Who will enjoy this brewery
- People traveling around Lake Suwa (諏訪湖) and Suwa Taisha who want to stop at the brewery’s own shop and choose sake through a paid tasting
- People who want to book a small-group seminar where you can see inside the brewery (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays; it may be suspended in winter)
- People who want to compare sakes made the same way, with only the rice variety changed
About Suwa Mikotsuru Shuzojo
Suwa Mikotsuru Shuzojo (諏訪御湖鶴酒造場) is a brewery in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture. Its brand is “Mikotsuru (御湖鶴)”. The brewery was born early in the Taisho era, and in 2017 it stopped making sake for a time. In 2018 磐栄運送株式会社, a trucking company based in いわき市, Fukushima Prefecture, took over the brewery and restarted sake making. The toji (the person responsible for making the sake) is 竹内重彦.
Suwa Mikotsuru Shuzojo has a brewery shop that anyone can drop in to, and you can see inside the brewery on a reservation-only brewing seminar (checked on October 27, 2026).
A crane that came down to Lake Suwa
Shimosuwa is a town on the shore of Lake Suwa, and the home of the Shimosha (下社) of Suwa Taisha (諏訪大社). The brewery is in the shopping street of Mitamachi (御田町).
There is a legend behind the name “Mikotsuru”. Early in the Taisho era, a crane — a bird said to be a messenger of the gods — flew down into the brewery owner’s dream. It is said that the name “Mikotsuru” was given to honor the crane’s appearance at Lake Suwa, where cranes do not normally fly. For more than a hundred years since then, Mikotsuru was drunk locally and was also offered to Suwa Taisha.
A brewery that went silent and was rebuilt
In 2017 the Mikotsuru brewery stopped making sake. The company that stepped forward, saying that “the brewery’s light must not go out”, was 磐栄運送. In October 2018 it repaired the original brewery and began trial brewing; after that, it tore down the aging brewery and built a new one. Full-scale sake making in the new brewery began in January 2020.
The brewery’s aim is “sake that makes your heart flutter any time, again and again” (「いつでも何度でも心ときめく酒」). So that its ideal flavor is not left to chance, and the same quality can be made again and again, it manages fermentation temperatures and data by sharing them on computers. Temperatures for making koji (rice on which a kind of mold has been grown) and for fermenting the moromi (the fermenting mash that becomes sake) are checked to 0.1°C.
In 2021, at the International Wine Challenge (IWC), a British wine and sake competition, “Mikotsuru Junmai Ginjo Sankei Nishiki (御湖鶴 純米吟醸 山恵錦)” was chosen as “Champion Sake”, the top award in the sake category. It was the first Champion Sake from Nagano Prefecture.
Comparing by rice variety
Mikotsuru’s “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. The brewery keeps the rice polishing ratio (seimai buai, the proportion of the rice grain left after polishing), the yeast and the alcohol content the same, and changes only the variety of sake rice. The idea is that, just as people choose wine by grape variety or vineyard, they should compare how the taste differs with the rice variety.
Six varieties of sake rice are used:
- Sankei Nishiki (山恵錦)
- Miyama Nishiki
- Hitogokochi
- Kinmon Nishiki (金紋錦)
- Yamada Nishiki
- Gohyakumangoku
All of the rice is grown under contract by specific farmers, mainly in Nagano Prefecture. In the 2025 brewing, the brewery could not obtain Kinmon Nishiki, and did not make the Kinmon Nishiki junmai ginjo.
The brewery also takes care over pasteurization (hiire). The pressed sake is bottled without adding water or filtering, then heated bottle and all in hot water and cooled quickly in cold water. All of its pasteurized sake is made this way, and stored in the bottle.
There are also a “junmai-shu” made only from rice, rice koji and water, “Mikotsuru Junmai Karakuchi (純米辛口)”, and a “junmai daiginjo” with half or more of the outer part of the rice polished away. 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’s own shop
The brewery has its own shop (checked on October 27, 2026).
- Opening hours: 10:00–16:30 (last orders for tasting at 16:00)
- Closed: Wednesdays (with some exceptions)
- What you can do: Buy Mikotsuru / limited sake available only at the brewery / sale by measure, filled from a cask into bottles / paid tastings of sake kept in dedicated dispensers
The brewing seminar (brewery tour)
You can see inside the brewery on the reservation-only “brewing seminar (酒造セミナー)” (checked on October 27, 2026). On the seminar you look at a display of sake rice, and are guided through the production process.
