Sake brewery tour: Ito Syuzo in Mie prefecture

Sep. 16. 2022

by Yuki Imanishi

This is my very first post in Sakegeek.

How do you do. This is Yuki Imanishi, CEO of Sake Lovers Inc.

I have been visiting sake breweries for decades now but I realized that I haven’t posted about the brewery visits in the past. The number of the breweries which I have visited surpassed 350 breweries now and due to the request – I decided to write about my sake brewery visits. Also it’s never too late to start writing about it, right?

Last month, I had an opportunity to visit Ito Syuzo in Mie prefecture so let me share my experience. Bare with me since I am not like an excellent blogger… but here you go!

Ito Syuzo in Mie Prefecture

[Summary of sake brewery]

Company name: Ito Syuzo Co. , Ltd.　

Representative: Shun Ito

Address: 〒512-1211

110 Sakuramachi, Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture

Founded in: 1847

Business hours: 10:00~17:00

Closed on: Tuesdays and Wednesdays

[Philosophy of Mr. Kuramoto]

We are brewing sake with the desire to make nostalgic yet innovative sake with a rich flavor. We are particular about using raw materials from Mie Prefecture, such as rice, yeast, and water. Traditional sake brewing that makes full use of the power of nature can only be made in small quantities because it is made by hand and in small quantities. In order to achieve further evolution, we have been working to create new value, such as direct sales stores, sake brewery cafes, sake brewing experience events, and the development of new flavors and textures of sake and local products.

We will continue to take on challenges so that we can add more element to the “sake parties” and become something that connects people.

[Story from the sake brewery]

President Mr. Ito gave us a tour of the sake brewery.

[Characteristics of their sake]

Using simple ingredients – Local Mie sake brewed with high-quality ingredients from Mie Prefecture

Rice and water are the two simple ingredients.

Sake produced using the ancient Japanese technique of “multiple parrarrel fermentation"

The rice is grown in Mie Prefecture with a lot of love

The water is natural underground water, the famous Chiseki Yosui

Yeast is a prefectural yeast developed in Mie Prefecture

Because it is a sake brewery with roots in agriculture, the president said that it is Mie’s local sake that sticks to the ingredients made in Mie Prefecture.
A sake to accompany meals with a focus on local products.There are also sweet and sparkling sake that are in complete contrast to this.

The store also sells lovely sake cups.

Desserts made with sake lees are also great! So please come to the sake brewery and buy it!

At Ito Syuzo, they hold brewery tours and sake brewing experiences (once a year) because they want as many people as possible to experience sake brewing.