Yura is a region that flourished as a port town and post town. Even today, stately mansions dot the landscape, serving as a reminder of the prosperous era when the town thrived as a port of call for Kitamae ships and the shipping industry.

Among these, Hakurei Shuzo, which began brewing sake in the late Edo period, epitomizes Yura’s history.　We have arranged a meeting with Mr. Konishi, General Manager of Business Operations at Hakurei Shuzo, on May 1.

I’m told that the sake-making process remains almost exactly the same as it was during the Edo period. We were given a detailed tour of each stage of the process, including the brewing kettles and the fermentation cellars.

It’s amazing that they’re still using a building from the late Edo period today. It feels as if we’ve slipped back in time to an old sake brewery.

Even though the brewing season is over, a sense of cleanliness and solemnity still hangs in the air in each room of the brewery. Access to the yeast storage room is strictly restricted—a practice that has likely been in place since the Edo period.

Apparently, the cedar barrels were replaced with stainless steel ones in 1958.

酒に使っているお米の見本が展示され、軒先にはお酒の神様の大神神社のお札がぶら下がった杉玉がかざられています。

Once the brewery tour was over, it was time for the much-anticipated sake tasting. We tasted at least ten different varieties, each with its own unique characteristics and wonderful flavor, so we had a hard time narrowing down our choices.

After that, we were shown to a private room at the back of the guesthouse annex.

This magnificent detached house, built in the Sukiya-style, features a beautiful garden and exquisite furnishings.

Shiozawa promised, “Let’s come up with my own ideas and figure out how to revive this place!