06/03/2026
Kawagoe, 28 February 2026.
What was billed as a sake brewery tour turned into one of the best days I've had this year.
90 minutes of sake making!
And, not only that, but Koedo Kagamiyama opened their koji room to us during active brewing season — something that almost never happens, given that contamination from a single visitor can ruin an entire batch. We shovelled 170kg of freshly steamed rice, spread it across boards in a room held at 40°C, and stood in silence while the spores settled. Our rice went into a real batch, and bottles will follow.
The brewery itself is a remarkable story: one of the few new sake licences issued in Japan in the past two decades, reviving a town that had mourned the loss of its last brewery for seven years.
Thanks to Angus Miyaji at Japan World Link, the National Tax Agency's Saitama Regional Taxation Bureau for their sake tourism programme, and everyone at Kagamiyama for the trust they placed in us.
Kanpai!
#日本酒
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