Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who, while traveling in Komatsu or Kanazawa, want to compare the brewery’s sake a little at a time in a small room reminiscent of a tea-ceremony room (booking required, paid. There is no information about a brewery tour that takes you around the brewing areas)
- People who want to compare sake made by the method called “yamahai” across the different rice it is made with
- People who, while waiting for a train at Kanazawa Station, want to try sake from a single glass and buy a bottle they like
About Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute
Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute (株式会社農口尚彦研究所) is a brewery in Kanagaso-machi (観音下町), Komatsu (小松市), Ishikawa Prefecture. It opened in November 2017. The company and its brand have the same name: “Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute (農口尚彦研究所)”. The president and representative director is 朝野勇次郎.
The brewery is named after its toji (master brewer: the person in charge of making the sake), Noguchi Naohiko (農口尚彦). It is a different company from “Noguchi Shuzo (農口酒造)” in Nomi (能美市).
Visitors can taste the brewery’s sake at “Touan (杜庵)”, a tasting room that requires booking and a fee (includes a visit to the gallery; checked on October 23, 2026).
A toji born in Noto
Noguchi Naohiko was born in 1932 in 珠洲郡木郎村 (now 鳳珠郡能登町) on the Noto Peninsula (能登半島), the son of 農口由太郎, a Noto toji (能登杜氏). The Noto toji are a group of toji who come from the Noto Peninsula. After finishing junior high school, he entered the world of sake making in 1949, and became a toji at the age of 28.
From 1961 to 1998, he served as toji at Kikuhime Co., Ltd. (菊姫合資会社) in Hakusan (白山市) (→ our article on Kikuhime). After that, he served as toji at 鹿野酒造 in Kaga and at Noguchi Shuzo in Nomi, and he has been the toji of this brewery since 2017.
On October 16, 2026, the national Council for Cultural Affairs submitted a recommendation to the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology that Noguchi be recognized as a holder of the Important Intangible Cultural Property “ginjo brewing (吟醸造り, ginjo-zukuri)”, commonly known as a “Living National Treasure (人間国宝)”. Ginjo brewing is the skill of making “ginjo-shu (吟醸酒)”, sake in which taste and aroma are pursued to the utmost, without sparing effort or ingredients (→ Ginjo). Noguchi is one of the toji who led the way in the era when ginjo-shu came to be widely drunk.
Passing the skills on to the next generation
The brewery was established to hand down to the next generation the sake-making skills and way of thinking that Noguchi has refined over more than 70 years. Young kurabito (people who work at the brewery) chosen by Noguchi do the brewing together with him. Data gathered with new technology is layered onto the records that Noguchi has kept for many years, and put to use in the next brewing.
Kanagaso-machi is a village in the mountains. The name of the town comes from the nearby 観音山, and a statue of Kannon is enshrined near its summit. The brewery uses underground water (water that flows beneath the ground) welling up from Hakusan (the mountain) as its brewing water.
Yamahai, and sake released after resting
The brewing method that Noguchi has worked on for a long time is “yamahai”. Yamahai is a way of making the shubo (the yeast starter on which fermentation is based) that stops the traditional work of grinding together steamed rice, rice koji and water. The brewery offers a series of yamahai sakes, each using a different variety of rice. One of these, Gohyakumangoku (五百万石), is rice grown locally in Hokuriku.
The brewery places importance on storing its finished sake at low temperatures and shipping it once the flavor has settled. The “Vintage” year written on the label is not the year of release, but mainly the year in which the rice used for that sake was harvested.
Many of the products are “muroka (無濾過)”, which means the sake is not filtered through charcoal or similar after pressing. There are also products that are “namazake” (unpasteurized sake), which have not been through “火入れ”, heating to sterilize the sake, and “genshu” (undiluted sake), to which no water has been added.
Here are three products of different types from the brewery. Prices are the tax-included prices on the brewery’s official website (checked on October 23, 2026).
- Kanagaso muroka genshu (観音下 無濾過原酒) — A product named after the place where the brewery stands, made to go with everyday meals. It has a gentle, sweet aroma that comes from the rice, and it feels smooth in the mouth. It can be drunk chilled or as atsukan (hot sake). It is a “karakuchi (辛口, dry)” sake; karakuchi does not mean salty, but that you sense little sweetness (→ Amakuchi and karakuchi). 1,980 yen for 720 ml
- Yamahai Gohyakumangoku muroka nama genshu (山廃五百万石 無濾過生原酒) — Made by the yamahai method, with neither pasteurization nor added water. Deep aromas from resting and rich umami come together with fresh acidity. The brewery recommends pairing it with meat dishes or eel. It must be kept refrigerated. 5,500 yen for 720 ml
- Yamahai junmai daiginjo Yamada Nishiki muroka genshu (山廃純米大吟醸 山田錦 無濾過原酒) — A “junmai daiginjo”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, with half or more of the outer part of the rice polished away, brewed by the yamahai method. The sake rice is Yamada Nishiki. 16,500 yen for 750 ml
Ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type.
