Who will enjoy this brewery
- People travelling by car around Suzu on the Noto Peninsula who want to stop at the brewery’s shop and buy local sake on the way (there are no brewery tours and no tasting in the shop)
- People visiting Japan from late autumn into winter who want to try “しぼりたて生原酒”, freshly pressed that winter
- People who want to look for sake from a brewery hit by the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake in shops in Kanazawa, Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto
About Sogen Shuzo
Sogen Shuzo (宗玄酒造) is a brewery in a district called 宝立町宗玄 in Suzu (珠洲市), on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. It was founded in 1768, in the mid-Edo period, and became a joint-stock company in 1907. Its brand is “Sogen (宗玄)”, the same name as the brewery. The president is 八木隆夫, who became the company’s 12th president in 2023.
Sogen Shuzo stopped making sake after the Noto Peninsula earthquake on January 1, 2024. On September 18 of the same year it began preparing for that winter’s brewing and resumed sake making, and in autumn 2026 too it started that winter’s brewing on October 2 (checked on October 25, 2026).
Sogen Shuzo does not accept brewery tours (checked on October 25, 2026). There is a shop at the head office where you can buy sake.
A family name that became the name of the land and the brand
Sogen was originally the name of the family that ran this brewery. Because the family prospered here, the land also came to be called Sogen.
The Sogen family began making sake in 1768. In 1844, 宗玄忠五郎, the fourth generation of the family, left home and trained under a sake maker in Itami (伊丹, in today’s Hyogo Prefecture), which was a leading center of sake brewing. When he returned home in 1847, he made a clear sake, “seishu (清酒)”, and put it on sale under the name “Kenzan (剣山)”. Kenzan was also carried by ship across Toyama Bay to Etchu (越中, today’s Toyama Prefecture).
Even so, local people kept calling this sake by the name “宗玄酒” (Sogen sake) that they had used since their ancestors’ time, and that became today’s brand name. Sogen labels still carry a design of a sword-shaped mountain, and the name “Kenzan” also lives on as a product for everyday drinking with dinner.
The earthquake, and the tunnel in the mountain
Sogen Shuzo used a railway tunnel running through the hill behind the brewery as a storehouse for its sake. It was a tunnel on the Noto Line of Noto Railway (のと鉄道能登線), which closed in March 2005. In 2013 the brewery converted the tunnel and named it “Zuidogura (隧道蔵)”. There it aged its sake at about 12°C all year, in a place free of vibration and out of reach of ultraviolet light.
In the earthquake of January 2024, Zuidogura was badly damaged and has been closed to prevent danger. The hill where the tunnel was collapsed, and slope repair work is continuing. In September 2026, rain caused the upper part of the slope to collapse again, and recovery will still take time (as of October 2026).
“平成蔵”, a building completed in 1998, was also damaged: the landslide tore a large hole in its wall, and windows and walls on its upper floors were broken. Work to repair the outer walls was finished in early September 2026. On the other hand, the effects of the earthquake combined with a shortage of rice mean the brewery is making less sake than before the earthquake, and some products are in short supply (as of June 2026).
After the brewery began that winter’s brewing in October 2026, the president, 八木隆夫, wrote the following (from the news section of Sogen Shuzo’s official website, October 13, 2026).
“This season, all of us at the brewery will do our utmost to complete brewing safely, as we did before the earthquake, and bring Sogen to you.” (「今期こそは、震災前のように醸造を無事に完了させ、皆さまに宗玄のお酒をお届けできるよう、蔵人一同、力を尽くしてまいります。」)
Winter’s new sake, and Noto rice
Every winter, Sogen Shuzo ships “新酒 しぼりたて生原酒” as its new-season sake. It is a “nama genshu”: no water is added after pressing, and it is not heat-pasteurized. Its alcohol content is 19%. It is made using glutinous rice, by a method called “yondan-jikomi (四段仕込み, four-stage mashing)”. It has a rich, sweet flavor. Shipping began on November 21 in 2024, and on November 20 in 2025. It is a seasonal, limited-quantity product and must be kept refrigerated.
Here are three different kinds of the brewery’s products. Prices are the tax-included prices on the brewery’s official website (720 ml. Checked on October 25, 2026).
