Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to look for sake made locally while traveling around Kujukuri Beach (九十九里浜) in Chiba Prefecture (Kankiku Meijo ended its general brewery tours at the end of December 2019)
- People who want to find seasonal limited-edition sake themed on the seasons of Kujukuri Beach
- People who want to look, during their trip, for sake that is sold only in Chiba Prefecture
About Kankiku Meijo
Kankiku Meijo (寒菊銘醸) is a sake brewery in Matsuomachi (松尾町), Sammu (山武市), Chiba Prefecture. It was founded in 1883 (the 16th year of the Meiji era), and its founder was 佐瀬源作. The current representative is 佐瀬建一. Its main brand is “Fusano Kankiku (総乃寒菊)”, and it also has series such as “OCEAN99”, “Occasional” and “Matsuo Jiman (松尾自慢)”.
General brewery tours ended at the end of December 2019. There is a brewery shop on the brewery grounds (checked on September 30, 2026).
Besides sake, Kankiku Meijo also makes honkaku shochu (a Japanese distilled spirit) and craft beer. It started making beer in 1997, and honkaku imo (sweet potato) shochu in 2005.
Kujukuri Beach and the cold winter wind
Near the brewery, the long sandy shore of Kujukuri Beach stretches along the Pacific Ocean. The Kujukuri area is known for its sandy beach, which runs for about 66 kilometers. Both fishing and farming have thrived here since long ago, and “namero” (なめろう) is known as a fishermen’s dish.
In 1883, the founder 佐瀬源作 began making sake with the local underground water and the plentiful rice of this land. Today the brewery mainly uses rice harvested near the brewery, and it also has rice varieties suited to sake making, called “shuzo kotekimai” (酒造好適米), grown under contract. For its ginjo sake, it uses shuzo kotekimai from Hyogo, Okayama and Chiba prefectures.
Brewing sake in the cold winter months is called “kanzukuri” (寒造り). In Kujukuri, cold winds blow in from the Pacific in winter. Kankiku Meijo is a brewery that has made dry sake brewed with kanzukuri. “Karakuchi (dry)” in sake does not mean salty or spicy; it means a taste in which you sense little sweetness.
The brewery’s stated philosophy is “sake making that ‘fills the hearts’ of the people who drink it”. The fifth generation, 佐瀬建一, describes how he and his fellow brewers felt when they were making new sake together:
“A sake that, when you’re drinking at a bar and thinking it’s about time to go home, makes you think you’ll have one more glass of it before you leave. Everyone had a really strong feeling that we wanted to make something memorable like that.”
「お店でお酒を飲んでいて、そろそろ帰ろうかなってなった時に、もう1回これを飲んでから帰ろうかなって思うようなお酒。そういう記憶に残るようなもの造りたいっていう気持ちが、みんなすごく強かったんです」
— 佐瀬建一 (fifth generation of Kankiku Meijo), NIHONMONO (published September 21, 2025)
Series named after the land of Chiba
Kankiku Meijo gives each of its sake series a theme. The ingredients and rice polishing ratio (seimai buai) differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type. All of the rice used is grown in Japan.
- Fusano Kankiku (総乃寒菊) Discovery series — A series themed on Chiba Prefecture. It has four products: “Identity” (総の舞), “Adapt” (ふさこがね), “New Sensation” (コシヒカリ) and “Blue Sapphire” (Gohyakumangoku 五百万石). These products are sold only through liquor stores
- OCEAN99 — A seasonal limited series themed on the changing seasonal faces of Kujukuri Beach, near the brewery. There are six: “銀海 (Departure)”, “凪 (Spring Misty)”, “青海 (Summer Sea)”, “空海 (Inflight)”, “星海 (Starlight Sea)” and “橙海 (Arrival)”. These products are sold only through liquor stores
- Occasional — A series of “muroka genshu” (無濾過原酒: sake that is not filtered, and whose alcohol content has not been adjusted by adding water), brewed only once a year. It includes “True White”, “電照菊”, “電照菊-赤-” and “愛山50 (Aiyama 50)”, and is sold mainly at specialist sake stores
- Matsuo Jiman -Re:make- (松尾自慢) — A sake sold only in Chiba Prefecture, carrying on a brand born under the fourth-generation brewery owner. All of its rice is from Chiba Prefecture. It is 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
Since the 2016 brewing year, the brewery has also shipped namazake (unpasteurized sake) that is not heat-treated (pasteurized). Until shipping, it is stored under temperature control. The koji (steamed rice on which koji mold has been grown) is grown by craftspeople in a temperature-controlled room, relying on the feel of their hands.
Visiting the brewery
Tours and the brewery shop
Kankiku Meijo ended its general brewery tours at the end of December 2019. The brewery used to hold a brewery open day (kura-biraki, a brewery festival), but it ended in 2019 and is no longer held (checked on September 30, 2026).
There is a brewery shop on the grounds that sells Kankiku Meijo’s products and goods. Fixed opening hours are not published; the opening hours at any given time are announced on the brewery’s official Facebook page (checked on September 30, 2026). Be sure to check before visiting.
Getting there
Address: 〒289-1532 千葉県山武市松尾町武野里11
- By car: About 10 minutes from Matsuo IC on the 千葉東金有料道路 toll road. There is a parking lot. If you plan to buy or drink sake, the driver should not drink
- By train: Please check how to get there from the station on the access page of the brewery’s official website. It is safer to check the train times, including the last trains on the way there and back
Travel times are estimates as of September 2026.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Kankiku Meijo’s sake
In Japan, Kankiku Meijo’s sake is sold at authorized retailers (tokuyakuten: liquor stores with a special agreement with the brewery) across the country. The brewery does not publish a list of stockists or authorized retailers (checked on September 30, 2026). Fusano Kankiku and OCEAN99 are sold only through liquor stores, and Matsuo Jiman is sold only in Chiba Prefecture.
The online shop linked from the brewery’s official website still shows that it is closed as of September 30, 2026, and cannot be used.
The place to buy directly from the brewery is the brewery shop on the grounds. Please check the opening hours on the brewery’s official Facebook page. If you want to know about stockists, you can ask through the brewery’s inquiry form.
Before you buy
- Whether a store carries the sake, and its stock, differ from store to store. Seasonal and small-quantity products may not come in, so please check with the store before visiting.
- For products such as namazake whose label shows a storage method such as refrigeration, please follow 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 |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 合資会社寒菊銘醸 (KANKIKU MEIJYO) |
| Founded | 1883 (the 16th year of the Meiji era) |
| Representative | Representative Partner 佐瀬建一 |
| Address | 〒289-1532 千葉県山武市松尾町武野里11 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0479-86-3050 (fax 0479-86-3123) |
| Main brands | Fusano Kankiku (総乃寒菊) / OCEAN99 / Occasional / Matsuo Jiman (松尾自慢) |
| Official website | https://kankiku.com/ |
| Brewery tours | Not available (general tours ended at the end of December 2019) |
| Brewery shop | On the grounds (opening hours announced on the official Facebook page) |
| List of stockists | Not published (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | The official website has English pages. English support at the brewery is not published |