Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who travel out from Kanazawa to visit the town of Tsurugi, home of Shirayama Hime Shrine (白山比咩神社) (Kikuhime does not publish any information about brewery tours for the general public on its official website)
- People who want to try sake that is not released straight after pressing, but aged at the brewery to let its flavor settle before it is shipped
- People who want to try sake with a firm acidity and umami, made by the old method called yamahai
- People who want to find, as a souvenir of their trip, a product sold only in the Hokuriku region
About Kikuhime
Kikuhime (菊姫合資会社) is a sake brewery in Tsurugi (鶴来), in Hakusan City (白山市), Ishikawa Prefecture. It was founded in the 天正 era (1573–1592) of the Azuchi-Momoyama period, under the yago (shop name) “Oyanagiya (小柳屋)”. It became today’s Kikuhime in 1928. Its brand is “Kikuhime (菊姫)”. The representative is 柳荘司.
The brewery does not publish any information on its official website about accepting brewery tours for the general public (checked on October 7, 2026). Purchases and inquiries are accepted by phone (see “Visiting the brewery”).
Tsurugi, a Hakusan town, and “Kaga kikuzake”
Tsurugi is a town that developed long ago as a center of the shrines that worship Hakusan (白山). About 5 minutes by car from Tsurugi Station stands Shirayama Hime Shrine, the head shrine of the roughly 3,000 白山神社 (shrines dedicated to Hakusan) across Japan. This shrine has also been revered as the “ichinomiya” (the highest-ranking shrine of a province) of Kaga Province (加賀国, the southern part of today’s Ishikawa Prefecture). The deity enshrined there is a goddess, Kukurihime no Mikoto (菊理媛尊).
The sake of this area has long been called “kikuzake (菊酒)”. In 1527, Yamashina Tokitsugu (山科言継), a court noble living in Kyoto, wrote in his diary that Abutsubo (阿佛坊), a monk of 白山本宮 (the main Hakusan shrine of the time), had brought kikuzake to the court nobles of Kyoto. As for where “Kaga kikuzake (加賀の菊酒)” was produced, there have been theories since the Edo period that it was Tsurugi, that it was Kanazawa, and that it referred to the whole of Kaga.
The name “Kikuhime” is said to come from this “kikuzake” and from “Kukurihime (菊理媛)”, the goddess of Shirayama Hime Shrine.
Sake made in Hakusan City has been designated with the place name “Hakusan (白山)” under the “geographical indication (GI)” system, which protects the names of production areas. Kikuhime’s “Kashu Kikuzake (加州菊酒)” is a product that has been approved to carry this “Hakusan” indication.
With Yamada Nishiki from Yokawa in Hyogo
Of the sake on Kikuhime’s product list, all except four products classified as futsu-shu — “原酒”, “姫”, “菊” and “Jun (淳)” — use the sake rice (rice suited to making sake) “Yamada Nishiki (山田錦)” as their raw rice. That Yamada Nishiki is grown in Yokawa (吉川町), in Miki City (三木市), Hyogo Prefecture. Yokawa lies in a “Special A (Toku-A) district (特A地区)”, among the most highly rated of the Yamada Nishiki growing areas. The futsu-shu “Jun” also uses Yamada Nishiki.
Every year, the brewery and the Yamada Nishiki farmers of Yokawa hold a gathering called “姫と語る会” (an annual meeting between the brewery and its Yamada Nishiki growers). At the end of September 2026, the 32nd meeting was held in Miki City. The day after the meeting, four of the brewery’s employees stayed in Yokawa and examined the rice fields at harvest time.
The brewery also does its own rice polishing (removing the outer part of the rice). It has a rice polishing plant in 八幡町, Hakusan City, and each year’s sake making begins with the first polishing in September.
Aged at the brewery before release
Kikuhime’s sake is mainly rich in the umami of rice, with a firm flavor. The brewery also ages (matures) many of its products at the brewery for a certain period before shipping them. The brewery’s product pages list an “aging period (years)” for each product.