Visiting the brewery
Tasting room “Touan” (booking required, paid)
To visit Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute, you book the tasting room “Touan (杜庵)”. It is a room reminiscent of a tea-ceremony room, with a counter in a space of four and a half tatami mats and walls of lime plaster. Komatsu is a town with deep ties to the tea ceremony (茶の湯). The official website gives no information about a brewery tour that takes you around the brewing areas (checked on October 23, 2026).
| Tasting room “Touan” (checked on October 23, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Booking | Required. Apply through the booking page linked from the brewery’s official website. Groups should inquire by phone |
| Times | 3 sessions a day (each 60 minutes, starting at 11:00 / 13:00 / 15:00). Up to 8 people per session; you may be seated together with other guests. Please arrive 10 minutes before the start |
| Course and fee | The tasting course, 5,500 yen. You taste 6 kinds in all (about 180 ml in total), the limited product “Limited Edition NOGUCHI NAOHIKO 01 2019 Vintage” and 5 kinds of yamahai sake, with simple snacks. Includes a visit to the gallery |
| For drivers | The non-alcoholic course for an accompanying driver (2,000 yen). Up to 1 person per car; this course cannot be booked on its own |
| Age | Only people aged 20 or over may enter. People who are pregnant and children may not enter |
| Shopping | After the tasting, you can buy sake at the shop counter |
| Language | The booking page can also be used in English. Whether guidance is given in English has not been made public |
| Phone | 0761-41-1227 |
If you have not made contact by 15 minutes after your booking time, it may be treated as a cancellation. In Japan, drunk driving is prohibited by law.
Getting there
Address: 〒923-0171 石川県小松市観音下町ワ1番地1
- By train: About 20 minutes by taxi from Komatsu Station. Komatsu Station is served by the Hokuriku Shinkansen (high-speed rail) and the IR Ishikawa Railway. The route bus that went to the brewery was discontinued in December 2022. Please check train times with JR West and the IR Ishikawa Railway
- By car: About 25 minutes from Komatsu Interchange on the Hokuriku Expressway
Travel times are estimates given by the brewery (checked on October 23, 2026).
Opening days and arrangements for visitors may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute’s sake
“SAKE食堂” at Kanazawa Station
On the ground floor of “あんと西”, the station building at JR Kanazawa Station, there is a store run by the brewery itself, “SAKE食堂 by Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute”. You can try 13 kinds, including items limited to the store, from a single glass, standing at the counter. There are also tasting flights of 3 kinds (1,500 yen to 3,000 yen), and the store sells most of the brewery’s products.
| SAKE食堂 by Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute (checked on October 23, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Location | 石川県金沢市広岡1丁目7番1号 あんと西1階 (1 minute on foot from the ticket gates of JR Kanazawa Station) Open in Google Maps |
| Hours | 9:00–23:00 (last order 22:30). Closed on January 1. 15 standing places |
| Phone | 076-204-8383 |
Stockists
The brewery’s “list of authorized retailers” on its official website includes 194 stores in Japan (in 29 prefectures). Importers and retailers overseas are also listed, by country and region (checked on October 24, 2026). From the list, we have picked stores in places that are easy to drop in at during a trip.
| Area | Store | Address | Store website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Komatsu Airport | 北陸エアターミナルビル直営売店（2階）、空の駅こまつ（1階） | 石川県小松市浮柳町ヨ50 Open in Google Maps | Please check the brewery’s list |
| Tokyo | 日本橋三越本店 | 東京都中央区日本橋室町1-4-1 Open in Google Maps | 日本橋三越本店 |
| Tokyo | 伊勢丹 新宿店（地下1階 和酒ショップ） | 東京都新宿区新宿3-14-1 Open in Google Maps | 伊勢丹 新宿店 |
| Kyoto | 京都タカシマヤ（地下1階 和洋酒売場） | 京都府京都市下京区四条通河原町西入真町52 Open in Google Maps | 京都タカシマヤ |
| Osaka | 大丸梅田店（地下2階 和洋酒売場） | 大阪府大阪市北区梅田3-1-1 Open in Google Maps | 大丸梅田店 |
For liquor stores in Kanazawa, Komatsu and Kaga Onsen, and for other stores, please check the brewery’s list.
The brewery’s official online store shows shipping fees only for destinations within Japan, and gives no information about shipping overseas (checked on October 23, 2026).
Before you buy
- Stock differs from store to store. Seasonal and limited products may not come in, so please check with the store before visiting.
- Products with “生” written on them must be kept refrigerated. Please put them in the refrigerator when you reach your accommodation.
- 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
Other breweries in Ishikawa Prefecture are gathered on our Ishikawa Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 株式会社農口尚彦研究所 (Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute Inc.) |
| Founded | Opened in November 2017 (the 29th year of the Heisei era) |
| Representative | President and Representative Director 朝野勇次郎 |
| Toji | Noguchi Naohiko (since 2017) |
| Address | 〒923-0171 石川県小松市観音下町ワ1番地1 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0761-41-1227 (inquiries about the tasting room “Touan”) |
| Main brands | Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute (農口尚彦研究所), Kanagaso (観音下) |
| Brewing water | Underground water from Hakusan |
| Official website | https://noguchi-naohiko.co.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | No information about a brewery tour that takes you around the brewing areas. Tasting is available at the tasting room “Touan” (booking required, paid, includes a visit to the gallery) |
| Brewery-owned store | SAKE食堂 by Noguchi Naohiko Sake Institute (JR Kanazawa Station, あんと西 ground floor) |
| List of stockists | Published (194 stores in Japan in 29 prefectures, plus overseas importers; checked on October 24, 2026) |
| English support | An English official website is available (https://noguchi-naohiko.co.jp/en ). Whether English guidance is given at Touan has not been made public |