Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to look for sake from a local brewery at restaurants and liquor stores while traveling in Aizuwakamatsu
- People who want to compare, within one brand, the differences that come from the area where the sake rice was grown and its variety
- People who can enjoy drinking and searching for sake as part of their trip, rather than visiting the brewery (Miyaizumi Meijo does not accept brewery tours, and does not sell “Sharaku” at the brewery)
About Miyaizumi Meijo
Miyaizumi Meijo (宮泉銘醸) is a brewery in Higashisakaemachi (東栄町), Aizuwakamatsu (会津若松市), Fukushima Prefecture. It began in December 1955 as “Miyamori Keiji Shuzojo (宮森啓治酒造場)”, and became Miyaizumi Meijo Co., Ltd. in April 1964.
It has three brands: “Sharaku (冩樂)”, “Aizu Miyaizumi (會津宮泉)” and “Genbu (玄武)”. The company name and the brand names are different, so in stores, please look for the brand names.
Representative Director 宮森義弘 took over the brewery in 2002 as the fourth generation, and serves as both president and the person responsible for sake making.
Brewery tours are not available. “Sharaku” is not sold at the brewery (checked on September 30, 2026).
Water and rice from a basin surrounded by mountains
Aizu (会津) is an area in the western part of Fukushima Prefecture. The Aizu Basin is surrounded by mountains: the Ou Mountains to the east, the Echigo Mountains to the west, the Taishaku Mountains to the south, and to the north the mountains running from the Iide Mountains to Mount Azuma. The Aga River (阿賀川) and its tributaries flow through the basin. There are many days when the temperature falls to 0 degrees Celsius or below, and many when it rises to 25 degrees or above, so it is a land with a large gap between cold and heat.
Miyaizumi Meijo pumps up underground water from snowmelt that has its source in Mount Bandai (磐梯山), and uses it for brewing its sake.
The brewery uses both rice grown in Aizu and Fukushima Prefecture and rice from well-known growing areas outside the prefecture. “Yume no Kaori (夢の香)”, used for “Sharaku Junmai-shu”, is a variety that Fukushima Prefecture developed as a sake rice (rice suited to making sake) that suits the prefecture’s climate. “Gohyakumangoku (五百万石)” is used for “Sharaku Junmai Ginjo”. The brewery works with farmers in Aizu to grow both of these rice varieties.
From outside the prefecture, it uses rice such as Yamada Nishiki (山田錦) from Hyogo Prefecture and Omachi (雄町) from Okayama Prefecture. Many products have the growing area or variety in their names, so you can compare the differences between the rice varieties.
Brewing not left to machines
Miyaizumi Meijo does not use machines for making koji (steamed rice on which koji mold has been grown), the base of the sake’s flavor; the kurabito (brewery workers) make it by hand. The finished koji is moved to a room with a low temperature and dried further.
For managing the moromi (fermenting mash: sake still fermenting, before pressing), too, the brewery does not use tanks that adjust the temperature automatically. The kurabito check the state of the moromi with their own eyes and manage the changes in temperature.
Pressing is done at a low temperature, and the pressed sake is bottled right away and kept refrigerated until shipping. The storage period and shipping time are set separately for each rice variety and product.
Main Sharaku products
- Sharaku Junmai-shu — A “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water. It uses Yume no Kaori, with 40% of the outer part of the rice polished away. It is shipped all year round
- Sharaku 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. It uses Gohyakumangoku, and for this product half of the outer part of the rice is polished away. It is shipped all year round
- Sharaku Junmai Daiginjo Gokujo Niwari (極上二割) — A “junmai daiginjo”: made only from rice, rice koji and water, with more than half of the outer part of the rice polished away. It uses Yamada Nishiki grown in Rokko (六甲), Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, with 80% of the outer part of the rice polished away. It is released twice a year, in July and December
There are also many other products, including namazake (sake that has not been pasteurized, i.e. heated to kill microbes) and seasonal products. The ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type.
Visiting the brewery
Miyaizumi Meijo does not accept brewery tours (checked on September 30, 2026).
If you want to visit a sake brewery in Fukushima Prefecture, the brewery map on “Fukushima no Sake”, a guide website for Fukushima Prefecture’s sake, is a useful reference. Each brewery’s page has a field showing whether it accepts tours. Please check the tour conditions with each brewery.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Miyaizumi Meijo’s sake
Miyaizumi Meijo does not publish a list of stockists (checked on September 30, 2026). Sharaku and Aizu Miyaizumi are sold at liquor stores that the brewery calls its authorized stockists.
If you contact the brewery by phone, it can introduce you to an authorized stockist.
| Inquiry | Phone | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Authorized stockists and products | 0242-27-0031 | 8:30–17:30 (except Sundays and public holidays) |
| Buying products | 0242-26-0031 | 9:00–16:30 |
These hours are as of September 30, 2026. Whether the brewery’s staff can respond in languages other than Japanese is not published.
Before you buy
- The release dates of Sharaku and Aizu Miyaizumi, for both year-round and seasonal products, differ from one authorized stockist to another. Please ask the store about release dates.
- Because shipping costs differ by region, the retail price may vary from store to store.
- 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.
- Namazake is sake that has not been pasteurized. Follow the storage temperature shown on the label, and please avoid carrying it around at room temperature for a long time during your trip.
- 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 | 宮泉銘醸株式会社 (Miyaizumi Meijo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | Established in December 1955 (the 30th year of the Showa era) as Miyamori Keiji Shuzojo / incorporated in April 1964 (the 39th year of the Showa era) |
| Representative | Representative Director 宮森義弘 |
| Address | 〒965-0872 福島県会津若松市東栄町8番7号 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0242-27-0031 (fax 0242-27-0032) |
| Main brands | Sharaku (冩樂) / Aizu Miyaizumi (會津宮泉) / Genbu (玄武) |
| Brewing water | Underground water from snowmelt that has its source in Mount Bandai |
| Official website | https://miyaizumi.co.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | Not available |
| Sales at the brewery | “Sharaku” is not sold |
| List of stockists | Not published. Authorized stockists are introduced by phone (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | Not published |