Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to buy local sake at the brewery shop while walking through the town of funaya in Ine (there is no information about brewery tours)
- People who want to try a red-colored, sweet-and-sour sake
- People looking for a sake to pair with fish caught in the sea at Ine
About Mukai Shuzo
Mukai Shuzo (向井酒造) is a brewery founded in the Edo period in Ine (伊根町), on the Tango Peninsula in northern Kyoto Prefecture. Its brands are “Ine Mankai (伊根満開)”, a red sake made with ancient rice, and the brewery’s standard “Kyo no Haru (京の春)”.
It is a brewery that brews all its sake as junmai: everything it makes is brewed without adding brewer’s alcohol. The toji (the person responsible for sake making) is Mukai Kuniko (向井久仁子).
The brewery shop is in Hirata, along Ine Bay. It is closed on Thursdays and over the New Year period (checked on October 25, 2026).
A town of funaya built facing the sea
Along the shore of Ine Bay, about 230 buildings called “funaya” (boathouses) stand in a row. Funaya were originally buildings for pulling boats up out of the sea and protecting them from rain and wind. Boats were kept on the ground floor, and the upper floor was a place for drying nets and storing fishing gear. Most of the residents live in the “omoya” (the main house), across a single street from the funaya.
Many of the funaya were rebuilt as two-story, tile-roofed buildings during the yellowtail boom years, which lasted from 1880 to 1950. In 2005, Ineura was selected as a fishing village for the country’s Important Preservation Districts for Groups of Traditional Buildings (districts that preserve historic townscapes).
Mukai Shuzo’s brewery also stands on the shore of Ine Bay.
The funaya and omoya are people’s homes. Please do not enter the grounds, and ask for consent first before photographing residents. Please keep quiet at night and early in the morning.
“Ine Mankai”, a red sake made with ancient rice
Ine Mankai is a red-colored sake made by blending in ancient rice (purple-black rice, shikokumai), an old variety revived and grown in Ine. It tastes sweet and sour, and is easy to drink. The brewery suggests drinking it chilled, on the rocks, or mixed with sparkling water, and says that even as hot kan (warmed sake) you can enjoy its distinctive flavor.
The “sake kasu” (sake lees) left after pressing is also red in the case of Ine Mankai. The brewery sells these lees as a product.
“Kyo no Haru”, to pair with the fish of Ine
Kyo no Haru is the brewery’s standard brand. Here are two of the brewery’s products, each of a different type.
- Kyo no Haru Junmai Nama Genshu (京の春 純米生原酒) — The brewery’s standard nama genshu (sake that, after pressing, has been neither pasteurized nor diluted with water). A little over 30% of the outer part of the rice is polished away. It is a powerful “karakuchi” sake, and the brewery recommends pairing it with fish such as fatty yellowtail
- Kyo no Haru Tokubetsu Junmai 生もと仕込 (kimoto) (京の春 特別純米 生もと仕込) — A “tokubetsu junmai-shu”: made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% or more of the outer part of the rice polished away. The rice is “Iwai”, a sake rice of Kyoto Prefecture. It is made by the traditional “kimoto” method, in which lactic acid bacteria are grown naturally over time. When the toji came to the brewery, it was not making kimoto. The toji revived kimoto brewing. The brewery recommends drinking it at temperatures from chilled up to about 55°C, and pairing it with light white-fleshed fish and soups
Kyo no Haru has many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the type on the label.
Visiting the brewery
No information about brewery tours
The brewery’s official website has no information about accepting brewery tours (checked on October 25, 2026). If you visit the brewery, go to the brewery shop below.
Brewery shop
| Brewery shop (checked on October 25, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Address | 京都府与謝郡伊根町字平田67 Open in Google Maps |
| Opening hours | 9:00–12:00, 13:00–17:00 (lunch break 12:00–13:00) |
| Closed | Thursdays, and over the New Year period (late December to early January) |
| Phone | 0772-32-0003 |
| Parking | None. Please use the nearby town-run Ineura Park parking lot (伊根浦公園駐車場, paid) |
| Tasting | Whether tasting is available is not published |
| English support | The official website is in Japanese only. Whether the shop can help in English is not published |
The Ineura Park parking lot has 22 spaces. You can check whether it is full on the Ine official website (Ine town-run parking information).
