The brewing of sake that makes the most of "rice, water, climate and people"

Hokuetsu Brewery is located in the Akadomari district in the south of Sado Island, facing the fishing port. Founded in the 5th year of Meiji, Hokuetsu has been attentive to brewing sake, making the most of "rice, water, climate and people" of Sado, in the conviction that sake loved by people ought to be rice wine that can be enjoyed without fear or worry.
Aiming at local production for locan consumption and local revitalization, Hokusetsu sticks to the principle of using rice produced in the Akadomari district, where Hokusetsu is located, making a direct contract with the farmers of the district, although rice is also grown in other parts of Sado.
The brewing of sake flourished in the Edo era, partly because the prosperity of the gold and silver mines on Sado led a large number of people to move to the island. It is said that there existed as many as 200 liquor stores in those days. Today, among the five breweries on Sado Island, Hokusetsu Brewery, which can be said to be demonstrating its unique individuality, still preserves the traditional expert skills that have been handed down from generation to generation.

The encounter with Restaurant NOBU

Mr. Matsuhisa is the chef of a Japanse restaurant highly acclaimed in the United States.
Hokusetsu's encounter with Restaurant NOBU took place when a certain rock singer went to see his friend Mr. Matsuhisa, with a bottle of Hokusetsu "Daiginjo" in his hand, which had been given him by one of his fans.
Enchanted by its flavor, Mr. Matsuhisa approached and asked Hokusetsu Brewery to let him use Hokusetsu's sake persistently over and over again. But his request was so sudden and unexpected that Hokusetsu would not comply. Overwhelmed by his enthusiasm, however, Hokusetsu finally agreed to export its sake at his third request.
Later, as NOBU's branch restaurants were opened not only in the United States but also in various parts of the world such as Britain and Italy, Hokusetsu's sake also grew more and more popular overseas, which in turn made the name of "Hokusetsu" far better known in Japan. At present Restaurant NOBU and its branches are the only establishments overseas where Hokusetsu's sake is served.

The cultivation of "Koshitanrei," the rice suitable for sake-making

"Koshitanrei," the ultimate rice suitable for sake-making is a new kind of rice native to Niigata Prefecture, whose parents are "Gohyakumangoku" as its father and "Yamadanishiki" as its mother, and which is gifted with the special merits of both of them. It has a high level of tolerance to rice-polishing and contains little crude rice protein, which has been shown to make the rice exceptionally excellent, compared with the prefecture's conventional rice strains officially recognized as suitable for sake-making, and the resulting product is "a sake with a refreshing, soft flavor." At Hokusetsu the brewers wholeheartedly grow this Koshitanrei for themselves in their own clean paddy fields of Sado, which is a habitat of toki (Japanese crested ibises)." They send out to the world, for example, "Junmai (pure rice wine) Daiginjo Koshitanrei" as Hokusetsu's sake of wisdom, brewed after having 60 percent of the outer portion of each rice grain ground away.
In addition, aiming to coexist with the internationally protected birds toki, Hokusetsu promotes Koshitanrei and Gohyakumangoku, which were certified by Sado City as the rice strains fit for rice-brewing with an eye to the protection of toki, and which are cultivated in the rice fields that have realized the securing of feeding grounds by filling the fields with water during winter and the 50% reduction in the customary use of chemical pesticide and fertilizer. Thus, Hokusetsu responds to consumers' needs for confidence in safe food.

name of facility	Hokusetsu Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.
address	2377-2 Tokuwa, Sado City, Niigata Prefecture
website	http://www.sake-hokusetsu.com/　(Japanese only)
business hours	8:00 - 17:00
a regular holiday	New Year's Day
a parking place, a parking lot	Parking place: available / Free of charge / About 20 cars
commodities that are dealt in (sold)	Refined sake, beer, distilled spirits and liqueur (plum liquor)
payment method	cash or credit card
remarks column	*The products cannot be sent to overseas. Restaurant NOBU