Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to choose a sake after a paid tasting at the brewery’s own shop in Shiogama, a port town between Sendai and Matsushima, combined with a visit to Shiogama Shrine (鹽竈神社) and a sushi meal (there are no brewery tours)
- People who want to buy, during their trip, Urakasumi that is sold only within Miyagi Prefecture
- People who want to compare “Urakasumi Zen (浦霞禅)”, born in 1973, with “Urakasumi No. 12 (浦霞No.12)”, made with a yeast that was found at this brewery
About Saura
Saura Co., Ltd. (株式会社佐浦) is a brewery in 本町, Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, founded in 1724. Its brand is “Urakasumi (浦霞)”. The company name and the brand name are different, so please look for the name “Urakasumi” in shops.
The sake is made at the head-office brewery (本社蔵) in Shiogama and at the Yamoto brewery (矢本蔵) in Higashimatsushima (東松島市), which faces the same Matsushima Bay. The head-office brewery has the brewery’s own shop, “Urakasumi 酒ギャラリー” (the brewery’s shop, “sake gallery”), where you can buy sake and also taste it for a fee (checked on October 19, 2026). The president and representative director, 佐浦弘一, is the 13th-generation brewery owner (the head of the brewery).
A shrine town, and a port
Shiogama is a port town almost in the middle of Miyagi Prefecture, between Sendai (仙台市) and Matsushima (松島), which is counted as one of the Three Views of Japan (日本三景). It has prospered as the shrine town of Shiogama Shrine, the foremost shrine of Mutsu Province (陸奥国一之宮), and as a port town. The shrine’s main hall and hall of worship are national Important Cultural Properties.
In the mid-1800s, on the orders of the Sendai Domain, Saura became the 御神酒酒屋 (the brewer appointed to make sacred sake for the shrine), making the sake offered at Shiogama Shrine.
The name “Urakasumi” comes from a poem about spring in Shiogama by Minamoto no Sanetomo (源実朝), the third shogun of the Kamakura shogunate and also a poet.
At Shiogama, the wind in the pines along the bay turns hazy; is spring rising across the many islands? 塩釜の 浦の松風 霞むなり 八十島かけて 春や立つらむ (from Minamoto no Sanetomo, the poetry collection 『金槐和歌集』)
The name describes a gentle scene of haze (霞, kasumi) hanging over the inlet (浦, ura) of Shiogama.
Many kinds of seafood, starting with tuna from nearby waters, are landed at Shiogama Port (塩釜港). Sushi restaurants in Shiogama use Sasanishiki, a rice from Miyagi, and seafood from off the 三陸 coast, and compete with each shop’s own flavor. What the brewery aims for is sake in which taste and aroma are in harmony, that you do not tire of drinking, and that goes well with meals, starting with seafood.
Nanbu toji, and ginjo with a strawberry aroma
The foundation of the brewery’s sake making is the skill of the “Nanbu toji (南部杜氏)”, a group of toji. The toji is the person responsible for making the sake. Hirano Sagoro (平野佐五郎), who came as toji in 1949, was later called a master of ginjo brewing. Sagoro’s nephew, Hirano Juichi (平野重一), succeeded him and supported the brewery for more than half a century.
What the two of them were good at was fermenting at a low temperature over a long time. For ginjo-shu, the moromi (the fermenting base of sake) is fermented at 10°C or below for about 30 days.
In the 1960s, the aroma of ginjo-shu was usually compared to apples or pears. But the ginjo-shu the two of them made had an aroma like strawberries, and researchers and toji from various places began to visit the brewery to see it. Around 1965, the Brewing Research Institute (醸造試験所) of 宮城県酒造協同組合 (the Miyagi prefectural sake brewers’ cooperative) isolated a yeast from this brewery’s ginjo moromi. In 1985, this yeast was registered by the Brewing Society of Japan as “Kyokai No. 12 (きょうかい12号)”.
