Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to look for Hiroshima Prefecture sake at local liquor stores and department stores while traveling around Hiroshima and Kure
- People who want to look for a sake with a story behind its name, including at stores in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto
- People who can enjoy drinking and buying sake as part of their trip, rather than visiting the brewery (whether Aihara Shuzo accepts brewery tours is not published)
About Aihara Shuzo
Aihara Shuzo (相原酒造) is a sake brewery in Nigata (仁方), Kure (呉市), Hiroshima Prefecture. It was founded in 1875 (the 8th year of the Meiji era). Its main brand is “Ugo No Tsuki (雨後の月)”, and it also makes “金泉” and “不二若竹”.
Whether the brewery accepts brewery tours is not published (checked on September 30, 2026). The brewery’s official online store is “in preparation”. Ugo No Tsuki is carried by the stockists around Japan that the brewery publishes.
Nigata, between three mountains and the sea
Nigata is a small town in the east of Kure. It lies between three mountains and the Seto Inland Sea. The underground water of nearby Mt. Noro (野呂山) has long been praised as excellent water. On the sea side is Nigata Port, which prospered as a key point on the sea routes.
In the Meiji era, Nigata had 9 sake breweries and 10 soy sauce breweries. Today, “Ugo No Tsuki” and “Houken (寳剱)” are still made here.
Mt. Noro is a mountain 839 meters high, and has long been regarded as a sacred mountain. Around the summit, cherry blossoms bloom in April, azaleas in May and hydrangeas in July. From the summit you can look out over the Seto Inland Sea. It is about a 2-hour walk on the “かぶと岩コース” trail from 安芸川尻 Station on the JR Kure Line (estimate as of September 2026).
From closing during the war to a brewery that puts quality first
Aihara Shuzo was founded in 1875, and by 1895 it had grown to brew 1,700 koku (koku is a unit for measuring the volume of sake). It closed temporarily because of the war, but it has continued making sake.
The big change came in 1988. 相原準一郎 became head of the brewery and, wanting to make sake that he himself would find delicious to drink, thoroughly carried through a policy of putting quality first. As of September 30, 2026, the President and Representative Director is 相原章吾.
The name “Ugo No Tsuki”
The brand name “Ugo No Tsuki” was taken from the title of a short piece in 『自然と人生』, a collection of essays published in 1900 by the novelist Roka Tokutomi (徳富蘆花). It was named by the second generation, 相原格.
The brewery writes about the meaning it put into this name as follows.
“In the sky after the rain, the moon shines clear and bright and lights up everything around it.” It is a name the kurabito (brewery workers) always hold up as their goal: the wish to brew a sake as clear and beautiful as that. ｢雨あがりの空に､冴え冴えと光輝く月が周りを明るく照らす｣ そんな澄みきってうつくしい酒を醸したいと､蔵人が常に目標に掲げる名前です｡ ——From “About” on the Aihara Shuzo official website
Ugo No Tsuki has many products. For example, “Ugo No Tsuki Tokubetsu Junmai 十三夜” is a “tokubetsu junmai-shu”: sake made only from rice, rice koji and water. The ingredients and rice polishing ratio differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type and the name of the rice.
Visiting the brewery
Whether Aihara Shuzo accepts brewery tours or sells sake at the brewery is not published (checked on September 30, 2026).
- Address: 〒737-0152 広島県呉市仁方本町1-25-15
- Phone: 0823-79-5008
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Aihara Shuzo’s sake
The brewery’s official online store is in preparation (checked on September 30, 2026). Ugo No Tsuki is carried by the stockists that the brewery publishes.
Stores that carry Ugo No Tsuki
The brewery publishes a list of stockists on its official website. It lists about 150 stores, including branches, from Hokkaido to Kagoshima. From the list, we have picked stores that are easy to stop by during a trip (checked on September 30, 2026).
| Area | Store | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Kure | 呉山城屋 本店 | 広島県呉市本通2-6-6 Open in Google Maps |
| Kure | 呉蔵元屋 本店 | 広島県呉市中通4-3-23 呉蔵元屋ビル Open in Google Maps |
| Hiroshima | 酒商山田 エディオン蔦屋家電店 | 広島県広島市南区松原町3-1-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Hiroshima | 酒商山田 宇品本店 | 広島県広島市南区宇品海岸2-10-7 Open in Google Maps |
| Hiroshima | 大和屋酒舗 胡町本店 | 広島県広島市中区胡町4-3 Open in Google Maps |
| Hiroshima | そごう広島 | 広島県広島市中区基町6-27 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo Station | はせがわ酒店 GranSta東京店 | 東京都千代田区丸の内1-9-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo (Ginza) | IMADEYA GINZA | 東京都中央区銀座6-10-1 GINZA SIX B2F Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo (Ikebukuro) | 酒商山田 西武池袋店 | 東京都豊島区南池袋1-28-1 西武池袋本店 B2F Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka (Umeda) | 山長 梅田店 | 大阪府大阪市北区梅田1-2-2 大阪駅前第2ビル B1 Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka | 酒のやまもと 大阪店 | 大阪府大阪市中央区島之内2-6-32 Open in Google Maps |
| Kyoto Station | ジェイアール京都伊勢丹 | 京都府京都市下京区烏丸通塩小路下ル東塩小路町 |
| Kyoto | 名酒館タキモト | 京都府京都市下京区升屋町60 Open in Google Maps |
Please check the list for other stores.
Before you buy
- Whether a store carries the sake, and its stock, differ from store to store. Limited and seasonal products may not come in, so please check with the store before visiting.
- Ugo No Tsuki has many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
- 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 | 相原酒造株式会社 (Aihara Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1875 (the 8th year of the Meiji era) |
| Representative | President and Representative Director 相原章吾 |
| Address | 〒737-0152 広島県呉市仁方本町1-25-15 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0823-79-5008 (fax 0823-79-6247) |
| Company business hours | Monday–Friday 8:30–17:00 |
| Main brand | Ugo No Tsuki (雨後の月) |
| Official website | https://www.ugonotsuki.com/ |
| Brewery tours | Not published |
| Sales at the brewery | Not published (the official online store is in preparation) |
| List of stockists | Published on the official website (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | The official website has English and Chinese pages. English support at the brewery is not published |