Kanagawa

Sake in Kanagawa

Kanagawa Prefecture lies in the southwest of the Kanto Plain, borders Tokyo to the north, and faces Tokyo Bay to the east and Sagami Bay to the south. The Kanagawa Sake Brewers Association has 12 member companies (as of October 2026). In the one year from July 2024 to June 2025, sake was made at 13 places in the prefecture.

Water from the Tanzawa mountains supports sake brewing here. In the west of the prefecture rise the mountains of Hakone and Tanzawa, around 1,500 m high, which are called “the roof of Kanagawa.” Breweries in the prefecture use underground water from the Sagami River and the river 酒匂川, which have their sources in the Tanzawa mountains, for brewing, and they are scattered along these two rivers. The “Hadano Basin Springs” (秦野盆地湧水群) in Hadano City were chosen for the Ministry of the Environment's “100 Remarkable Waters of Japan” in 1985.

The “Ashigara area,” which includes the towns of Oi, Matsuda and Yamakita, is blessed with rich water sources in Hakone and Tanzawa, and sake has long been brewed there. Five of the prefecture's breweries are in this area (as of May 2026). Some breweries begin with growing rice. Izumibashi Sake Brewery in Ebina City grows the rice it uses in fields centered on Ebina, where the brewery stands, and handles everything from rice polishing to brewing itself.

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• Izumibashi Shuzo 泉橋酒造Izumibashi いづみ橋EbinaRead the article