After that, even showier aromas came to be preferred, and No. 12 yeast gradually fell out of use. In 2019, the brewery revived sake making with No. 12 yeast and has released the “Urakasumi No. 12” series. In 2023, a junmai-shu brewed in wooden vats using “kimoto (a traditional, labor-intensive method)”, a way of making sake from long ago, was added (→ Yamahai).
A name born from Zuiganji and Paris
“Urakasumi Zen”, released in 1973, is the brewery’s signature product. At that time, sake made by ginjo brewing was hardly ever on shop shelves. 佐浦茂雄, the 12th generation, thought of releasing the ginjo-brewed sake that the brewery was good at to the general public.
Around then, there was talk that a monk who had trained at Zuiganji (瑞巌寺), a Zen temple in Matsushima, would go to Paris, France, to spread Zen. Hearing that Zen paintings seemed to be hung on the walls of cafés in Paris, 茂雄 came up with the idea of selling a sake named “Urakasumi Zen” in Paris. This time the procedures were complicated, so he gave up exporting and launched it in Japan. Within a few years of its release, Urakasumi Zen became a junmai ginjo, made without adding brewer’s alcohol. Exports to France were also realized later.
The brewery uses rice from Miyagi Prefecture for about 90% of its rice. Besides “Kura no Hana (蔵の華)” and “Gin no Iroha (吟のいろは)”, rice from Miyagi Prefecture suited to sake making, it also uses varieties grown for eating: “Toyonishiki (トヨニシキ)”, “Manamusume (まなむすめ)” and “Sasanishiki (ササニシキ)”.
Here are three of the brewery’s products of different types. Prices are the brewery’s prices, tax included (checked on October 19, 2026).
- Urakasumi Zen Junmai Ginjo (純米吟醸 浦霞禅) — A “junmai ginjo”: 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. The rice is Yamada Nishiki (山田錦) and Toyonishiki. It has a gentle aroma reminiscent of fruit, and is a sake suited to drinking with meals. 2,618 yen for 720 ml, 946 yen for 300 ml
- Urakasumi No. 12 Junmai Ginjo (純米吟醸 浦霞No.12) — Also a junmai ginjo. The rice is Kura no Hana and the yeast is Kyokai No. 12. It has a refreshing aroma and a pleasant acidity, and the aftertaste finishes cleanly. 1,936 yen for 720 ml
- Urakasumi Sabusawa Junmai Ginjo (純米吟醸 浦霞 寒風沢) — A junmai ginjo made from Sasanishiki grown on Sabusawa Island (寒風沢島), which floats in Matsushima Bay. Sabusawa Island is the only island in Shiogama where rice paddies remain. It is a seasonal product made in limited quantities, sold only within Miyagi Prefecture. 2,530 yen for 720 ml
Urakasumi has many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
Visiting the brewery
There are no brewery tours
Saura does not offer brewery tours in which you go inside the brewery to see the sake-making process (checked on October 19, 2026). The “蔵ガイド” (a short guided walk around the outside of the brewery), a mini tour in which staff explain the brewery buildings and history from outside, has also been suspended for the time being (a restart will be announced on the brewery’s official website).
Urakasumi 酒ギャラリー (brewery-owned store, paid tasting)
This is the brewery’s own shop, attached to the head-office brewery. It carries a wide range of Urakasumi, including products sold only in Miyagi Prefecture and seasonal products, and also sells ceramic and glass sake vessels made by artists living in Miyagi Prefecture. There is a coin-operated tasting server; you buy a set of a glass and coins at the register and taste.
| Urakasumi 酒ギャラリー (checked on October 19, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Address | 宮城県塩竈市本町2-19 (Saura’s head-office brewery) Open in Google Maps |
| Opening hours | 10:00–17:00 (until 16:00 on December 30) |
| Closed | Sundays, a summer break, and the New Year holidays (December 31 to January 3). Some national holidays are closed, and on some Sundays the shop opens specially. Please check the calendar of opening days on the official website |
| Tasting | Paid. A glass with 2 coins is 300 yen, with 3 coins 400 yen (one coin for one kind). Coins are sold until 16:50 |
| Phone | 022-362-4165 |
| Parking | 6 spaces diagonally across from the shop. If you are coming by bus, you need to consult the shop by phone in advance |
If you are driving, please do not take part in the tasting. In Japan, drunk driving is prohibited by law.
