Saijō-chō Sake Breweries in Higashihiroshima

The last adventure and post in the VAoJ Hiroshima Research Trip Arc is about my tour of the sake breweries in Saijō-chō in Higashihiroshima. I left the big city and took a leisurely train ride through the countryside to get to Saijō-chō, located on the plains surrounded by mountains. It felt good to get away from the big crowds in Hiroshima (although I enjoyed the fewer numbers of tourists in Hiroshima compared to Osaka and Kyoto closer to home). Saijō is famous for its sake breweries that make ginjo and daiginjo nihonshu (premium and ultra premium rice wine), many of which have 100 years or more of history. The staff was very friendly at the train station information booth and helped me get to the brewery streets. The area is inviting and it is easy to walk to all of the breweries (even in the extreme heat). I visited 4 of the 7 larger breweries. Here are a couple of sources for more information about Saijō:

Higashihiroshima Kanko website: Saijō Sake Brewery Street / 西条酒蔵通り https://higashihiroshima-kanko.jp/saijo-sakaguradori/

Dive! Hiroshima website: Visit Hiroshima's local sake capital “Saijō” https://dive-hiroshima.com/en/feature/sake-wine-sake/

Kamoizumi

The first brewery I went to was Kamoizumi. This was my favorite of the shops I visited. It seemed more traditional and the staff was the most hospitable. I was allowed to sample small cups of the 4 brands of sake they make. You can purchase their products online. The other shops I went to were OK, and I gained much new knowledge from the staff that seemed releived I could speak Japanese, but they seemed a little more touristy. And the sake samples were limited and not free. Still, I was able to sample some very nice and varied kinds of sake. At Kamoizumi I bought a small bottle of sake that one is supposed to drink hot; I am doing my best to save it for the winter months.

Kirei

Saijotsuru

Lunch Break at Kamotsuru France-ya

At the train station information booth I asked what restaurant they would recommend for some traditional Hiroshima gourmet (something other than okonomiyaki). The big-hearted and good-natured lady recommended a place associated with the Kamotsuru brewery; she mentioned a very nice nabe dish. But when I got there, the lunch menu was only "Japanese French" dishes. And they seemed to focus on the pairing of French food and Japanese nihonshu (one of my favorite examples of globalization). I welcomed their air conditioning along with their suggestions for the lunch special and a good sake that went well with it. I'm afraid I don't have much experience with French food and its small portions so I wasn't quite sure about what some of the dishes I was eating was. I did develop a thirst for wine, but the (French?!?) restaurant didn't serve wine. So I settled for a pink lemon sake cocktail instead. Since I spent more than 3,000 yen, I received a coupon for a free sample of sake at the next brewery.

Kamotsuru

This place seemed to be the most famous and the crown jewel of the tour. It had many exhibitions and varieties of sake. I drank my free beverage and then purchased a tasting set of 4 different varieties.

One of this brewery's sake varieties is served at the famous shop, Sukiyabashi Jiro, in Tokyo featured in the film, Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Gelb 2011). Several years ago, then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took then U.S. President Barack Obama to Jiro's shop and enjoyed drinking the sake.

I would very much recommend Saijō for sake enthusists or anthropologists/travelers looking for a more relaxed experience at a less beaten tourist path spot. I would also recommend doing more research than I did beforehand because it seems like there are discounts and free items at breweries given (or purchased) at other local shops and information booths.

I learned a lot in this brief VAoJ Hiroshima Research Trip that I can use in my various projects and course lectures. I wish I could have had more time, but I had to return for a faculty report meeting (where I really didn't learn much...). The fall semester starts soon and research trips will have to wait. But I have some good ideas for next summer to explore Japanese baseball, cuisine and sake.