- 新酒 しぼりたて生原酒 — The winter seasonal product described above. It can be drunk chilled or at room temperature. 1,430 yen
- Junmai Ishikawamon (純米石川門) — A “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water. Its only rice is the sake rice (rice suited to sake making) “Ishikawamon (石川門)”, grown in Oku-Noto (奥能登, the northern part of the Noto Peninsula), and it uses Oku-Noto’s underground water (water that flows beneath the ground). It can be drunk chilled or at room temperature. 1,485 yen
- Junmai Daiginjo Genshin (純米大吟醸 玄心) — A “junmai daiginjo”: made only from rice, rice koji and water, with half or more of the outer part of the rice polished away. Its only rice is the sake rice “Yamada Nishiki”, grown in a “Special A (Toku-A) district” of Hyogo Prefecture. The aroma is gentle and the flavor is full. 3,850 yen (in a gift box)
Sogen has many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
Visiting the brewery
No brewery tours
Sogen Shuzo does not accept tours of the brewery at its head office (checked on October 25, 2026). Zuidogura is also closed. The cars and track of “のトロ”, a self-propelled trolley ride, and 恋路駅 (a station) were also badly damaged by the earthquake and are closed (as of May 2025).
The shop at the head office
There is a shop at the head office where you can buy Sogen sake. There is no tasting in the shop (checked on October 25, 2026). There is parking for 5 cars.
The brewery announces the shop’s opening days in a calendar it posts every two months in the news section of its official website. In November and December 2026, it is closed on Sundays and on November 7 and December 31. Opening hours differ depending on which source you look at, so please call the head office (0768-84-1314) to check before visiting.
| The shop at Sogen Shuzo’s head office (checked on October 25, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Address | 石川県珠洲市宝立町宗玄24-22 Open in Google Maps |
| Closed | Shown in the calendar in the news section (in November and December 2026, closed on Sundays and some other days) |
| Tasting | None |
| Phone | 0768-84-1314 |
| English support | Not made public |
Sogen Shuzo sometimes holds in-store tasting and sales events at department stores in Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo and elsewhere, where you can taste as you buy. Please check the dates in the news section of the official website.
Getting there
Address: 〒927-1225 石川県珠洲市宝立町宗玄24-22
- By car: There is no railway station near the brewery. It takes about 40 minutes by rental car from Noto Airport (nicknamed のと里山空港), and about 2 hours 10 minutes by car from Kanazawa Station. Travel times are estimates given by the brewery (checked on October 25, 2026)
- Road conditions: On the roads from Kanazawa to Suzu, earthquake recovery work is still continuing as of October 2026. There are sections with alternating one-lane traffic where you have to wait, temporary detours with sharp bends, and sections where landslides have narrowed the road. Please allow plenty of time
Opening days and visiting arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Sogen Shuzo’s sake
To buy at the brewery, go to the shop at the head office. The Kanazawa office, in Kanazawa City, does not sell sake. As of October 25, 2026, the brewery’s official online shop has paused online sales.
The brewery publishes a nationwide list of stockists on its official website. Here are some shops from the list, in areas that are easy for travellers to stop by (checked on October 25, 2026).
| Area | Shop | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Kanazawa | 石川県観光物産館 名酒苑 | 石川県金沢市兼六町2-20 Open in Google Maps |
| Kanazawa | 大和（香林坊） | 石川県金沢市香林坊1-1-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Kanazawa | 酒の大沢 近江町市場店 | 石川県金沢市上近江町30番地 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo | 東武百貨店 池袋店 | 東京都豊島区西池袋1-1-25 Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka | 大丸梅田店 | 大阪府大阪市北区梅田3-1-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka | 大丸心斎橋店 | 大阪府大阪市中央区心斎橋筋1-7-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Kyoto | 大丸京都店 | 京都府京都市下京区四条高倉 |
The list, including shops not shown here, has about 120 shops from Hokkaido to Kyushu. The list has no date of last update. Shop stock changes from day to day, and some products have been in short supply since the earthquake, so please contact the shop before visiting.
Before you buy
- If you buy a product that must be kept refrigerated, such as 新酒 しぼりたて生原酒, put it in the refrigerator when you get to your accommodation.
- Seasonal and limited-quantity products may be sold out.
- 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 | 宗玄酒造株式会社 (Sogen Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1768 (Meiwa 5). Incorporated as a joint-stock company in 1907 |
| Representative | President 八木隆夫 |
| Address | 〒927-1225 石川県珠洲市宝立町宗玄24-22 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0768-84-1314 (Fax 0768-84-1315) |
| Main brand | Sogen (宗玄) |
| Official website | https://www.sougen-shuzou.com/ |
| Brewery tours | Not accepted |
| Brewery shop | The shop at the head office (no tasting) |
| List of stockists | Published on the official website (https://www.sougen-shuzou.com/toriatsukaitop.html ) |
| Online shop | Online sales paused (checked on October 25, 2026) |
| English support | The top page of the official website has an introduction in English. English support at the shop has not been made public |