Feb 15,2024
In 2020, Yamanashi’s 360-year-old Sasaichi Sake Brewery opened a newly renovated retail outlet called Sasaichi Shuyukan, complete with its own cafe, the Sasaichi Krand Cafe. It’s located in Otsuki, the gateway to Yamanashi for travelers from Tokyo, and tour buses stop by virtually daily. People flock here to sample the sake and wine or come in quest of limited-edition sakes or sake-lees desserts available nowhere else. Store manager Goto Rie showed us around.
Sasaichi Shuyukan opened as an upgraded version of the brewery’s old on-site retail outlet and cafeteria. It’s a spacious modern building with a 500-meter-square interior. It has a shop that sells Sasaichi sake and wine as well as other Yamanashi specialties. It has a tasting area. And it has its own cafe, the Sasaichi Krand Cafe, where you can enjoy desserts made with sake lees.
Sasaichi Shuyukan, a chic-looking building on the historic Koshu Highway. It’s nestled in the mountains and blends into the natural surroundings.
“I’ve been told that there was once a tiny retail outlet on the first floor of the office. It moved here around 1995. That was because we were stocking more and more products as tour buses started coming in droves. We started selling local specialties as well, though not on the scale we do now. There was even a snack area.”
The facility further evolved in 2020. Sasaichi Shuyukan manager Goto Rie has been with Sasaichi Sake Brewery for over twenty years. She comes from nearby, and Sasaichi has been a familiar name to her since childhood.
“I remember that when I was a girl, we always had a big bottle of Sasaichi sake at home. I think that Sasaichi is well known to others in the community as well. Since the upgrade, we’ve been getting lots of young people visiting from neighboring regions like Tokyo and Kanagawa. Because of where we are, many visitors come by car, but there’s also an unmanned train station three minutes away：Sasago Station on the JR Chuo Line. We’re in a surprisingly accessible location!”
The store has a modern-looking interior, with black the dominant color.
Limited-edition products available only at Sasaichi Shuyukan!
Sasaichi Sake Brewery doesn’t just make its own wine; it grows its own grapes. You won’t find a lineup like this anywhere else.
In one corner of Sasaichi Shuyukan, there’s a counter that serves sake and wine. It’s a popular spot. Here you can try samples to decide what you want to buy at the store. Or you can compare different varieties by enjoying a little of each.
Store manager Goto Rie
Wines as well as sakes are available for sampling.
Leisurely savor each while reading the description.
“Another big draw is our Sasaichi Ginjo soft-serve ice cream. Since it contains no alcohol, it’s popular with kids and designated drivers who can’t drink. In fact, there are people who come just for the ice cream.”
The brewery’s hugely popular Sasaichi Ginjo soft-serve ice cream.
Mild tasting with a trace of sweetness from the sake lees.
Having had fun shopping, it’s time to head to the Sasaichi Krand Cafe, which celebrates the culture of fermentation. Here you can enjoy menu items you’ll only find at a sake brewery. These include desserts made with sake lees, a byproduct of the sake brewing process. And then there’s their coffee made with natural water from Mount Fuji. That’s the water Sasaichi brews its sake with, as noted in Part 1.
The cafe’s ceiling is lined with rice straw matting, a nod to the plant from which sake is made. It’s the same material used to make the mats in which sake barrels are wrapped. It lends the building a warm ambience redolent of the history of sake and the brewery.
“One thing you should definitely give a try is the sweet fermented beverage amazake. It’s made from the sake lees produced during the sake-brewing process, and it has a rich flavor that sets it apart. Any other amazake I drink seems watery in comparison! It warms you up to the core in the cold winter months. Personally, it’s a drink I couldn’t do without.”
Rie’s top recommendation: the amazake. Made with generous amounts of freshly pressed sake lees, it has a mild, elegant taste despite its richness.
Other desserts available include amazake ice cream parfait, anmitsu with whipped cream, and daiginjo castella sponge cake, all made with nutrition-packed sake lees. In summer, for a limited time only, an item called “Fuwatoro Shaved Ice with Sake Lees” appears on the menu. This consists of ice made by freezing natural water from Mount Fuji—also used to brew the sake—and Sasaichi’s own sake-lees syrup. With its rich flavor, it’s so addictive that its many aficionados can’t wait for the start of the shaved-ice season.
“When the shaved-ice season ends, sake-lees hoto noodles appear instead. This item is particularly welcome in the cold winter months. Another food choice I’d recommend is mushroom udon. It’s smothered in mushrooms grown with Sasaichi sake lees.”
Adding sake lees deepens and enriches the flavor, warming body and soul.
Sake lees are the dregs left over after the rice mash is compressed during the sake-making process. Because the liquid is squeezed out, they typically take the form of sheets or a crumbly substance. But Sasaichi’s sake lees are moist and sticky. Since they’re not wrung of every last drop of moisture, they retain their umami compounds. That’s why they’re so fragrant and rich in flavor. They’re also bursting with nutrition!
“Sake lees are one of Sasaichi’s hottest products, so much so that when the new sake comes out, we get inquiries about when the lees be available. There are locals here who buy twenty or thirty. Sake lees can be enjoyed in many different ways. You can make amazake just by dissolving them and adding sugar. They’re great for making desserts, as the desserts served in the cafe demonstrate. I imagine they could be used in place of cream cheese, though we have yet to try doing so. As for savories, you can add them to miso soup or hot pot, or pickle fish in them. This handy fermented ingredient is good for virtually anything.”
Sake lees are a wonderful ingredient.
Gooey and moisture-laden, they taste great even just roasted.
When it was decided to undertake major renovations in 2020, Rie admits she was somewhat dubious.
“I was a bit embarrassed at first. Everything was now so chic. We even got new outfits. What, I’m supposed to wear a beret [laughs]!? But now I’m so used to this beret, I couldn’t be in the store without it. This is such a comfy place to work. Our current president’s innovative ideas and ability to make them happen never cease to amaze me. The Shuyukan opened in the middle of the pandemic, and he immediately decided to produce highly concentrated alcohol that could also be used as disinfectant. Well, we got so many visitors that there were lineups for days on end. So we managed to stay open the whole time—no closures. What’s more, we received reams of thank-you letters and faxes from patrons. It was really gratifying to know that our efforts had made a difference to so many.”
There was such a rush to get this alcohol to market that President Amano Rei came up with the design in an hour.
With disinfectant in short supply all over Japan, Sasaichi immediately went into action. An inquiry to the National Tax Agency revealed that the historic brewery was one of only four companies in the entire country with a license to produce highly concentrated alcohol. It set to work at once.
Sasaichi Shuyukan opened during the pandemic, and tourists from abroad are finally starting to return. Rie hopes that people leave thrilled with their visit—and better informed about the magic of fermentation.
“Fermentation has been an intimate part of Japanese life since olden times, and people are kind of aware that fermented foods are good for you. But in many ways the message about the wonders of fermentation hasn’t gotten across yet. We want young people to realize, for example, how good sake lees taste, their health benefits, and all the things you can do with them. So for starters, we’ve come up with a menu featuring a full selection of foods they’ll love so they’ll feel like dropping by. That, we hope, will initiate them into the culture of fermentation.”
The antique furniture on display all over the store is from the previous president’s collection. It epitomizes the Sasaichi Sake Brewery philosophy of blending the traditional with the innovative.
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