Sake and shochu from Hyogo

How do water, climate and rice shape Hyogo sake?

Hyogo faces the Sea of Japan in the north and the Seto Inland Sea in the south, with the Chugoku mountains running east to west through the middle. Water stored in those mountains feeds rivers such as the Kakogawa and the Ibogawa, which support rice farming at the foot of the hills. Yamada Nishiki was bred at a Hyogo research station, and Gohyakumangoku and Hyogo Kitanishiki are also grown. Miyamizu in Nada is known as water with minerals such as phosphorus and potassium and almost no iron.

What does Hyogo sake taste like?

It changes from area to area. The National Tax Agency's standards describe Nadagogo sake as balanced with a clean finish, Harima sake as soft and round on the palate, and Itami sake as having moderate sweetness and a crisp acidity. Breweries differ a lot even inside one area, which makes Hyogo a good place to compare bottles.

A short history of Hyogo sake

The Harima Provincial Gazetteer, written about 1,300 years ago, tells of sake made from rice that had grown mould after being offered to the gods. In Itami, a method for clear refined sake took shape around 1600 and the sake was shipped to Edo. From the middle of the Edo period Nada rose, using water-wheel rice polishing in the Rokko foothills and barrel ships. Tamba and Tajima toji brewmasters did much of the brewing.

What are the GIs "Nadagogo", "Harima" and "Itami"?

Nadagogo was designated for sake on 28 June 2018, Harima on 16 March 2020 and Itami on 29 November 2024. All three require Japanese-grown rice and koji rice, water taken inside the area, and production inside the area. Harima is the strictest on rice: only Yamada Nishiki harvested in Hyogo. Itami also requires charcoal filtering. Each is checked before shipment by its own body: the Nadagogo Brewers Cooperative, the Harima Sake Research Association and the Itami Brewers Cooperative.

Where are the breweries?

Nadagogo is the name for five coastal districts, Nishigo, Mikage, Uozaki, Nishinomiya and Imazu, across Nada and Higashinada wards of Kobe, Ashiya and Nishinomiya. Other areas with their own associations include Itami, Himeji and Harima, Akashi, Kakogawa, Tamba-Sasayama, northern Hyogo and Awaji: nine associations in all.

Visiting and what to eat with it

Some Nadagogo breweries have visitor facilities and shops. Hours and reservations differ by brewery, so check each official site. Nada also has a tradition of hiyaoroshi: sake brewed in winter, matured over summer and released from September. Local food that goes well includes seafood from Akashi, Awaji vegetables and Tajima beef.