- July 8th, 2016
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[Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum in Asahikawa] Sake Brewing Maker Can Be Sampled and Visited
CONTENTS
Otokoyama Sake Brewery
Otokoyama Sake Brewery (男山株式会社) is a sake brewing maker in Nagayama located in the northeastern part of Asahikawa city, and Otokoyama Junmai Daiginjoshu (男山 純米大吟醸) has been given the gold medal by Monde Selection for about 40 years ago, and the sake brewing maker is one of most famous sake brewing makers in Hokkaido. They have opened a business since 1899 in the Asahikawa. Although this building is a sake brewing factory making and selling various types of Sake, it has Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum (男山酒造り資料館) and Front Garden, so it is popular tourist attractions with tourists. About 200,000 people visit here. In front of the sake brewing factory, the visitors can drink water used as sake freely, and can take a walk through the beautiful Japanese‐style garden. At the building, the visitors can observe the history of the sake brewing, and can sample the sake that won in the world international contests freely. Sake Event “Sakagura Kaiho (酒蔵開放)” is held on the 2nd Sunday of Feburary, and about 10,000 people come here.
Movie of Sakagura Kaiho
The name of Otokoyama that Mr. Sanuemon Yamamoto (山本三右衛門), a founder of Momenya (木綿屋), brewed the sake in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture during Kanbun era (寛文年間 * from 1661 to 1673) is named after Otokoyama Hachimangu Shrine (男山八幡宮 * present Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine(石清水八幡宮)) in Kyoto. In those days, the Otokoyama is well-known to the public as one of the most delicious sake. The Otokoyama Sake Brewery succeeded to a seal‐cutter of legitimacy sake brewing from Momenya Yamamoto Family, and has become the head family among a lot of Otokoyama brewing makers in various places of Japan. It is an unusual tourist attraction in the Hokkaido that the visitors can enjoy the sake with about 340 years of history. Except the Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum, they has Otokoyama Nature Park (男山自然公園) that is famous for Dogtooth Violet.
High Speed Asahikawa-go (高速あさひかわ号) and Express Nayoro-go (高速なよろ号), express buses, runs between the Asahikawa and the Sapporo, and Taisetsu Liner (たいせつライナー), an express bus, runs between the Asahikawa and the New Chitose Airport, and Sunrise Asahikawa-Kushiro-go (サンライズ旭川・釧路号), an express bus, runs between the Asahikawa and Kushiro, and Limited Express Sekihoku-go (特急石北号), an express bus, runs between the Kitami and Asahikawa, and “North Liner-go (ノースライナー号)”, an express bus, runs between the Asahikawa and Obihiro. Besides, Rent-a-car can be rented around Asahikawa Station and Asahikawa Airport.
ASAHIKAWA
Asahikawa (旭川) that about 340,000 people live is the 2nd largest commercial city in Hokkaido, and has flourished as the center of the North Hokkaido area. Woodworks have been prosperous since the old days, and furniture is famous. Because water is clear, a liquor such as sake of Otokoyama (男山) and Godo Shusei (合同酒精) are famous, too. Popular tourist attractions such as Asahiyama Zoo (旭山動物園) and Biei (美瑛) are around the Asahikawa, so a lot of tourists use tourist bases in the North Hokkaido. As for a climate, the Asahikawa is located in Kamikawa Basin, the largest basin in the Hokkaido, so it is hot that temperature rises to 30 degrees C in a summer, and it is cold that temperature falls to -25 degrees C in a winter, and it snow very hard, too. So a winter festival using the snow is famous. Read More
Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum
The Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum is roughly divided into 4 areas. There are the front garden at the outside, tasting and sake shop area on the 1st floor, sake history exhibit and views of sake brewing on the 2nd floor and sake tool exhibit on the 3rd floor. Admission free. A parking lot is free of charge.
A gourd‐shaped pond and a water wheel are built at the front garden, and there are sake barrels on a sled and Longevity Water (延命長寿の水). The water is river-bed water of Daisetsuzan Mountain Range used for water preparaed for brewing, and anyone can drink it for free.
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The Otokoyama Sake appearing on ukiyoea pictures and an old secret proces of the Otokoyama Sake are displayed on the 2nd floor. In addition, the sake brewery can be viewed there, and sake preparation can be seen at the season.
Old sake tools are displayed on the 3rd floor, and brewing process of the sake and the history of the Otokoyama can be learned.
Atmosphere of Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum in Asahikawa Can Be Watched on Youtube
Movie of Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum in Asahikawa
| Admission fee | Free of charge |
|---|---|
| Parking lot | A parking lot is provided (50 cars) |
| Business hours | 09:00-17:00 |
| Regular closing day | Year-end and New Year holidays |
| Telephone number | +81-166-47-7080 |
| Home page | Home page is here |
| Mapcode | 79 469 227*46 |
List of Accommodations
Refer to following websites for the accommodations in the Asahikawa. You can get information regarding online reviews and photos.
A page of Asahikawa is here
Asahikawa
By the way, Club Tourism (クラブツーリズム), a Japanese tour travel agency, provides various types of tours such as day trip tours or ordinary tours. In the case of bus tours, tourists do not drive their cars themselves, so they can savor alcohol. Choosen tourist attractions are national parks such as Rishiri and Rebun, Shiretoko, and popular tourist places such as Furano and Biei, and some activities such as hiking and fruit picking are also enjoyed depending on seasons. If you are interested in tour trips, you should visit the club tourism's website for details.
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