In 1968, the brewery launched its product “Daiginjo”. In 1983, it revived yamahai brewing, which had almost disappeared, and launched “yamahai junmai-shu (山廃仕込純米酒)”. Yamahai is one of the ways of making the “shubo” (yeast starter), in which the yeast (the microorganism that turns sugar into alcohol) is grown; because the yeast and lactic acid bacteria grow together, it gives the sake a flavor with acidity and richness.
In 1988, the brewery began training technicians it calls “酒マイスター” (the brewery’s title for the brewing technicians it trains). As fewer people became toji (master brewers, the people responsible for sake making), this effort was meant to analyze and record the skills and intuition of the toji, and to pass them on as the brewery’s own knowledge.
Here are four different types from the brewery’s product list (checked on October 7, 2026). The raw rice for all of them is Yamada Nishiki from the Special A district of Yokawa.
- Kikuhime Yamahai Junmai (山廃純米) — A “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, brewed by the yamahai method. It is the product launched in 1983, with an aroma reminiscent of nuts and caramel, a powerful acidity and abundant rice umami. It is aged for 1–2 years before shipping
- Tsurunosato (鶴乃里) — Another junmai-shu made by the yamahai method. It is released every year at the beginning of October. The color of the label changes each year between red, gold and blue
- Kikuhime Daiginjo (大吟醸) — A product that has continued since its launch in 1968. It is made with half of the outer part of the rice polished away, blends sake from several years, and is aged for about 5 years. It has a sweet aroma reminiscent of caramel and brown sugar
- Kashu Kikuzake — A junmai-shu made only from rice, rice koji and water. It has been approved for the geographical indication “Hakusan”, and is sold only in the Hokuriku region. It has a clean taste with a moderately lively acidity
There are many other products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type. “Kukurihime (菊理媛)”, named after the goddess of Shirayama Hime Shrine, is a product aged for more than 10 years before release, and is distributed in limited numbers.
Visiting the brewery
About brewery tours
Kikuhime does not publish any information on its official website about accepting brewery tours for the general public (checked on October 7, 2026). If you want to visit, please call in advance to ask.
Buying and inquiries by phone
The brewery accepts inquiries and orders by phone. The phone number is 076-272-1234, and calls are accepted from 8:00 to 17:00. It is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays and over the New Year holidays (checked on October 7, 2026). The official website also has an inquiry form.
Getting to Tsurugi
To reach the town of Tsurugi, take the IR Ishikawa Railway from Kanazawa Station to Nishi-Kanazawa Station, and change to the Ishikawa Line at Shin-Nishikanazawa Station of the Hokuriku Railroad, right next door. It takes about 28 minutes from Shin-Nishikanazawa Station to Tsurugi Station. Shirayama Hime Shrine is about 5 minutes by taxi from Tsurugi Station (checked on October 7, 2026). Please check train times with the Hokuriku Railroad. It is also a good idea to check the last train back in advance.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Kikuhime’s sake
The brewery does not publish a list of stores that carry Kikuhime (checked on October 7, 2026). The brewery also has no official online shop.
To find a stockist near you, please contact the brewery at the phone number above. The brewery’s inquiry form also has an item for “store referral” (販売店紹介), and the brewery introduces stores in this way.
Before you buy
- Kikuhime has many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
- “Kashu Kikuzake” is a product sold only in the Hokuriku region. “Tsurunosato”, “Kikuhime junmai hiyaoroshi (純米ひやおろし)” and some others are products with fixed release seasons.
- 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.
- 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 the Ishikawa Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 菊姫合資会社 (Kikuhime Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | The 天正 era (1573–1592). Shop name (yago) “Oyanagiya (小柳屋)” |
| Representative | 柳 荘司 |
| Address | 〒920-2126 石川県白山市鶴来新町タ8番地 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 076-272-1234 (FAX 076-273-1222). Calls accepted 8:00–17:00; closed Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays and over the New Year holidays |
| Main brand | Kikuhime (菊姫) |
| Raw rice | Yamada Nishiki from Yokawa, Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture (Special A district) (except some futsu-shu products) |
| Official website | https://www.kikuhime.co.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | No information for the general public on the official website (inquire by phone) |
| Purchase | Orders by phone; referral to stockists |
| List of stockists | Not published (checked on October 7, 2026) |
| English support | There is no English official website. English support at the brewery is not published |