Getting there
Address: 〒985-0052 宮城県塩竈市本町2-19
- By train: From Sendai Station, take the JR Senseki Line to Hon-Shiogama Station (本塩釜駅), then walk about 7 minutes. Please check train times on the JR East timetable
- By car: About 10 minutes from the 利府塩釜 Interchange or the 利府中 Interchange, or about 15 minutes from the 仙台港北 Interchange, on the 三陸自動車道 expressway
Travel times are estimates given by the brewery (checked on October 19, 2026).
Shiogama Shrine, and the boat to Matsushima
Shiogama Shrine is about 15 minutes on foot from Hon-Shiogama Station. From the port of Shiogama, the 芭蕉コース cruise of 丸文松島汽船 (a sightseeing-boat company) runs to Matsushima in about 50 minutes one way (checked on October 19, 2026). Please check the boarding place and times with 丸文松島汽船.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Saura’s sake
To buy at the brewery, go to Urakasumi 酒ギャラリー. It also carries products sold only within Miyagi Prefecture and seasonal products.
On its official website, on the page 買える店・飲める店 (where to buy and where to drink), the brewery lists shops in Shiogama and Matsushima Town that sell Urakasumi. The main shops are as follows (checked on October 19, 2026).
| Area | Shop | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Shiogama | 熊久商店 | 宮城県塩竈市本町11-5 Open in Google Maps |
| Shiogama | 相原酒店 | 宮城県塩竈市北浜4-8-20 Open in Google Maps |
| Shiogama | リカーすずきや | 宮城県塩竈市北浜4-2-10 Open in Google Maps |
| Shiogama | 佐々留商店 | 宮城県塩竈市北浜1-5-35 Open in Google Maps |
| Shiogama | 大山酒店 | 宮城県塩竈市宮町2-9 Open in Google Maps |
| Shiogama | 相原商店 | 宮城県塩竈市錦町17-13 Open in Google Maps |
| Matsushima | むとう屋 | 宮城県宮城郡松島町松島字普賢堂23 Open in Google Maps |
| Matsushima | 伊藤時尾商店 | 宮城県宮城郡松島町松島字町内88-9 Open in Google Maps |
The same page also lists restaurants in Shiogama and elsewhere that serve Urakasumi (many of them are sushi restaurants). The products carried and the stock differ from shop to shop. If you are looking in another area, ask the brewery by phone (022-362-4165) or through the inquiry form on the official website, and they will tell you about a nearby shop.
The brewery’s official online store delivers only within Japan.
Before you buy
- The stock at 酒ギャラリー changes from day to day. Products made in limited quantities and seasonal products may be sold out.
- 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 Miyagi Prefecture are gathered on our Miyagi Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 株式会社佐浦 (Saura Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1724 (the 9th year of the Kyoho era) |
| Representative | President and Representative Director 佐浦弘一 (the 13th-generation brewery owner) |
| Address | 〒985-0052 宮城県塩竈市本町2-19 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 022-362-4165 (fax 022-362-7895) |
| Main brands | Urakasumi (浦霞), Urakasumi Zen (浦霞禅) |
| Breweries | The head-office brewery (Shiogama), the Yamoto brewery (Higashimatsushima) |
| Official website | https://www.urakasumi.com/ |
| Brewery tours | Not offered (the “蔵ガイド” walk outside is also suspended for the time being) |
| Brewery shop | Urakasumi 酒ギャラリー (paid tasting available) |
| List of stockists | Only shops in Shiogama and Matsushima Town are published (checked on October 19, 2026) |
| English support | An English official page is available (https://www.urakasumi.com/en/ ). English support at the shop is not announced |