Who will enjoy this brewery
- People traveling the Noto Peninsula who want to stop at the brewery-owned store in the port town of Ushitsu and buy local sake (the official website has no information on brewery tours)
- People who want to try sake made only with rice grown in Noto
- People who want to try sake made to go with Noto seafood such as squid and oysters
About Kazuma Shuzo
Kazuma Shuzo (数馬酒造) is a brewery in Ushitsu, Noto Town (鳳珠郡能登町), on the eastern side of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. A family that had made soy sauce since the Edo period began making sake in 1869 (Meiji 2). The brand is “Chikuha (竹葉)”. The representative director is the fifth generation, Kaiichiro Kazuma (数馬嘉一郎).
In the Noto Peninsula earthquake of January 1, 2024, four of Kazuma Shuzo’s wooden brewery buildings were damaged. The brewery is still making sake in Ushitsu while rebuilding the damaged buildings (checked on October 29, 2026).
The official website has no information on brewery tours. The place travelers can visit is the brewery-owned store (checked on October 29, 2026).
A sake brewery after the earthquake
Ushitsu is a port town facing the inner sea of the Noto Peninsula. Kazuma Shuzo is rebuilding the four wooden brewery buildings damaged in the earthquake in two phases.
In the first phase, two buildings that had been used for storage were demolished in July 2025, and on that site a bottling room and a storage warehouse are being built as a single-story reinforced-concrete building (as of August 2026). In the next phase, the buildings used for the shipping area and for rice polishing will be demolished and rebuilt in turn. In September 2026, demolition of the building that had been used as the shipping area began. The work is expected to be completed in 2027. During the work, the brewery is continuing to make and ship sake. The sake making that began in the autumn of 2025 finished pressing its last moromi (fermenting mash) in July 2026.
The earthquake has also affected the sake the brewery can make. “Kimoto (生酛)”, a traditional method, is made with the help of microbes living in the brewery. After the earthquake, the environment inside the brewery changed, and sake made with kimoto could no longer achieve the intended flavor. The brewery has suspended sales of its kimoto sake and is continuing to try to make it again (as of August 2026).
Noto rice, and spring water from the former village of Yanagida
Kazuma Shuzo now sources all of its rice from Noto. It grows “Hyakumangoku no Shiro (百万石乃白)” and “Ishikawamon (石川門)”, sake rice (rice suited to sake making) varieties registered in Ishikawa Prefecture, together with “Yamada Nishiki” and “Gohyakumangoku”, with contract farmers in Noto. Since 2014, it has also been reclaiming abandoned rice fields, linking sake making all the way back to growing the rice. The rice is polished at the brewery.
The brewing water is spring water that wells up in the mountains of the former village of Yanagida, inland in Noto Town. The brewery transports this water by tanker truck. It is very soft water. In recent years, the brewery has also been adding more products brewed with Noto deep ocean water.
In 2015, Kazuma Shuzo ended the traditional system of a “toji” (master brewer, the person responsible for sake making) and craftsmen called “kurabito”, and switched to a system in which the company’s own employees take responsibility for making the sake.
Chikuha’s sake
- “Chikuha Noto Junmai (竹葉 能登純米)” — A “junmai-shu” made only from rice, rice koji and water, using Noto-grown Yamada Nishiki. The brewery recommends this product first to people trying Chikuha for the first time. It has a clear, delicate sweetness, and the brewery recommends drinking it chilled or at room temperature
- “Chikuha Junmai Ginjo (竹葉 純米吟醸)” — A “junmai ginjo” made only from rice, rice koji and water, using Noto-grown Gohyakumangoku, with 40% or more of the outer part of the rice polished away, and fermented slowly at a low temperature
- “Chikuha 能登大吟” — A “daiginjo” made with Noto-grown Ishikawamon, with half or more of the outer part of the rice polished away and a small amount of brewer’s alcohol added
- “Chikuha いか純米” — A sake made to go with squid landed at the port of Ogi (小木) in Noto Town. It is made only from rice, rice koji and water, using Noto deep ocean water and a yeast taken from Noto seaweed. The brewery says it can be drunk either chilled or warmed as kan (燗)
- “Chikuha Oyster (チクハオイスター)” — A sake made only from rice, rice koji and water, made to go with Noto oysters. It uses the Noto-grown rice “Yumemizuho (ゆめみづほ)”, grown using oyster shells, Noto deep ocean water and a wine yeast. The brewery recommends drinking it well chilled
The ingredient rice and the rice polishing ratio differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type. Besides sake, Kazuma Shuzo also makes umeshu (plum liqueur) and soy sauce.
Visiting the brewery
No information on brewery tours; you can stop at the brewery-owned store
The official website has no information on brewery tours (checked on October 29, 2026). At the brewery (in Ushitsu) there is a brewery-owned store that sells Chikuha.
- Opening hours: Weekdays 9:00–16:30, Saturdays 10:00–16:30
- Closed: Sundays and national holidays
Since September 2026, demolition work has been under way on a building along the brewery’s street (as of October 29, 2026). Depending on the progress of the work, the brewery-owned store may close temporarily or shorten its hours. The brewery announces closures and shortened hours in the “News” section of its official website (お知らせ) (checked on October 29, 2026). Please check Kazuma Shuzo’s official website before visiting.
Getting there
The official website has no access information. The brewery’s address is “石川県鳳珠郡能登町宇出津ヘ-36”. See the map below.
Ushitsu’s summer festival
Every year on the first Friday and Saturday of July, Ushitsu holds the “Abare Matsuri”, the festival of Ushitsu Yasaka Shrine. In this festival, kiriko (huge lantern floats) move through the sparks of huge torches, and it is designated an Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Ishikawa Prefecture. Please check the dates on the Noto Town website.
Opening days and visitor arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Kazuma Shuzo’s sake
The official website has no list of stockists (checked on October 29, 2026). You can buy from the brewery at the following:
- The brewery-owned store (in Ushitsu): As described under “Visiting the brewery” above. Please note that it may close temporarily because of the construction work
- Official online shop: You can order from the Kazuma Shuzo online shop
Before you buy
- Seasonal limited editions may be out of stock depending on the time of year.
- As of August 2026, sales of kimoto products are suspended.
- 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 | 数馬酒造株式会社 (Kazuma Shuzo) |
| Founded | 1869 (Meiji 2) |
| Representative | Kaiichiro Kazuma (数馬嘉一郎), representative director (fifth generation) |
| Address | 〒927-0433 石川県鳳珠郡能登町宇出津ヘ-36 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0768-62-1200 (fax 0768-62-1201) |
| Main brand | Chikuha (竹葉) |
| Official website | https://chikuha.co.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | No information on the official website (checked on October 29, 2026) |
| Brewery shop | The brewery-owned store (weekdays 9:00–16:30, Saturdays 10:00–16:30; closed on Sundays and national holidays; temporary closures because of construction work) |
| List of stockists | Not published (checked on October 29, 2026) |
| English support | The official website has English pages |