Nabeshima ─ The Bottle That Put Saga on the World Map

Soul of the Kura

Saga, on the western edge of Kyushu,
is a small province with quiet ambitions.
It is famous for indigo cloth, Imari porcelain,
and warm-water rice that grows fat in winter sun.

In 2011, a single bottle from a small brewery in Kashima
was named Champion Sake of the world.
The brewery was so small that for years afterwards,
bottles vanished from shelves within hours.

Characteristics

Founded 1924 by the Iimuro family in Kashima, southern Saga.
A small kura that almost closed in the 1990s — the family's son
instead returned home from Tokyo and rebuilt the brewing entirely.
Champion Sake of the IWC 2011 — the first Kyushu brewery ever to win the title.
Lush, fruit-forward, technically immaculate.
A bottle that announced southern Japan's arrival on the global stage.

Reasons to Visit

壱
Drink the bottle that woke the world to Saga
IWC Champion Sake 2011 — the bottle that rewrote the global sake map.
弐
Walk Hizen-Hamashuku — the brewery street
Kashima's preserved Edo-era sake street, lined with white-walled kura. Six breweries within walking distance.
参
Time it for the Saga Sake Spring Festival
Late March: every Kashima brewery opens its doors. Tasting passport sold at the station.
四
Pair with Yodohime Jinja
The first-rank shrine of ancient Hizen — beside the clear Kase River, north of Saga City.
五
Visit Yutoku Inari Shrine nearby
One of Japan's three great Inari shrines — vermilion against green mountainside, 15 minutes from the brewery.

Tasting Etiquette

Serve at 10°C in a wine glass.
Nabeshima's aromatics deserve a wide bowl.
Drink within days of opening.
Fresh fruit aromas are the whole point — they fade fast.
Respect the small allocation.
If the brewery shop limits one bottle per visitor, accept it gracefully.
Pair with delicate seafood.
Ariake Sea oysters and small sashimi platters reveal the most.
Drink with anyone, especially strangers.
Saga drinking culture is famously generous — no one drinks alone.

Visit & Tasting

📍

Address

1696 Hamamachi Otsu, Kashima-shi, Saga 849-1322

🚄

Access

JR Nagasaki Line → Hizen-Hama Station → 10 min walk

🕐

Hours

9:00–17:00

📅

Closed

Sundays · year-end

🥢

Tasting

Festival tasting only

📞

Reservation

Tour generally not available

🇬🇧

English

Limited

— Facilities —

🅿️ParkingYes

🚻RestroomYes

🏷️ShopYes

📅TourClosed

🗺 Directions 🌐 Official Site 📍 Open in Maps 📜 All Breweries

※ 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 Nabeshima — stay nearby, get there, taste with a guide, or take a bottle home.

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Nabeshima Junmai Daiginjo 純米大吟醸

Junmai Daiginjo · Yamada-Nishiki

The flagship — IWC Champion Sake 2011. Fruit-forward, immaculate, gently fragrant.

Nabeshima Tokubetsu Junmai 特別純米

Tokubetsu Junmai · Saga-grown rice

A more food-friendly bottle. Brighter, juicier, easier to track down — the everyday Nabeshima.

Nabeshima New Moon New Moon

Junmai Ginjo · seasonal release

A small-lot black-label release named for the lunar new year. Sold only to allocated retailers.

Pair With Pilgrimage

⛩

Ichinomiya of Hizen Province

Yodohime Jinja

與止日女神社

The first-rank shrine of ancient Hizen,
enshrining Yodohime — sister of Empress Jingu, kami of pure water.
A serene riverside sanctuary on the banks of the Kase,
forty minutes north of Kashima.
The water flows from these mountains down into Saga's rice fields —
and into the bottle.

Visit the Shrine →

Nabeshima

🏨Stay Near the Kura

🚄Getting There

🍶Sake Tours & Tastings

🍵Sake Vessels & Bottles

Yodohime Jinja