Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to stop at a brewery’s shop and buy sake while traveling around Kanazawa (金沢) or Hakusan City (Yoshida Shuzoten does not accept brewery tours)
- People interested in sake made from rice grown in the fields around the brewery and from the local water
- People who want to try sake made from sake rice (rice suited to making sake) developed in Ishikawa Prefecture
- People who want to look for a product sold only within Ishikawa Prefecture, as a souvenir of their trip
About Yoshida Shuzoten
Yoshida Shuzoten (吉田酒造店) is a sake brewery in Yasuyoshimachi (安吉町), Hakusan (白山市), Ishikawa Prefecture. It was founded in 1870 (the 3rd year of the Meiji era) and marked its 150th anniversary in 2020. It has two brands: “Tedorigawa (手取川)” and “Yoshidagura u (吉田蔵u)”.
Brewery tours are not available. This is because the brewery does not have facilities for tours. You can buy sake at the brewery’s shop (checked on September 30, 2026).
In the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, Hakusan City also shook. The brewery suffered no major damage, and its staff were safe.
Water from Mount Hakusan and the Tedorigawa alluvial fan
The Tedori River (手取川), which flows out of the sacred Mount Hakusan (白山), runs through Hakusan City. Upstream is the Tedori Gorge (手取峡谷), where cliffs 20 to 30 meters high continue for about 8 kilometers. The “Hakusan Tedorigawa Geopark” was designated a UNESCO Global Geopark on May 24, 2023.
Downstream on the Tedori River is the Tedorigawa alluvial fan, formed by the soil and sand the river carried down. Water that flows down soaks into the ground and springs up here and there as underground water (water flowing beneath the ground), so Hakusan City has plenty of underground water. Yoshida Shuzoten is almost in the center of this fan, in a grain-growing area spread with rice fields.
The brewing water is underground water from the Tedori River, which the brewery calls “白山百年水”. It is “chu-kosui”, moderately hard water.
A brewery carrying on the sake of Yamashima, the “village of sake making”
The area around the brewery was once called “Yamashima Village (山島村)”. In the Meiji and Taisho eras it was a “village of sake making” with many sake breweries, and the sake made here was called “手取酒” or “山島酒”. Today, Yoshida Shuzoten is the only brewery carrying on “手取酒”.
The first generation, 吉田与三右衛門, began making sake in 1870 and named the brand “手取川正宗”. In 1955 the brand was renamed “翁の友”, and in 1981 “手取川正宗” was revived. In 1997 the brewery began making the “Yoshidagura (吉田蔵)” series.
The seventh generation, Yoshida Yasuyuki (吉田泰之), trained for two years at 出羽桜酒造 in Yamagata Prefecture. He has served as toji (master brewer; the person responsible for sake making) since 2017, and became president in 2020. “The Birth of Sake”, a documentary film shot over three years about the brewery’s sake making and the lives of its kurabito (brewery workers), was screened in 2015.
From the rice fields around the brewery
Yoshida Shuzoten has contract farmers grow its sake rice. From spring to summer the kurabito learn rice growing from the farmers, and all of the kurabito take part in the harvest. In 2014, aiming to make sake with local rice, water and environment, the brewery formed the “山島の郷酒米振興会” association.
It uses four varieties of sake rice: Gohyakumangoku (五百万石), Ishikawamon (石川門), 百万石乃白 and Yamada Nishiki (山田錦). Ishikawamon and 百万石乃白 are sake rices developed in Ishikawa Prefecture. 百万石乃白 took 11 years to develop and has been used since 2020.
For “Yoshidagura u” and “Tedorigawa Junmai Daiginjo Honryu”, the brewery cultures and uses “Kanazawa yeast” (金沢酵母), which was bred by the Kanazawa Regional Taxation Bureau. Yeast is a microorganism that turns sugar into alcohol.
Tedorigawa and Yoshidagura u
“Tedorigawa” has many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type. Here are three. Prices are the tax-inclusive prices on the brewery’s product list (checked on September 30, 2026).
