Come Visit Us
We are a very small, family-run sake brewery founded in 1879. Located in Nikko (just before the Nikko mountains and the UNESCO World Heritage site), our brewery is a popular stop for travelers on their way to Nikko. Every drop of sake is gently made by hand. The sake-pressing process alone takes three days!
Please use the contact form to ask about taking a tour of the brewery.
About Us
Katayama Sake Brewery is a small dedicated sake brewery in Nikko that specializes in Genshu (unfiltered, unpasteurized, and undiluted sake). During the winter season, the seventh-generation owner brews the sake himself.
Katayama Sake Brewery is the producer of the official sake for the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team!
BREWERY LAYOUT
Have a look at the brewery layout and listen as our audio guides tell you about the different locations inside the brewery.
THE RICE STEAMING VAT (SPOT 1)
In this room, you will find a rice steaming vat.
The rice is washed, soaked, and then steamed in the vat for an hour.
SAKE BREWING TANKS (SPOT 2)
This is where we keep the brewing tanks. After adding starter yeast, koji, water, and steamed rice to the tanks, fermentation starts. For a 6,000-liter tank, we use 1.5 tonnes of rice and 2,000 liters of water!
Traditional Sake Pressing Machine (SPOT 3)
Although most breweries use an automatic squeezer, we have kept to a more traditional method of pressing the sake. Unrefined sake is placed in a cloth bag, piled by hand, and slowly squeezed over three days!
Sake pressed this way has a rich and mellow flavor.