Saijo 西条町

Brewing tradition

In the middle of the Meiji era (1868-1912), in the small coastal town of Akitsu near Hiroshima, a man named Sensaburo Miura invented a technique for brewing sake that gave birth to a brewery of the same name, a technique that will subsequently be called " ginjo-zukuri ".

Read : Hakutsuru Brewery Museum

The ancient city of Saijo, along with Akitsu and several other towns, became the municipality of Higashi-hiroshima in 2005. Saijo, the center of present-day Higashi-hiroshima, is blessed with an ideal winter climate for manufacturing sake, as well as very pure groundwater sources. Already in the Taishô (1912-1926) and Shôwa (1926-1989) eras, Saijo was renowned for being a region specializing in sake and has since been called " saketo saijo " (Saijo, city of sake).

Read also: Asako Watanabe, the only female sake producer in Gifu

In 1994, the National Brewery Research Institute, the only establishment of its kind in the country, even opened its doors in the small town of Saijo.

Saijo sake festival

Every year at the beginning of October the Saijo Sake Festival is held. For around 1,600 yen (around € 12.50, pre-sales price) you can enter the " sake hiroba ", where sake tastings take place from all over the country, or around 1,000 different spirits !

See : Beer in the land of sake

Local brewers also have their booth at the festival, and sake lovers come from all over Japan to taste the best sake. Although the festival focuses on the theme of alcohol, many families participate in the company of their children.

Before the start of the festivities, the brewers visit the Mitate temple of Saijo, also called "Matsuo". This red-roofed temple is the home of Matsuo-sama, the god of sake . They come to pray and make offerings to receive the blessing of the latter.

Also discover : The Nadagiku Shuzo brewery

Visit Saijo

If you missed the Sake Festival, you can always make up for it by visiting Saijo at a different time of the year. The city offers free guided tours every 10th of the month. Tours focus on sakura dôri street, also known as "the sake shops route".

Eight breweries are open to the public, including the famous Komotsuru brewery , which has won numerous awards for the best new sake, organized by the National Brewing Research Institute.