at other outlets; couldn't help buying one. Ignoring the advice I gave to you, my friend and I bought a bottle and carried it around. Later we bought more at other breweries. Oops.


5. SAIJOTSURU
Around this time of the walk, my friend and I had to admit that ladies from the brewery families are all beautiful with smooth skin and gentle attitudes. The Sakagura environment, where invisible microbes live, must be doing a magic; a small brewery faithfully following their traditional sake making method; the only one that still uses the chimney; the other 14 chimneys standing in the neighborhood are now symbolic and not practical; awarded by the Monde Selection Association quite a number of times; their Shinzui sake is really good.


6. HAKUBOTAN
Has three sake factories standing straight in line; picturesque but utility lines bother the scene, which often happens in Japan; a large established company.


7. SANYOTSURU 
Operates several sake pubs in Hiroshima and Tokyo; has a Japanese cuisine restaurant deep inside.


8. KAMOKI
Has an elegant cafe/store; their coffee and legendary tube cake (pour some sake served with the cake) is tasty.


No time to lose but to go! Right? If you are still wondering, take a look at the photos in my picasa album. Or visit the web site of Saijo Sake Brewers Association. You'll be there tomorrow, having a nice time, I bet.