Who will enjoy this brewery
- People travelling to the mountain lakes and gorges of Kochi who would like to stop at a local sake brewery on the way (whether the brewery accepts tours has not been published; there is a museum beside the brewery)
- People who want to try sake made from rice grown on terraced rice paddies in the mountains
- People looking for sake to go with Kochi specialties such as katsuo no tataki (bonito seared only on the surface) and sashimi
About Tosa Shuzo
Tosa Shuzo (土佐酒造) is a brewery in Tai (田井), Tosa Town (土佐町), in the north of Kochi Prefecture. It was founded in 1877 (Meiji 10). Its brand is “Keigetsu (桂月)”. The representative director is 松本宗己.
Tosa Shuzo has not published whether it accepts brewery tours (checked on October 27, 2026). Beside the brewery is a museum, “Keigetsukan (桂月館)”, which introduces the man of letters after whom the brand is named. The official website also has pages in English and Traditional Chinese.
Beside the water jar of Shikoku
Tosa Town lies in a mountainous area in the north of Kochi Prefecture called “Reihoku (嶺北)”. It is in the upper reaches of the Yoshino River (吉野川), which flows through the middle of Shikoku, and near the town is the lake of a large dam, “Sameura Dam (早明浦ダム)”. This lake is also called “the water jar of Shikoku”. Tosa Shuzo is a brewery set in quiet nature beside this lake.
The brewery calls its own sake “Sake du Terroir (”sake of the land”)“. It uses sake rice grown on local terraced rice paddies, and also works with traditional, labour-intensive methods called”kimoto (生酛)” and “yamahai”.
Rice from mountain terraces
Some Keigetsu sakes use the sake rice “Gin no Yume (吟の夢)”, grown in the Reihoku area of Kochi Prefecture.
“Aikawa Homare (相川譽)” is a sake made from Gin no Yume harvested on the terraced rice paddies of Aikawa (相川) in Tosa Town. In Aikawa, rice has long been grown on terraced paddies on the mountain slopes. The terraces are at an altitude of 350–600 m, and the difference between day and night temperatures is 15°C. Aikawa Homare is a “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, brewed from this rice by the yamahai method.
Products bearing the name “Gin no Yume (吟之夢)” include a “junmai daiginjo”, made from Gin no Yume using only rice, rice koji and water, with more than half of the outer part of the rice polished away, and 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.
As a sake to go with fish dishes, the brewery recommends “Keigetsu 超辛口 Tokubetsu Junmai-shu 60 (extra karakuchi)”. It is a sake to drink with katsuo no tataki (bonito seared only on the surface), sashimi and simmered fish. It is a “tokubetsu junmai-shu” made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% of the outer part of the rice polished away, and has a clean taste with little sweetness. “Karakuchi (dry)” in sake does not mean salty; it means having little sweetness.
There are also sparkling sakes, and a liqueur made with Kochi yuzu, “YUZU SAKE”. The rice used and the rice polishing ratio differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type.
The brand name and Omachi Keigetsu
The name “Keigetsu” comes from Omachi Keigetsu (大町桂月), a man of letters born in Kochi City. Omachi Keigetsu was born in 1869 (Meiji 2). He walked the mountains and rivers writing travel pieces, and loved sake and travel. His pen name (gago) is connected with “Katsurahama (桂浜)”, a coast in Kochi known as a famous place for viewing the moon.
In 1924 (Taisho 13), Omachi Keigetsu wrote a classical Chinese-style poem (kanshi) praising this sake. The picture on the Keigetsu label was painted in 1951 (Showa 26) by the nihonga (Japanese-style) painter Matsubayashi Keigetsu (松林桂月).
Visiting the brewery
Whether the brewery accepts tours has not been published
Tosa Shuzo has not published whether it accepts brewery tours (checked on October 27, 2026).
Keigetsukan
A museum beside the brewery. It is housed in an earthen-walled storehouse (土蔵) built in the Taisho era, with the rain-shedding tile ledges (水切り瓦) typical of Tosa (Kochi) storehouses, and displays Omachi Keigetsu’s works and hanging scrolls, as well as photos of monuments inscribed with his poems and of his grave. Instead of an admission fee, you buy a 220-yen small bottle of Keigetsu, an arrangement inspired by Omachi Keigetsu, who was called a “shusen” (“sake immortal”, a great lover of sake).
- Opening hours: 9:00–17:00
- Closed: January 1–3. It may also close temporarily
Getting there
Address: 〒781-3521 高知県土佐郡土佐町田井418
- By car: About 45 minutes from Kochi Airport, and about 40 minutes from central Kochi City
Travel times are estimates (checked on October 27, 2026). If you are driving, please do not drink sake. In Japan, drunk driving is prohibited by law.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Tosa Shuzo’s sake
The brewery publishes stockists across Japan on its official website, in the brewery’s list of stores (買えるお店). The products each store carries are also listed. About 440 stores appear on the list. We have picked stores that are easy to drop in on during a trip (checked on October 27, 2026).
| Area | Store | Address | Store website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tosa Town | 道の駅土佐さめうら | 高知県土佐郡土佐町 | — |
| Kochi City | 近藤印高知酒店 | 高知県高知市 | — |
| Tokyo | 北野エース 松屋浅草店 | 東京都台東区 | — |
| Tokyo | 未来日本酒店＆SAKE BAR | 東京都渋谷区 | https://mirai-sake.com/ |
| Osaka | 日本酒セラーHARETOKE | 大阪府大阪市福島区 | https://haretoke.biz/ |
For stores in other areas, please check the list. There are no stores in Kyoto on the list.
The brewery also sells its sake at its official online store.
Before you buy
- The list does not show when it was last updated. What each store carries and its stock differ, and limited products may not come in, so please check with the store before visiting.
- 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 Kochi Prefecture are gathered on our Kochi Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 土佐酒造株式会社 (Tosa Shuzo) |
| Founded | 1877 (Meiji 10) |
| Representative | 松本宗己 (representative director) |
| Address | 〒781-3521 高知県土佐郡土佐町田井418 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 050-1808-3903 |
| Main brand | Keigetsu (桂月) |
| Official website | http://www.keigetsu.co.jp/ (Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese) |
| Brewery tours | Whether they are accepted has not been published (checked on October 27, 2026) |
| Keigetsukan | A museum beside the brewery. 9:00–17:00, closed January 1–3. Instead of an admission fee, you buy a 220-yen small bottle |
| Mail order | Official online store |
| List of stockists | Published (about 440 stores; checked on October 27, 2026) |