Sake Brewery Visit: Yoshimura Hideo Shoten in Wakayama Prefecture

Jun. 17. 2025

by Drew Sanford

Introduction

On May 25, 2025, I had the pleasure of joining a sake-tasting event (吞みきり会) at Yoshimura Hideo Shoten (吉村秀雄商店), which is in Iwade City in Wakayama Prefecture. It is most famous for its brand of sake called Kurumazaka (車坂), but it also makes other brands such as Nihonjo (日本城) and Kame no Ayumi (亀の歩み).

History of the brewery

The brewery was founded in 1915 by its namesake, Mr. Hideo Yoshimura. He had worked at a sake brewery in the Nada sake district of Kobe City. However, he decided to move back to his hometown to focus on making sake for the local area while employing the sake-brewing techniques he learned while working in Nada. During the Showa Era, the brewery moved to Nada and was quite successful in making its brand of sake called Nihonjo. Unfortunately, the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 caused great damage to the brewery, forcing the brewery to move back to Iwade City in Wakayama Prefecture. The brewery began making a new brand of sake known as Kurumazaka.

Today, the sake production is led by brew master (toji) Ms. Akiko Fujita. Having studied under the famous Mr. Naohiko Noguchi, she is the first female brewer to come from the Noto Toji Guild in Ishikawa Prefecture. In addition to focusing on yamahai and kimoto styles of sake, she has also been involved in creating and developing the Kodo sake yeast, which takes its name from the World Heritage Kumano Kodo in Wakayama Prefecture.

The brewery itself is also quite beautiful and atmospheric. In 2018, Yoshimura Hideo Shoten was included as one of the 35 beautiful sake breweries in the book “Japan’s Beautiful Sake Breweries” by Hikaru Kinoshita, Tomonobu Higashino, and Yoshinobu Maetani (日本の美しい酒蔵 by 木下光, 東野友信, and 前谷吉伸).

Sake tasting event

After arriving at the brewery, I was immediately greeted by the friendly staff at the brewery. They gave me a sake cup (おちょこ) and a list of all 43 types of sake available for tasting. The bottles were displayed in five different sections.

Section 1

Seasonal Sake – 7 types

Section 2

Kurumazaka (sokujo) – 10 types

Section 3

Kimoto and yamahai – 15 types

Section 4

Nihonjo and Negorozakura labels – 6 types

Section 5

Premium aged sake (Kurumazaka and Kame no Ayumi labels) – 5 types

Additionally, there were two tables arranged for extra tasting.

Table 1

Hot sake – 6 types

Table 2

Liqueur and shochu – 5 types

Meeting the head brewer, Ms. Akiko Fujita

Another highlight of my visit was a chance to meet the head brewer (杜氏), Ms. Akiko Fujita. We had a nice conversation about their aged sake. She was very friendly and was interested in my comments about the sake. Lastly, there was an area for taking photos with various sake-making tools. Again, I was greeted by the staff as I left the brewery very satisfied with the overall experience.

Sake no Negorokku

Not to be missed is a kaku-uchi (a liquor store with food and drinks) called Sake no Negorokku located next to the brewery. Located in a very atmospheric building, one can buy various products from the brewery for quite reasonable prices. Also for sale are sake from all over Japan and various types of food that can be eaten in the store. It also appeared that they have live music on special days.

Impressions of their sake

I was quite impressed with the range of flavors and tastes of the sake. Because there are many types of yamahai and kimoto styles, their sake pairs very well with both Japanese and non-Japanese cuisine. In addition, their sake ages very well and can also be enjoyed at warm temperatures. Although I don’t drink much aged sake, I enjoyed trying the Kame no Ayumi which was brewed in 1996, and my favorite sake of the day was Kurumazaka Yamahai Junmai Daiginjo from 2015.

In between tastes, I drank their local water called Kinokawa Fukuryusui and was very impressed with its clarity and freshness. Lastly, I enjoyed their umeshu (plum wine), which is made using Wakayama’s famous plums.

Conclusion

Overall, I had an excellent day visiting Yoshimura Hideo Shoten in Wakayama Prefecture. The sake was great, the people were friendly, and the brewery was beautiful. A visit to Yoshimura Hideo Shoten is an easy day trip from Osaka. Also, because it is close to Kansai International Airport, it can be a great first or final sake brewery visit on your next trip to the Kansai area of Japan.

Access

From Osaka Station, it takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach Kii Station on the JR Hanwa Line. From Kii Station, a taxi to the brewery takes about 15 minutes.

From Kansai International Airport, take a train on the JR Kansaikuko Line to Hineno Staton and change to the Hanwa Line, which goes to Kii Station. It takes less than 40 minutes from the airport.