Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to walk around a town in the Shonai (庄内) region of Yamagata Prefecture that has made sake since long ago
- People who want to compare freshly made sake brewery by brewery at the “Oyama Shinshu Sakagura Matsuri” (Oyama New Sake and Brewery Festival) held in February
- People who can enjoy drinking and searching for sake as part of their trip, rather than touring the brewery (Fuji Shuzo does not accept brewery tours on ordinary days)
About Fuji Shuzo
Fuji Shuzo (冨士酒造) is a brewery in the Oyama (大山) district of Tsuruoka (鶴岡市), Yamagata Prefecture. Its main brands are “Eiko Fuji (栄光冨士)” and “Kozakaya no Hitoriyogari (古酒屋のひとりよがり)”.
It was founded in 1778, and at first it sold its sake under the brand “Fuji (冨士)”. At the beginning of the Showa 30s (the late 1950s), it added the two characters “Eiko (栄光)” in front, and the brand became today’s “Eiko Fuji”.
Brewery tours are not available. The brewery does not accept brewery tours (checked on September 30, 2026). On the day of the “Oyama Shinshu Sakagura Matsuri” held every February, you can enter the brewery and taste new-season sake as part of the festival’s “Sakagura Meguri” (brewery walk) (see “Visiting the brewery” below).
Oyama, a town under direct shogunate rule, and its four breweries
Oyama is a district within Tsuruoka. In the Edo period, it was a “tenryo” (天領), land ruled directly by the shogunate, and it had two faces: a town that traded with the surrounding farming villages, and a post town on the Hama-kaido (浜街道) road. On top of that, Oyama was also a “sake brewing town” that made sake to ship outside the town. At the time, the whole town made sake under a shared name, “Oyama-zake (大山酒)”.
At its peak, Oyama had 40 sake breweries. The four that remain today are 渡會本店 (brand “出羽ノ雪”), Fuji Shuzo (“Eiko Fuji”), 加藤嘉八郎酒造 (“大山”) and 羽根田酒造 (“羽前白梅”).
The town has Matsuo Shrine (松尾神社), which enshrines the god of sake brewing. Its annual festival is held every year on July 15.
The sake called “Eiko Fuji”
Fuji Shuzo holds up the motto “Always toward a better sake”, and every year it aims to make sake that surpasses the previous year’s. The brewery introduces itself in the following words (from the Yamagata Sake Brewers Association’s page “Fuji Shuzo”).
We take pride in being a kozakaya (古酒屋) that makes sake by hand, with nothing to be ashamed of before our conscience.
良心に恥じない手造りの古酒屋（こざかや）と自負しております。
Here are some representative products.
- Kozakaya no Hitoriyogari — A “daiginjo”, with more than half of the outer part of the rice polished away and a small amount of brewer’s alcohol added. The rice used is the sake rice (rice suited to making sake) Yamada Nishiki (山田錦)
- Yui (ゆい) — A “tokubetsu junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% or more of the outer part of the rice polished away
- Namaiki (なまいき) — A product in small 300 ml bottles: a “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, released as a “namazake” that has never been heated to kill microbes (pasteurized)
Fuji Shuzo has other products as well. The ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type.
Fuji Shuzo’s “Eiko Fuji” was among the prize-winning sakes 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
Fuji Shuzo does not accept brewery tours on ordinary days (checked on September 30, 2026). The brewery has not published any information about whether a brewery shop is open either.
Oyama Shinshu Sakagura Matsuri
Every February, when the new-season sake is ready, the “Oyama Shinshu Sakagura Matsuri” is held in Oyama. The event has continued since 1996.
Its main part is the “Sakagura Meguri”, in which you walk through the town of Oyama, go round four breweries, and taste each brewery’s new-season sake. Fuji Shuzo is one of these four breweries. You need an admission ticket to take part, and you go round the four breweries in order, starting from the first brewery you enter. Tastings are served in cups provided by each brewery; you cannot use your own cup. On the same day, the “Oyama Shinshu wo Tanoshimu Kai” (a gathering to enjoy Oyama’s new-season sake) is also held at the Oyama Community Center, where you can taste the new-season sake of the four breweries with local food (a separate admission ticket is needed).
The most recent festival was held on February 21, 2026 (the 31st), and the Sakagura Meguri ran from 12:00 to 15:00. Advance tickets for that festival sold out. Please check the next dates and how to buy tickets on the official website of the Oyama Tourism Association.
A facility you can visit in Oyama
Also in Oyama, there is “出羽ノ雪酒造資料館” (a sake brewery museum; 鶴岡市大山2-2-8), which accepts visitors (as of November 11, 2024). Groups need to book. Please check the visiting conditions with the facility before you go.
Getting there
- Train: About 7 minutes on the Uetsu Main Line from JR Tsuruoka Station to Uzen-Oyama Station
- Local bus: About 20 minutes from JR Tsuruoka Station on a bus bound for Yunohama Onsen; get off at “荘内銀行大山支店前” (Shonai Bank Oyama Branch)
- By car: About 20 minutes from Shonai Airport
Travel times are estimates (checked in September 2026). Please check train times with JR East. Some lines have few services, so it is safest to check the last trains for both the outward and return journeys. On a day when you taste sake at the festival, please do not drive.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Fuji Shuzo’s sake
Fuji Shuzo does not publish a list of stockists or authorized retailers (tokuyakuten) (checked on September 30, 2026).
The brewery’s mail-order website, “Fuji Shuzo Kuramoto Chokusobin” (direct delivery from the brewery), shows a notice that it is under maintenance and cannot be used (checked on September 30, 2026). In the notice, the brewery asks customers to buy from a nearby liquor store, and if they cannot find one, to search for the product name on the internet.
Before you buy
- Fuji Shuzo’s sake includes several products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
- Whether a store carries the sake, and its stock, differ from store to store. Limited and seasonal products may not arrive at a store, so please check with the store before visiting.
- For namazake, please follow the storage temperature shown on the label.
- 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 |
|---|---|
| Company | 冨士酒造株式会社 (Fuji Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1778 (the 7th year of the An’ei era) |
| Representative | 加藤有慶 |
| Address | 〒997-1124 山形県鶴岡市大山3丁目32番48号 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0235-33-3200 (fax 0235-33-0477) |
| Main brands | Eiko Fuji (栄光冨士) / Kozakaya no Hitoriyogari (古酒屋のひとりよがり) |
| Official website | https://www.e-sakenom.com/ |
| Brewery tours | Not available (you can enter on the day of the “Oyama Shinshu Sakagura Matsuri” every February, as part of the Sakagura Meguri) |
| Sales at the brewery | Not published |
| Official mail order | Under maintenance and cannot be used (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| List of stockists | Not published (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | Not published |