Who will enjoy this brewery
- People staying in Morioka who want to look for sake from Iwate Prefecture at local liquor stores (this page lists stockists in Morioka published by Akabu Shuzo)
- People who are interested in how sake making has continued in Iwate since the Great East Japan Earthquake
- People who can enjoy drinking and searching for sake as part of their trip, rather than visiting the brewery (Akabu Shuzo does not offer brewery tours or retail sales)
About Akabu Shuzo
Akabu Shuzo (赤武酒造) is a brewery in Kitaiioka (北飯岡), Morioka (盛岡市), Iwate Prefecture. It was founded in 1896 in Otsuchi (大槌町), a town on the coast of Iwate Prefecture. It lost its brewery in Otsuchi in the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, and since 2013 it has made sake at a new brewery in Morioka.
Its brands are “AKABU” and “Hamamusume (浜娘)”. Hamamusume is a brand from the Otsuchi days, and it is shipped only within Iwate Prefecture.
Brewery tours and retail sales are not available. This is because the brewery makes sake with a small team (checked on September 30, 2026).
From Otsuchi to Morioka
Otsuchi was devastated by the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 and the fires that followed. Akabu Shuzo lost all of its brewery buildings and its office.
Representative Director 古舘秀峰 moved inland to Morioka, relying on relatives. In July 2011, he was able to rent a factory in a facility that Morioka city was providing to companies affected by the disaster, and in August he restarted production with liqueurs, which need simpler equipment than sake. In November of the same year, he brewed Hamamusume by joining the brewery of Sakuragao Shuzo (桜顔酒造), another brewery in the prefecture, and it went on sale in December.
The yeast (koubo: a microorganism that turns sugar into alcohol) had been deposited with a research institution, so it was not lost in the disaster. However, the water used for brewing could only be found on the land of the new brewery.
The national “group subsidy” (a subsidy that supports the recovery of small and medium-sized companies affected by the disaster) was used to rebuild the brewery. The original land in Otsuchi was planned to become the center of the town’s new development, so the company rented land in Morioka and built a new brewery there, which was completed in 2013. In March 2018, the company also moved its head office from Otsuchi to Morioka.
While waiting for the new brewery to be completed, 古舘 said this.
“Before, part of the reason I kept making sake was simply that I did not want the brewery I had inherited from the previous generation to go under. But only after losing it did I realize how much I loved making sake.”
「以前は、先代から引き継いだ酒蔵を潰したくない、という思いだけで酒造りを続けていた面もありましたが、失ってみて初めて、自分がどれほど酒造りを愛していたかに気づきました。」 — 古舘秀峰 (Representative Director of Akabu Shuzo), Reconstruction Agency, “Case 1-10: Akabu Shuzo’s restart of production and product development at its new location” (collection of cases for fiscal 2012)
Young brewers and “AKABU”
When the brewery moved to Morioka in 2013, the people making its sake were a group with no experience. Young people who gathered under the motto “Create a new history for Akabu Shuzo” have built up experience and study, centered on a young toji (master brewer: the craftsperson who leads a brewery’s sake making).
The standard products are as follows.
- AKABU Junmai-shu — A “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water. The rice polishing ratio (the share of the rice that remains after polishing) is 60%, meaning 40% of the outer part of the rice is polished away. It balances the savory taste (umami) of the rice with a sourness reminiscent of citrus fruit, so that it can be drunk on its own or with a meal
- AKABU Junmai Ginjo — A “junmai ginjo”: made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% or more of the outer part of the rice polished away, and fermented slowly at a low temperature. For this product, half of the outer part of the rice is polished away
- AKABU F — A product aimed at being a sake you can drink at the table every day. “F” stands for “For you”. It is sold only in 1.8-liter bottles
- Hamamusume Junmai-shu — A junmai-shu shipped only within Iwate Prefecture
There are also other products limited by season or quantity. Please check the label for the type.
Akabu Shuzo’s “AKABU” received a gold award at the Zenkoku Shinshu Kanpyokai (National New Sake Competition) for the Reiwa 7 brewing year (organized by the National Research Institute of Brewing and the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association; announced on May 20, 2026).
Visiting the brewery
Akabu Shuzo does not accept brewery tours. It does not offer retail sales at the brewery either (checked on September 30, 2026).
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Akabu Shuzo’s sake
Akabu Shuzo publishes its authorized retailers (tokuyakuten: liquor stores that deal directly with the brewery) in Iwate Prefecture on the “Store” page of its official website. Authorized retailers across Japan are listed on Akabu Shuzo’s page on the website of “J.S.P (Japan Sake Shochu Platform)”, an association of sake and shochu breweries, which is linked from the same page (50 stores; checked on September 30, 2026).
The table below is a selection from these two lists of stores in Morioka, Sendai, Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto that are easy for travelers to drop in at. Some stores are not included. Please check all stores on the brewery’s official list and the JSP list.
| Area | Store | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Morioka | 坂本商店 | 岩手県盛岡市駅前通10-4 Open in Google Maps |
| Morioka | 鍵屋 | 岩手県盛岡市中ノ橋通1-5-25 Open in Google Maps |
| Morioka | 吟の酒きぶね | 岩手県盛岡市本宮1-7-22 Open in Google Maps |
| Morioka | パルクアベニュー・カワトク | 岩手県盛岡市菜園1-10-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Morioka | 福来屋酒店 | 岩手県盛岡市仙北2-2-28 Open in Google Maps |
| Sendai | カネタケ青木商店 | 宮城県仙台市太白区鹿野1-7-16 Open in Google Maps |
| Sendai | 阿部八酒店 | 宮城県仙台市青葉区宮町4-5-35 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo (Yurakucho) | はせがわ酒店 | 東京都千代田区有楽町2-10-1 東京交通会館5階 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo (Yotsuya) | 鈴傳 | 東京都新宿区四谷1-10 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo (Sendagi) | 伊勢五本店 | 東京都文京区千駄木3-3-13 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo (Taito) | ふくはら酒店 | 東京都台東区台東3-6-8 Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka Prefecture | 酒のやまもと | 大阪府枚方市招提中町1-7-7 Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka Prefecture | 今仲酒店 | 大阪府池田市古江町131-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Kyoto Prefecture | 酒のきたむら | 京都府八幡市八幡柿ケ谷14-111 Open in Google Maps |
Within Iwate Prefecture, there are also authorized retailers in Hanamaki, Kitakami, Oshu, Ichinoseki, Kuji and Yamada.
The official online store, “AKABU Official Store”, sells only merchandise; it does not sell sake.
Before you buy
- Whether a store carries the sake, and its stock, differ from store to store. Some stores carry only some products. Limited and seasonal products may not arrive at a store, so please check with the store before visiting.
- Hamamusume is shipped only within Iwate Prefecture.
- If the label shows a storage temperature, please follow it.
- 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 | 赤武酒造株式会社 (Akabu Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1896 (the 29th year of the Meiji era), in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture |
| Representative | Representative Director 古舘秀峰 |
| Address | 〒020-0857 岩手県盛岡市北飯岡1丁目8番60号 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 019-681-8895 (fax 019-681-8897) |
| Main brands | AKABU / Hamamusume (浜娘) |
| Official website | https://www.akabu1.com/ |
| Brewery tours | Not available |
| Sales at the brewery | None |
| List of stockists | Published on the official website (Iwate Prefecture) and the JSP page (50 stores nationwide) (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | Not published |