In Japan, drunk driving is prohibited by law. If you are visiting by car, please do not drink sake.
Guided tour of the funaya town
The Ine Tourism Association’s “舟屋ガイドとめぐる、まるごと伊根体験” is a 60-minute tour walking through the funaya town with a guide, and it stops by Mukai Shuzo on the way. The morning session starts at 10:15 and the afternoon session at 13:00. The fee is 2,200 yen for adults and 1,600 yen for junior high and high school students; if you join alone, it is 3,800 yen (checked on October 25, 2026). The language of the guiding is not published. You must book at least 5 days in advance, and on some days the tour cannot be accepted because there are not enough guides. For bookings and inquiries, contact the Ine Tourism Association.
Getting there
Address: 〒626-0423 京都府与謝郡伊根町平田67
- By train and bus: From Amanohashidate Station on the Kyoto Tango Railway, take a 丹後海陸交通 local bus (the Ine Line / Kamanyu Line) toward Ine. Board a bus bound for “Kamanyu (蒲入)” or “伊根郵便局前” (in front of Ine Post Office). It takes about 3 hours by train and bus from Kyoto, and about 3 and a half hours from Osaka
- Bus stop: The Ine tourist information center (伊根町観光案内所, 伊根町平田491) is 1 minute’s walk from the “Ine” bus stop. The brewery is in the same Hirata district as the tourist information center
- By car: About 2 hours from Kyoto, and about 2 and a half hours from Osaka
Travel times are estimates given by the Ine Tourism Association (checked on October 25, 2026). Buses are limited, so please also check the time of your return bus in advance. Please check times on 丹後海陸交通’s local buses and the Kyoto Tango Railway.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Mukai Shuzo’s sake
To buy at the brewery, go to the brewery shop. If you are looking during your trip, please choose from the list of stockists that the brewery publishes.
Stores that sell Mukai Shuzo’s sake
The “取扱い酒販店” page (the brewery’s list of retailers) on the brewery’s official website lists stores across Japan by region (checked on October 25, 2026). The list gives only store names, without addresses. From the list, we have chosen stores in places that are easy to visit during a trip and whose addresses we could confirm on the stores’ own websites.
| Area | Store | Address | Store website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinosaki Onsen | 坂本屋酒店 | 兵庫県豊岡市城崎町湯島407 Open in Google Maps | 坂本屋酒店 |
| Kyoto | 名酒館タキモト | 京都府京都市下京区升屋町60 Open in Google Maps | 名酒館タキモト |
| Tokyo | 銀座君嶋屋 | 東京都中央区銀座1-2-1 紺屋ビル1階 Open in Google Maps | 銀座君嶋屋 |
銀座君嶋屋 is 1 minute’s walk from Exit 3 of Ginza-itchome Station on the Tokyo Metro. For other stores, please check the brewery’s list. The list notes that stores supplied through wholesalers may not be included.
Before you buy
- The products carried and stock differ from store to store. Seasonal products and limited editions 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 Kyoto Prefecture are gathered on our Kyoto Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 向井酒造株式会社 (Mukai Shuzo) |
| Founded | Edo period (the year of founding differs between sources, so it is not given) |
| Toji | 向井久仁子 (Mukai Kuniko) |
| Address | 〒626-0423 京都府与謝郡伊根町平田67 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0772-32-0003 |
| Main brands | Ine Mankai (伊根満開), Kyo no Haru (京の春) |
| Official website | https://www.kuramoto-mukai.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | No information on the official website |
| Brewery shop | Available (9:00–12:00 and 13:00–17:00; closed on Thursdays and over the New Year period) |
| List of stockists | Published (store names only. Checked on October 25, 2026) |
| English support | The official website is in Japanese only. English support at the shop is not published |