Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who are tired of hearing that “Niigata sake is light and dry (tanrei karakuchi)”
- Wine lovers who are interested in terroir in sake
- People who want to start exploring sake through labels and bottle design
- People who would rather visit the shop of a small brewery than a large tourist brewery (you cannot tour the production area)
About Abe Shuzo
Kashiwazaki (柏崎), in Niigata Prefecture, faces the Sea of Japan. In this area, known for its rice, Abe Shuzo (阿部酒造) has been making sake since 1804. The brewery has more than 200 years of history, but when sake fans in Japan talk about it today, they usually talk about what is “new” rather than what is “traditional”.
The reason is Abe Yuta (阿部裕太), the sixth generation, who returned to the brewery in 2014 and has been responsible for production since 2015. The four principles he set out (from the brewery profile by the liquor store IMADEYA) are quite unusual for a Japanese sake brewery.
From the beginning to the end of a ristorante meal
Always enjoy fermentation (Enjoy!!)
Aim to be “overwhelmingly” delicious
Always be a challenger
リストランテの最初から最後まで
常に発酵を楽しむ(Enjoy!!)
“圧倒的に”うまいを目指す
常に挑戦者であれ
The first principle means offering a range of sake that can accompany an entire restaurant course, from the aperitif to dessert.
The result is a range of sake that focuses on the savory taste (umami) of the rice and acidity, rather than competing on showy aromas. Like a winemaker, the brewery brews separately for each rice field. It releases an experimental series named after stars, and it even makes a craft cola using its own rice koji (kome-koji: steamed rice on which koji mold has been grown).
For people whose only image of Niigata sake is “light and dry”, Abe Shuzo is a brewery that makes them question that assumption.
The brewery’s story
Abe Shuzo was founded in 1804, in the late Edo period. For a long time, the brewery supplied the people of Kashiwazaki with its local brand, Koshino Otokoyama (越乃男山).
The turning point came in 2014. Abe Yuta, the sixth generation, who had been working in Tokyo, returned to the brewery, and from the following year he was responsible for production. He rebuilt the character of the sake from scratch and launched a new brand, Abe (あべ). He does not pursue large production volumes. Instead, the brewery controls small batches carefully by hand and cleans thoroughly. This steady attention to the basics, without anything flashy, is the foundation of the brewery’s flavor.
Another pillar is “giving back to Kashiwazaki”. The brewery uses rice grown in Niigata Prefecture, and within that, it makes sake with attention to the rice fields around Kashiwazaki, where the brewery stands. This effort to connect sake with local water and farming leads to the “field-by-field (hojo-betsu)” approach introduced below.
How the sake is made
The “field-by-field series”: brewed one rice field at a time
In wine, there is the idea of a “single vineyard”. Even with the same grape variety, a different vineyard gives a different flavor. Abe Shuzo applies this idea to sake.
- Jorin-shinden (上輪新田) — a rice field near the sea
- Akada (赤田)
- Noda (野田)
In this series, rice harvested from each field is brewed separately, drawing attention to the differences between fields. Fermentation and storage conditions also affect the differences in flavor, so the field is not the only reason. When you taste them side by side, you can see that sake can also be understood through the character of the land (terroir). This series is an easy starting point when explaining the depth of sake to visitors from abroad.
The star series, named after stars
VEGA / SIRIUS / FOMALHAUT. This series is named after first-magnitude stars. The ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type of sake. The labels show the product name in large Latin letters, so the products are easy to tell apart even if you cannot read Japanese.
Other products
- Abe series — the standard line, which shows the brewery’s approach most directly. The ingredients and rice polishing ratio (seimai buai) differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type of sake
- Abe+ (Plus) series
- Abe Yuzu (あべ ゆず) — a liqueur made with yuzu citrus from Niigata Prefecture. It suits people who are trying sake for the first time or who like sweet drinks
- KURA COLA — a craft cola made with the brewery’s own rice koji, started in 2022. It is non-alcoholic
Visiting the brewery
The brewery shop and the craft cola production facility
There is a shop run by the brewery on the brewery grounds. At the end of 2022, a new brewery shop opened that also serves as the production facility for the rice koji craft cola. It is a bright space with a wood-based design, and you can drink cola there.
| Opening hours | Not published. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting |
| Closed days | Not published |
| What you can buy | Abe Shuzo’s sake, KURA COLA, cola syrup |
| What you can drink | Kuracola, Kura chai |
About brewery tours: The brewery does not offer brewery tours. What you can visit is the brewery shop. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Getting there
Address: 〒945-1352 新潟県柏崎市大字安田3560-1
- By train: About 11 minutes on foot from Yasuda (安田) Station on the JR Shin’etsu Main Line. Yasuda is an unstaffed station, two stops from Kashiwazaki Station in the direction of Nagaoka.