- Tedorigawa Yamahai Jikomi Junmai-shu — A “junmai-shu”, sake made only from rice, rice koji and water. Yamahai is a method of making sake with the help of lactic acid bacteria found in nature, a technique in which the Noto toji (a group of toji from the Noto Peninsula) have long excelled. 1,760 yen for 720 ml
- Tedorigawa Junmai Daiginjo Honryu — A “junmai daiginjo”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, with more than half of the outer part of the rice polished away. The sake rice is Yamada Nishiki. Its aroma is calm, like honey, and it does not get in the way of the food. 2,640 yen for 720 ml
- Tedorigawa Yamahai Junmai Ginjo — A “junmai ginjo” — made only from rice, rice koji and water, with at least 40% of the outer part of the rice polished away and fermented slowly at a low temperature — made with the yamahai method. It is a product sold only within Ishikawa Prefecture. 2,310 yen for 720 ml
“Yoshidagura u” is a brand that started on November 1, 2021. It is made with Ishikawa Prefecture sake rice grown by contract farmers around the brewery, 白山百年水, and Kanazawa yeast cultured at the brewery. It is made by “modern yamahai”, the brewery’s own development of yamahai, and does not use additives that are not required to be labeled, such as lactic acid or enzyme agents. Every product is “muroka genshu”, neither filtered nor diluted with water, and the alcohol content is low, at 13% or less. From 1,980 yen for 720 ml.
For Tedorigawa, the brewery states that it aims for “sake that stays a step back from the food, and can create a joyful dining life with sake” (「料理より一歩引いたところで、酒の有る楽しい食生活を演出できる酒を目指します」, from Yoshida Shuzoten’s official website).
Visiting the brewery
Yoshida Shuzoten does not accept brewery tours. This is because the brewery does not have facilities for tours (checked on September 30, 2026).
The brewery’s shop sells sake. Please ask the brewery before visiting whether tasting is available.
| Opening hours | 9:00–17:00 |
| Closed | Sundays and public holidays |
The opening hours and closing days were checked on September 30, 2026. Please confirm with the brewery by phone (076-276-3311) before visiting.
Getting there
Address: 〒924-0843 石川県白山市安吉町41
- Car: About 20 minutes south along National Route 157 from Hakusan (白山) IC
Travel times are estimates as of September 2026.
Nearby
The Tedori Gorge and Watagataki Falls are in the mountains of the same Hakusan City. Watagataki is a waterfall 32 meters high; walk about 150 meters along the trail from the parking lot and you reach an observation deck from which you can see the gorge and the falls. The stairs down to the falls have about 130 steps, with some steep and slippery places. In winter, the parking lot may be inaccessible because of snow.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Yoshida Shuzoten’s sake
Yoshida Shuzoten does not publish a list of its stockists in Japan (checked on September 30, 2026). There is no online shop on its official website. If you ask the brewery, it can introduce you to a stockist near you. Inquiries are accepted by phone (076-276-3311), by fax (076-276-3378), and through the inquiry form on the official website.
The most reliable way to buy is to visit the brewery’s shop (see “Visiting the brewery” for opening hours).
Outside Japan, the brewery publishes its stockists in the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Canada, Singapore, Thailand (Bangkok), Taiwan, Hong Kong and China on its official website.
Before you buy
- Whether a store carries the sake, and its stock, differ from store to store. Limited and seasonal products may not arrive at every store, so please check with the store before visiting.
- “Tedorigawa Yamahai Junmai Ginjo” is a product sold only within Ishikawa Prefecture.
- Keep namazake (sake that has not been heat-treated) products in the refrigerator, even before opening.
- 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 | 株式会社吉田酒造店 (Yoshida Shuzoten Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1870 (the 3rd year of the Meiji era) |
| Representative | President and Representative Director Yoshida Yasuyuki (吉田泰之) |
| Address | 〒924-0843 石川県白山市安吉町41 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 076-276-3311 (fax 076-276-3378) |
| Main brands | Tedorigawa (手取川) / Yoshidagura u (吉田蔵u) |
| Brewing water | Underground water from the Tedori River (the brewery calls it “白山百年水”; moderately hard water) |
| Official website | https://tedorigawa.com/ |
| Brewery tours | Not available (no facilities for tours) |
| Sales at the brewery | Sold at the brewery’s shop (9:00–17:00, closed Sundays and public holidays; checked on September 30, 2026) |
| List of stockists | Not published for Japan (checked on September 30, 2026). Overseas stockists are published |
| English support | The official website has English pages. English support at the brewery has not been published |