Welcoming foreigners with open arms by making the most of overseas experience.

Delivering Nikko's delicious sake to both locals and foreign tourists.

Brewing sake on the world stage to spread the charm of Nikko and the excellence of Japanese sake. With a flexible mindset, this brewery is exploring the future of sake breweries.

Nikko, a city with World Cultural Heritage

Nikko Toshogu Shrine, a shrine dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of the three heroes of the Warring States period, is one of the "Shrines and Temples of Nikko," a World Heritage Site. Since the 8th century, Nikko has been a sacred place for mountain worship centered on Mt. Nantai, and there are old shrines and temples at the foot of the mountain and by Lake Chuzenji. Since the construction of Toshogu, the mausoleum of the first Tokugawa shogun, Ieyasu, in 1616, Nikko has been a sacred place for the Tokugawa shogunate. In 1999, the "Shrines and Temples of Nikko," which consists of "Toshogu Shrine" along with "Rinnoji Temple" and "Futaarasan Shrine," both of which existed before the Toshogu Shrine, were registered as a World Cultural Heritage site.

Nikko Toshogu Shrine, the most famous of the "Shrines and Temples of Nikko," is home to 55 buildings, including 8 National Treasures and 34 Important Cultural Properties, and their gorgeous beauty is breathtaking. The buildings are decorated with lacquer and exquisite colors by master craftsmen from all over Japan, and the pillars are adorned with numerous carvings.

Nikko, which attracts many tourists from all over the world to see this World Heritage Site, is located in the northwest of Tochigi Prefecture in the northern part of Japan's Kanto region.

About 9 km east of Toshogu Shrine on the Nikko Kaido Road, there is a bustling place with tourists passing by. A little further back from the street, a stately two-story Meiji-era building, some 130 years old, comes into view. Since its establishment in 1842, the Watanabe Sahei Shoten has been brewing sake using limpid water that they draw from the foot of the Nikko Mountains in the cold winter air that blows down from the mountain range.

In Nikko, a popular tourist destination, Watanabe Sahei Shoten offers sake brewery tours and sake classes throughout the year by reservation only. During the brewing season, the brewery allows visitors to observe the actual sake brewing process in action. Approximately 9,000 people currently visit the brewery each year.

Even if you don't understand Japanese, Mr. Yasuhiro Watanabe, the seventh president of the brewery, can show you around in English if he has the time. "When I engage in conversations while explaining things to customers, they tend to ask many questions. My customers are happy to have them answered, “says Mr. Watanabe. It is rare to have the brewery owner himself give an explanation in English, instead of a prerecorded audio guide. There is also an English-language guide accessible through a QR code that can be read with a smartphone or similar device. Given Nikko's location, this is an initiative that is sure to be appreciated by foreign visitors.

Perfecting junmai sake made with quality water and carefully selected rice.

Watanabe Sahei Shoten uses subsoil water from the Otani River, which flows from Lake Chuzenji at the entrance to Oku-Nikko. Incidentally, the Otani River is the river over which the famous Kamihashi Bridge is built. Imaichi, where Watanabe Sahei Shoten is located, is on an alluvial fan of the Otani River and has an abundance of high-quality groundwater.

The water is soft and suitable for sake brewing and springs from an old hand-dug well located next to the entrance of the brewery. The water is refreshing to the palate and tastes great when drunk on its own, but it also goes well with tea and coffee. It is said that people not only from the neighborhood but also from inside and outside the prefecture come to fetch the water.

90% of the sake rice used is grown in Tochigi Prefecture. The rice for Junmai Ginjo Nikko Homare, a local sake brewed with particular care, is specially produced by local farmers in Imaichi.

"Over 90% of our sake is junmai sake. Junmai sake is basically sake made only with rice. Sake was originally made only with rice, so I want to pursue brewing sake the way it should be made,” says Mr. Watanabe. Watanabe Sahei Shoten, which focuses on junmai sake, boasts the highest purity of junmai sake in Tochigi Prefecture.

Watanabe Sahei Shoten brews sake that has a profound yet sharp taste, a dry texture, and is full of the flavor of rice, likely the result of the excellent water and local rice.

Sake brewing involves a lot of traditional manual labor, such as spreading steamed rice on a cloth or fanning it with an uchiwa fan to cool it down. Mr. Watanabe says that, although it is a time-consuming process, he does what needs to be done by hand and mechanizes what can be done with the help of machines, such as moving heavy items. He says that if he wants to make a good product, he will make it by hand, even if it means making smaller quantities of sake. What should be preserved and what can be changed are then clearly distinguishable.

Watanabe Sahei Shoten also experiments with new sake, such as "WILD RICE SPARKLING". The red sake made from ancient rice is just like wine. "We received the idea for this sake and started brewing it with a playful approach. It is interesting because the color of the sake changes depending on the quality of the ancient rice that year." Mr. Watanabe believes that the seriousness of the brewer should be maintained, but he also believes that by maintaining essential aspects while adding a playful touch and enjoying the process of brewing, the drinker will also enjoy the sake.

Mr. Watanabe comes up with the concepts and the toji brings them to life. In the sake brewing process, they share ideas, work out what they want to achieve, and then give it shape. "I'm not a toji, so I guess I have a slightly different point of view from them," he says. I leave the brewing to the toji. It is precisely because of this that Mr. Watanabe is able to come up with such interesting ideas.

Their initiatives are not limited to sake brewing. During summertime, when sake brewing is not taking place, there are plans to hold jazz concerts at the facility. The acoustics are said to be excellent, and listening to music while experiencing the history of the area is sure to be something special.

Delivering Nikko's local sake to the world

Watanabe Sahei Shoten has been brewing local sake in Nikko, a world-famous tourist destination. Nikko is constantly attracting tourists from Japan and abroad. Mr. Watanabe studied abroad when he was a student and has continued to gain experience abroad. "We welcome people from other countries and would like to meet overseas demand by intertwining inbound consumption and exports," he says.

Japanese food is popular around the world, and we are beginning to see the potential demand for sake that complements Japanese food. However, despite its growing popularity, it still represents only 2-3% of the world's wine consumption. Mr. Watanabe expresses his enthusiasm, saying that since this is a market with great potential, he wants to brew sake in such a way that people around the world won't perceive sake as "no big deal." "We want to take an approach that promotes sake in an appealing manner, with junmai sake as our primary focus," says Mr. Watanabe.

Sake brewing is a way of presenting the charm of Nikko to the rest of the world. "I think it would be interesting and motivating if the people in charge of the sake breweries would start traveling all over the world," says Mr. Watanabe, eagerly sharing his vision for the future of the brewery. The richness of Watanabe Sahei Shoten's ideas goes far beyond the realm of sake brewing.