Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to buy Kanagawa Prefecture sake at a liquor store in Tokyo, Yokohama, Odawara or Hakone (Kawanishiya Shuzoten does not offer brewery tours for the general public)
- People who want to compare how the flavor differs from one variety of sake rice to another
- People looking for aged junmai-shu that suits being warmed (okan)
About Kawanishiya Shuzoten
Kawanishiya Shuzoten (川西屋酒造店) is a brewery in Yamakita, Kanagawa Prefecture. It was founded in 1897 (Meiji 30). It has two brands, “Ryu (隆)” and “Tanzawasan (丹沢山)”, and makes mainly “junmai-shu”, sake made only from rice, rice koji and water.
Kawanishiya Shuzoten does not offer brewery tours for the general public (checked on October 27, 2026). Its sake is sold at liquor stores across Japan that the brewery lists on its official website.
Tanzawa water, Ashigara rice
Yamakita is a town at the foot of the Tanzawa (丹沢) mountains in Kanagawa Prefecture. In the town’s mountains lies Lake Tanzawa, and Mount Fuji can be seen beyond the lake.
The brewery describes “Tanzawasan” with the image “Tanzawa water is the father, Ashigara rice the mother”. It means a sake made from water that comes from the Tanzawa mountains and rice grown in the Ashigara (足柄) area, which includes Yamakita. “Tanzawasan” was born from the brewery owner’s wish to make “junmai ginjo” with the very best rice, and from cooperation with local farmers. Junmai ginjo is sake made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% or more of the outer part of the rice polished away, and fermented slowly at a low temperature.
Kawanishiya Shuzoten is a brewery that shifted firmly to junmai-shu and stopped making honjozo and other types it had been making. It stopped making sake other than junmai-shu, whose sales were not small, almost all at once.
“Oneness with food”
The creed of “Tanzawasan” is “oneness with food”. Rather than the sake alone standing out, the brewery aims for a relationship in which the sake draws out the umami of the food and the food heightens the flavor of the sake. A sake that leaves deep flavor and a lingering finish, yet cuts away cleanly — that is the brewery’s picture of “Tanzawasan”.
“Tanzawasan” is aged in the tank for a while to develop a settled depth before it is shipped. When warmed, as “kan (燗)”, its flavor comes out clearly.
“Ryu” changes the label color as it changes the rice
The other brand, “Ryu”, is a series whose goal is to know the characteristics of each sake rice, look at how that year’s rice turned out, and draw out the rice’s character as much as possible. The label color changes with the rice used.
- Ryu White Label — the representative sake of “Ryu”, made with the sake rice “Wakamizu (若水)” grown in Ashigara. It has expansive umami and youthful acidity, with a faint astringency left at the end. It is recommended chilled or at room temperature
- Ryu Green Label — made with “Yamada Nishiki” from Tokushima Prefecture. It has a refreshing flavor and gentle taste, and is recommended with dishes with condiments such as shiso and myoga
- Ryu Miyama Nishiki Label — a crisp, sharp “karakuchi (辛口, a taste that is not very sweet with a clean finish)” sake made with “Miyama Nishiki” from Nagano Prefecture
- Ryu Black-and-Gold (黒金) Label — the top product of the “Ryu” series. It is a “junmai daiginjo” made with Yamada Nishiki from Tokushima Prefecture, with half or more of the outer part of the rice polished away. Although it is a junmai daiginjo, it can also be enjoyed even warmed to about body temperature
There are also yellow (山吹), light-blue and pale-purple (小藤) labels, among others. The rice and the rice polishing ratio differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type.
Visiting the brewery
The brewery does not offer tours
Kawanishiya Shuzoten does not offer brewery tours for the general public (checked on October 27, 2026). It is sometimes possible to enter the brewery only by joining a tour event organized by a liquor store. The official website has no information about direct sales at the brewery either.
The brewery’s staff go to in-store tasting events held at liquor stores several times a year. The dates of the tasting events are announced on the brewery’s Facebook page.
Getting there
Address: 神奈川県足柄上郡山北町山北250
- By train: About an 18-minute walk from Yamakita Station on the JR Gotemba Line. Please check train times with JR Central
Travel times are estimates (checked on October 27, 2026). The brewery’s (company’s) business hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00, and it is closed on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Kawanishiya Shuzoten’s sake
On the list of retailers (取り扱い酒販店) page of its official website, the brewery publishes 92 main liquor stores, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, that sell “Tanzawasan” and “Ryu”. Of these, 38 are stores in Kanagawa Prefecture. From the list, we have picked stores that are easy to stop by during a trip (checked on October 27, 2026).
| Area | Store | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Hakone | 佐藤商店 | 神奈川県足柄下郡箱根町宮城野 |
| Odawara | 藤木屋食品店 | 神奈川県小田原市栄町（ハルネ小田原） |
| Odawara | 箱根屋酒店 | 神奈川県小田原市本町 |
| Kamakura | 清水屋食料品店 | 神奈川県鎌倉市雪ノ下 |
| Yokohama | 横浜君嶋屋 | 神奈川県横浜市南区 |
| Tokyo | 四谷 鈴伝 | 東京都新宿区四谷 |
| Tokyo | はせがわ酒店 | 東京都江東区亀戸 |
| Tokyo | ニシザワ | 東京都墨田区吾妻橋 |
| Kyoto | BEFORE9 | 京都府京都市中京区 |
| Osaka | 山中酒の店 | 大阪府大阪市浪速区 |
The list gives each store’s phone number and address. The brands carried differ from store to store, and some stores are not on the list (the brewery will tell you if you ask).
Before you buy
- What each store carries and its stock differ, and limited products may not come in, 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 Kanagawa Prefecture are gathered on our Kanagawa Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 合資会社川西屋酒造店 (Kawanishiya Shuzoten) |
| Founded | 1897 (Meiji 30) |
| Address | 神奈川県足柄上郡山北町山北250 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0465-75-0009 (fax 0465-75-0588). Mon–Fri 9:00–12:00, 13:00–16:00 |
| Main brands | Ryu (隆), Tanzawasan (丹沢山) |
| Official website | https://kawanishiya.wixsite.com/kawanishiya |
| Brewery tours | Not offered to the general public. Events organized by liquor stores are sometimes accepted (checked on October 27, 2026) |
| Direct sales | No information on the official website |
| List of stockists | Published (92 main stores; checked on October 27, 2026) |
| English support | No English official page |