In Japan, there are apps for keeping a record of the sake you have drunk. One of them, “Sakenowa (さけのわ)”, publishes a ranking of the brands that are popular in the app. This article introduces the top 10 brands in the ranking for August 2026, together with the breweries that make them.
| Rank | Brand | Brewery | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aramasa (新政) | Aramasa Shuzo (新政酒造) | Akita City, Akita Prefecture |
| 2 | Jikon (而今) | Kiyasho Shuzo (木屋正酒造) | Nabari, Mie Prefecture |
| 3 | Senkin (仙禽) | SENKIN inc. (せんきん) | Sakura, Tochigi Prefecture |
| 4 | Juyondai (十四代) | Takagi Shuzo (高木酒造) | Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture |
| 5 | Zaku (作) | Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten (清水清三郎商店) | Suzuka, Mie Prefecture |
| 6 | Denshu (田酒) | Nishida Shuzoten (西田酒造店) | Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture |
| 7 | Kaze no Mori (風の森) | Yucho Shuzo (油長酒造) | Gose, Nara Prefecture |
| 8 | AKABU | Akabu Shuzo (赤武酒造) | Morioka, Iwate Prefecture |
| 9 | Hououbiden (鳳凰美田) | Kobayashi Shuzo (小林酒造) | Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture |
| 10 | Sharaku (冩樂) | Miyaizumi Meijo (宮泉銘醸) | Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture |
The ranking uses Sakenowa Data.
Many of these 10 brands are sold through liquor stores that have contracts with the breweries, called “authorized retailers (tokuyakuten, 特約店)”. Many of the brands cannot be bought even if you visit the brewery, so for each brand we have written how the brewery says you can buy it (checked on September 30, 2026).
Aramasa (新政) | Akita City, Akita Prefecture
Aramasa Shuzo (新政酒造) is a brewery founded in 1852. It uses only rice grown in Akita Prefecture. Its shubo (yeast starter; the culture of yeast that is the starting point of fermentation) is made only by the traditional “kimoto (生酛)” method, which makes use of natural lactic acid bacteria. When it uses cultured yeast, it uses only “Kyokai No. 6 (きょうかい6号)”, which was collected at this brewery in 1930. Regardless of the rice polishing ratio (seimai buai; the proportion of the rice that remains after polishing), all of its labels say “junmai-shu”.
The brewery does not sell sake directly. If you call and ask, it will introduce a nearby authorized retailer. → The Aramasa brewery
Jikon (而今) | Nabari, Mie Prefecture
Kiyasho Shuzo (木屋正酒造) was founded in Nabari (名張) in 1818. “Jikon” is the name that the sixth generation gave in 2005 to the first sake he brewed himself as toji (master brewer; the person in charge of making sake). The name is taken from a Zen phrase. Through the Iga Basin (伊賀盆地), where Nabari is located, flows the Nabari River, fed by underground water (water that has flowed underground) springing from the Kii Mountains. Centered on Yamada Nishiki (山田錦) from Iga, the brewery releases products made with a different sake rice each month.
The brewery does not offer retail sales, brewery tours or tasting. → The Jikon brewery
Senkin (仙禽) | Sakura, Tochigi Prefecture
SENKIN inc. (株式会社せんきん) is a brewery founded in 1806. It has set a policy of making all of its sake by kimoto, and it aims to make the original strain of the old variety “Kamenoo (亀の尾)” its main sake rice. It also aims to grow that rice without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. You can find stores that sell it in the brewery’s list of authorized retailers. → The Senkin brewery
Juyondai (十四代) | Murayama, Yamagata Prefecture
Takagi Shuzo (高木酒造) is a brewery founded in 1615. For brewing, it uses “Sakurashimizu (桜清水)”, natural water from Mount Hayama (葉山). The brewery does not offer tours, tasting or sales. Details are in the article on Juyondai.
