Yamato Province · 大和国
奉醸 大和国奈良 春鹿 超辛 創業 明治十七年 — Founded 1884 — 日本酒発祥の地・奈良で醸す 令和八年皐月吉日 純米 奈良
春 鹿

Harushika

— Sake from the Cradle of Sake —
Audio Guide
Harushika — One Minute of Stillness
In the city where sake itself was named
0:00−:−−
Listen beside Kasuga Taisha if you can — the kura is a five minute walk from the great shrine.
Soul of the Kura
Long before there were brewers,
there were monks at Shōryaku-ji.

They wrote down, for the first time,
how rice could be coaxed into something divine.
They polished the grain. They added water in three stages.
They invented sake as we know it.

Harushika is a child of that thousand-year experiment.
Characteristics
Founded 1884 by the Imanishi family in central Nara,
five minutes' walk from Kasuga Taisha and the deer-filled park.
Brewed in the city historians call "the cradle of Japanese sake" —
where Buddhist monks of Shōryaku-ji codified the three-stage brewing method
around the year 1500.
Bone-dry, clear, food-loving sake — Nara's quiet, austere style.
Reasons to Visit
Tasting Etiquette
  1. Begin with the Chokarakuchi (super-dry).
    It clears the palate. Sweet sake afterwards reads sweeter.
  2. Drink with the local cuisine in mind.
    Nara's food is simple and salty — the sake is built for it.
  3. Bow slightly when receiving sake from the brewer.
    In Nara, the gesture matters more than elsewhere.
  4. Ask before photographing the koji room.
    Some doors stay closed during fermentation.
  5. Carry the bottle home wrapped in shrine paper.
    The brewery sells washi gift wrap from a local craftsman.
Visit & Tasting
📍
Address
24-1 Fukuchiincho, Nara-shi, Nara 630-8381
🚄
Access
Kintetsu Nara Station → 15 min walk · 5 min from Kasuga Taisha
🕐
Hours
10:00–17:00
📅
Closed
Year-end / New Year
🥢
Tasting
¥500 for 5 cups · gift glass
📞
Reservation
Walk-in OK
🇬🇧
English
Yes
— Facilities —
🅿️Parking
🚻RestroomYes
🏷️ShopYes
🚶Walk-inOK
※ Hours, fees and contact details may change seasonally — please confirm on the brewery's official site before your visit.
Signature Labels
Complete the Sake Journey

Arrange your visit to Harushika — stay nearby, get there, taste with a guide, or take a bottle home.

🏨Stay Near the Kura

Booking.comNara AgodaNara

🚄Getting There

KlookJR Pass KlookNara transfers

🍵Sake Vessels & Bottles

AmazonHarushika bottles AmazonTokkuri & ochoko

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le-name">Harushika Chokarakuchi 超辛口
Junmai · super-dry · SMV +12
The flagship. Bone-dry, sharp, almost saline — the cleanest finish in Japanese sake.
Harushika Junmai Daiginjo
Junmai Daiginjo · 50% polish
Refined, gently fragrant, with the austerity Nara is known for. A daiginjo without showmanship.
Harushika Bodaimoto
Bodaimoto · the medieval starter method
A revival of the brewing method invented by Shōryaku-ji monks 500 years ago. Lactic, savoury, alive.
Recommended Pairings
Pair With Pilgrimage
Ichinomiya of Yamato Province
★ Kami of Sake

Ōmiwa Jinja

大 神 神 社

The first-rank shrine of ancient Yamato — and the home of Ōmononushi-no-Kami,
worshipped throughout Japan as the deity of sake itself.
Every November, brewers from across the nation gather here
to receive the year's sacred sugidama (cedar ball) — the very symbol that hangs above every kura.
Of all sake-shrine pairings, this is the one.

Visit the Sake-God's Shrine →