- Days: Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays (afternoon session only on Fridays; with some exceptions)
- Times: Two sessions, from 10:30 and from 14:00. About 30–40 minutes
- Group size: Up to 10 people per session. Each group must be 2 or more people
- Fee: 350 yen per person (tax included) for elementary-school age and up
- Booking: Book by the day before, by phone (0266-75-1172, 9:00–17:00) or in person at the brewery’s own shop. Bookings cannot be made through the email inquiry form
The seminar is meant for fans of sake and of Mikotsuru, and the brewery does not accept sightseeing tours organized by travel agencies. There are steep stairs inside the brewery. In December 2025 and January 2026, the busiest months for sake making, the seminar was not held. If you are visiting in winter, please check the announcements on the official website.
If you are driving, please do not taste. In Japan, drunk driving is prohibited by law.
Getting there
Address: 長野県諏訪郡下諏訪町3205番地17 (Mitamachi)
- By train: About 10 minutes on foot from JR Shimo-Suwa Station (下諏訪). Please check train times with JR East
- By highway bus: About 3 minutes on foot from the Shimosuwa stop
- By car: About 15 minutes from the 岡谷 Interchange on the Nagano Expressway, and about 25 minutes from the Suwa Interchange on the 中央自動車道 expressway. You can use the parking lot in front of the shop, or the town parking lot opposite (you can get a parking discount ticket at the shop for the town parking lot)
Travel times are estimates (checked on October 27, 2026).
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Suwa Mikotsuru Shuzojo’s sake
The brewery lists its stockists on the company information page of its official website. There are more than 100 stores and department stores, from Nagano Prefecture to Kyushu, and the stores marked in the list can ship to other parts of Japan. From the list, we have picked stores that are easy to stop by during a trip (checked on October 27, 2026).
| Area | Store | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Shimosuwa | 二葉屋酒店 | 長野県諏訪郡下諏訪町 |
| Shimosuwa | 長崎酒店 | 長野県諏訪郡下諏訪町 |
| Suwa | 信濃屋 | 長野県諏訪市 |
| Matsumoto | 山崎精一商店 | 長野県松本市 |
| Tokyo | 銀座NAGANO | 東京都中央区（銀座） |
| Tokyo | 大丸百貨店 東京店 (B1 floor) | 東京都千代田区 |
| Tokyo | 東急百貨店 マークシティ (B1 floor) | 東京都渋谷区 |
| Narita | THE LIQUOR NARITA AIRPORT | 千葉県成田市 |
| Kyoto | 大丸百貨店 京都店 | 京都府京都市 |
| Osaka | 大丸百貨店 梅田店 (B2 floor) | 大阪府大阪市北区 |
The list also gives each store’s phone number. What each store carries and its stock differ, so please check with the store directly.
You can also buy from the brewery’s official online shop. On October 27, 2026, the 720 ml junmai ginjo was 2,200 yen to 2,750 yen, and the 720 ml Junmai Karakuchi was 1,815 yen (tax included).
Mikotsuru is also sold abroad, in places such as the United States, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
Before you buy
- Limited and seasonal products may not come in.
- 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 Nagano Prefecture are gathered on our Nagano Prefecture page.
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 諏訪御湖鶴酒造場 (Suwa Mikotsuru Shuzojo). Run by 磐栄運送株式会社 (head office in いわき市, Fukushima Prefecture) |
| Founded | Early in the Taisho era. Suspended in 2017; taken over and restarted by 磐栄運送 in 2018 |
| Toji | 竹内重彦 |
| Address | 長野県諏訪郡下諏訪町3205番地17 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0266-75-1172 (fax 0266-75-1179) |
| Main brand | Mikotsuru (御湖鶴) |
| Official website | https://www.mikotsuru.com/ |
| Brewery tours | Reservation-only brewing seminar (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays; 350 yen per person) (checked on October 27, 2026) |
| Brewery shop | The brewery’s own shop, 10:00–16:30, closed on Wednesdays. Paid tastings available (checked on October 27, 2026) |
| List of stockists | Published (checked on October 27, 2026) |
| English support | The company information page gives the address in English. No English official page |