Zaku (作) | Suzuka, Mie Prefecture
Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten (清水清三郎商店) was founded in Suzuka (鈴鹿) in 1869. The name “Zaku (作)” carries the idea of creating sake not only by the makers but together with the people who drink it. The brewery makes sake in relatively small fermentation tanks that the brewers can keep a close eye on. Suzuka, where the brewery is located, is a land where underground water from the Suzuka Mountains flows into the Ise Plain. The toji, Tomohiro Uchiyama (内山智広), is from Suzuka.
The brewery does not offer brewery tours or retail sales. → The Zaku brewery
Denshu (田酒) | Aomori City, Aomori Prefecture
Nishida Shuzoten (株式会社西田酒造店) is a brewery founded in 1878. In 1970, the brewery began making junmai-shu by traditional handmade methods, and it took three years to turn it into a product. That product is “Denshu”, released in 1974. The “田 (den)” in the name means a rice field, where rice is grown. “Denshu” is a brand made only from rice, rice koji and water, without adding brewer’s alcohol or sugars. There is also a junmai daiginjo made only with “Hanaomoi (華想い)”, a sake rice developed by Aomori Prefecture. → The Denshu brewery
Kaze no Mori (風の森) | Gose, Nara Prefecture
Yucho Shuzo (油長酒造) is a brewery founded in 1719. “Kaze no Mori” is a brand born in 1998, named after the “Kaze no Mori pass (風の森峠)” in Gose (御所). “Kaze no Mori” is made only as namazake (unpasteurized sake) that is neither filtered nor diluted with water after pressing. About 80% of “Kaze no Mori” is made with rice from Nara Prefecture, including Akitsuho (秋津穂) grown under contract locally. In a freshly opened bottle, you may feel the carbon dioxide produced by fermentation. “Kaze no Mori” comes only in 720 ml bottles.
The brewery does not offer tours for the general public or normal direct sales. Because it is difficult to deliver namazake in good condition, “Kaze no Mori” is sold only by official partner liquor stores that manage its quality and explain it as they sell it. You can find stores on the brewery’s store page. “GOSE SENTO HOTEL”, in the same town, has an accommodation plan with a brewery tour once a month. → The Kaze no Mori brewery
AKABU | Morioka, Iwate Prefecture
Akabu Shuzo (赤武酒造) is a brewery founded in 1896. In 2013 it moved to Morioka (盛岡), and it makes sake with a young toji at the center.
Because it makes sake with a small team, it does not offer brewery tours or direct sales. The authorized retailers page on the brewery’s website also lists stores in Morioka, such as 坂本商店 in 盛岡市駅前通 and パルクアベニュー・カワトク (盛岡市菜園). → The AKABU brewery
Hououbiden (鳳凰美田) | Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture
Kobayashi Shuzo (小林酒造) was founded in Oyama (小山) in 1872. The brewery stands along “the Nikko Reiheishi Kaido (日光例幣使街道)”, an old road leading to Nikko. It uses underground water from the mountains of Nikko (日光), and it has its sake rice grown under contract in the places where each variety was born.
The brewery does not sell at retail. The brewery’s list of authorized retailers also includes stores in Nikko and Utsunomiya (宇都宮). → The Hououbiden brewery
Sharaku (冩樂) | Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture
Miyaizumi Meijo (宮泉銘醸) is a brewery in Aizuwakamatsu (会津若松). Aizu is a basin surrounded by mountains, and the brewery uses both rice from Aizu and Fukushima Prefecture and sake rice from production areas outside the prefecture, such as Hyogo and Okayama Prefectures. The brewery does not sell Sharaku. If you call and ask, it will introduce an authorized stockist. Release dates for products differ from store to store. The brewery does not accept brewery tours either. → The Sharaku brewery
Brands often searched for abroad
Brands that are often searched for abroad are introduced in another article. Dassai (獺祭), which is introduced on this site, was 12th in the ranking for the same month.
When looking during your trip
Whether a store carries a brand, and its stock, differ from store to store. Limited and seasonal products may not arrive, so please check with the store before visiting. Breweries’ policies on sales and tours may change. Please check the brewery’s official information 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