- By car: About 5 minutes from Kashiwazaki IC on the Hokuriku Expressway.
- From Tokyo: Take the Joetsu Shinkansen (high-speed rail) to Nagaoka (about 1 hour 40 minutes), then change to the Shin’etsu Main Line for Yasuda
Kashiwazaki is a town on the Sea of Japan. In summer there is sea swimming, and the Yoneyama and Kujiranami coastlines are nearby. Kashiwazaki lies between Niigata City and Naoetsu/Joetsu, so it is easy to include in a trip around Niigata Prefecture.
Where to buy Abe Shuzo’s sake
You can find the liquor stores that carry Abe Shuzo’s sake in the brewery’s “list of retailers” (updated May 27, 2026). The list covers the stores that carry the Abe, ★ (Star) and field-by-field series. It includes more than 80 stores, mainly in Niigata Prefecture and Tokyo (checked on September 30, 2026). The brewery shop also carries some of the products.
Abe Shuzo makes many kinds of sake in small quantities, so products are often out of stock even at stockists. Before visiting a store, please ask the store whether the sake is in stock.
Stores that are easy to visit during your trip
We have chosen stores from the list of retailers in Niigata, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and the main cities of other regions.
The store names and addresses are kept in Japanese so that you can show them to a taxi driver or paste them into a map app.
| Area | Store | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Niigata City | 錦屋酒店 | 新潟県新潟市中央区花園1-2-2 ガレッソ（ホテル東横イン）1階 Open in Google Maps |
| Niigata City | 新潟長谷川屋 新潟店 | 新潟県新潟市中央区弁天3-3-5 Open in Google Maps |
| Nagaoka City | カネセ商店 | 新潟県長岡市与板町与板乙1431-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Ginza | いまでや GINZA | 東京都中央区銀座6-10-1 GINZA SIX 地下2階 Open in Google Maps |
| Ginza | たつみ清酒堂 東京店 | 東京都中央区銀座4-13-5 Open in Google Maps |
| Taito City | 日本酒専門酒屋 SAKE Street | 東京都台東区柳橋1-11-5 Open in Google Maps |
| Takanawa | sakejump takanawa | 東京都港区高輪2-22-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Kyoto | にしむら酒店 | 京都府京都市左京区北白川久保田町3 Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka | 十徳日本酒販売所 | 大阪府吹田市千里山西4-4-39 Open in Google Maps |
| Sapporo | 根本商店 ススキノ店 | 北海道札幌市中央区南4条西4-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Nagoya | IMADEYA NAGOYA SAKAE | 愛知県名古屋市中区栄3-15-20 Open in Google Maps |
| Hakata Station | 住吉酒販 博多駅店 | 福岡県福岡市博多区博多駅中央街1-1 博多デイトス1階 Open in Google Maps |
For other stores, please check the list of retailers. The list is divided into three parts: Niigata Prefecture, Tokyo, and everywhere else. No stores in the Chugoku or Shikoku regions are listed.
This list is for stores that carry the Abe series and the other series. For Koshino Otokoyama, please ask each store whether they carry it.
Before you buy
- Limited-edition and seasonal products may not arrive at a store.
- If you are taking sake home abroad: Bottles over 100 ml cannot go in your carry-on bag before security screening. Put them in your checked baggage, or buy them at a duty-free shop after security screening. Please check in advance what applies if you have a connecting flight, and the import limits of the country you are arriving in. → Travel tips
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 阿部酒造株式会社 (Abe Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1804 (Bunka 1) |
| President | Abe Shoichi (阿部庄一, fifth generation) |
| Address | 〒945-1352 新潟県柏崎市大字安田3560-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Main brands | Abe (あべ) / Koshino Otokoyama (越乃男山) |
| Rice used | 100% rice from Niigata Prefecture |
| Phone | Not published |
| Official website | https://www.abeshuzo.com/ |
| @_abeshuzo_ | |
| Brewery tours | Not available |
| Brewery shop | Yes |
| English support | Not published |