Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to book a tour of a small sake brewery along with a walk around a castle town (apply by 2 business days before the tour; the tour takes about 15 minutes)
- People who want to try sake from a wine glass, paired with food
- People staying in Beppu (別府) or Yufuin (湯布院) who want to look for sake from Oita Prefecture during their trip
About Nakano Shuzo
Nakano Shuzo (中野酒造) is a sake brewery in Kitsuki (杵築市), Oita Prefecture. It was founded in 1874. Its main brands are two: “Chiebijin (智恵美人)” and “Chiebijin (ちえびじん)”, which has the same reading written in hiragana. Besides sake, it also makes shochu and liqueurs.
The name “Chiebijin” was given after “Chie” (智恵), the first-generation proprietress.
Brewery tours are available (booking required). The tour takes about 15 minutes, and you must apply by 2 business days before the tour. December is a busy period, so as a rule the brewery does not accept tour bookings in December (checked on September 30, 2026).
A castle town of slopes, and water from underground
Kitsuki is a town at the foot of the Kunisaki Peninsula (国東半島). In the Edo period, it prospered as the castle town of the Matsudaira clan, the lords of the domain.
The layout of the town is a little unusual. Samurai residences line the southern and northern plateaus, and merchants’ townhouses stand side by side in the valley between them. The plateaus and the valley are connected by slopes, and the “Suya-no-Saka (酢屋の坂)” slope, which climbs to the northern plateau, and the “Shioya-no-Saka (塩屋の坂)” slope, which climbs to the southern plateau, face each other across the valley street. Kitsuki city encourages people to walk around the town in kimono, and if you visit the city’s public tourist and cultural facilities in kimono, admission is free.
In the Edo period, Kitsuki had many sake breweries. Today, Nakano Shuzo is the only sake brewery left in the castle town.
The water used for brewing is natural water pumped up from 200 meters below the brewery, which the brewery calls “Rokugo Manzan no Goreisui (六郷満山の御霊水)”. The ingredients are mainly local products.
Chiebijin (智恵美人) and Chiebijin (ちえびじん)
Nakano Shuzo does not use brewer’s alcohol, sugars or additives in its sake.
Chiebijin Junmai-shu (ちえびじん 純米酒) is the sake the brewery positions as the flagship of “ちえびじん”. It is a “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, brewed with 30% of the outer part of the rice polished away. The rice is a variety called “Hinohikari (ヒノヒカリ)” grown in Kitsuki. This junmai-shu received the Junmai Trophy in the SAKE category of the International Wine Challenge (IWC) 2026. The brewery recommends pouring it into a wine glass and drinking it chilled.
“ちえびじん” is a brand launched from the idea of “pairing it with cheese in a wine glass”. Limited products are released each season. For example, “Chiebijin LOVE PINK” is a sake made with a yeast that produces a red pigment, and its pale red color comes about naturally during fermentation. “KITSUKI BLANC CUVÉE CHIEBIJIN” is a junmai-shu brewed with a white wine yeast, made with pairing with oysters, a specialty of Kitsuki, in mind. Every year on the third Thursday of November, a freshly pressed new-season sake, “Chiebijin Nouveau”, is released.
智恵美人 has products such as the following.
- Chiebijin Junmai-shu (智恵美人 純米酒) — A junmai-shu you can drink chilled or warmed fairly hot
- Chiebijin Kijoshu (智恵美人 貴醸酒) — A “kijoshu”, made using sake instead of brewing water, with a deep sweetness
- Chiebijin Junmai Daiginjo Shiko (紫光) — A “junmai daiginjo”: made only from rice, rice koji and water, with more than half of the outer part of the rice polished away. It is brewed with the traditional method in which the koji (steamed rice on which koji mold has been grown) is divided into small wooden boxes called “koji-buta” (麹蓋). It is a limited-quantity product
Both brands have many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
Visiting the brewery
Brewery tour (booking required)
| Nakano Shuzo brewery tour (checked on September 30, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Application | Through the brewery tour inquiry page on the official website. Apply by 2 business days before the tour |
| Tour days | Every day except Sundays and public holidays. As a rule, not accepted in December |
| Start times | 10:00 / 11:00 / 13:30 / 14:30 / 15:30 |
| Duration | About 15 minutes |
| Tasting | Tell the brewery whether you would like one when you apply |
| Price | Please check when you apply |
| Language | The application page is in Japanese. Whether guided tours in English are available is not published |
| Cancellations and changes of date or time | Contact the brewery by phone (0978-62-2109) |
If you are driving, please do not taste sake.
Brewery shop
The brewery has a retail shop that sells sake, as well as shochu and foods and cosmetics made with sake lees.
| Checked on September 30, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | 9:00–16:30 |
| Closed | Sundays, public holidays, and Saturdays other than the 1st and 3rd. It may also close temporarily |
Please check the business days on the calendar on the official website.
Getting there
Address: 〒873-0002 大分県杵築市南杵築2487-1
- By car: The brewery has a parking lot
- Train: Please check train times for JR Kitsuki Station on JR Kyushu’s Kitsuki Station page. Please also check how to get from the station to the brewery before visiting
It is safest to check the last trains for both the outward and return journeys.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Nakano Shuzo’s sake
Besides the brewery shop, the sake is sold at the stores on the “authorized retailers” list published by the brewery (August 2026 edition). No official online store of the brewery can be found (checked on September 30, 2026).
Authorized retailers (stores that are easy to drop in at during a trip)
The list includes 85 stores from Hokkaido to Kyushu and one online store. From these, we have chosen stores that are easy to drop in at during a trip.
For other stores (71 more stores across Japan and the online store), please check the brewery’s list. The list also includes each store’s phone number and closing days. It does not include stores inside airports.
Before you buy
- Whether a store carries the sake, and its stock, differ from store to store. Seasonal limited products may not arrive at a store, so please check with the store before visiting.
- For products such as “namazake” whose label shows a storage temperature, please follow it.
- 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
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 有限会社中野酒造 (Nakano Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1874 (the 7th year of the Meiji era) |
| Representative | Representative Director Nakano Atsuyuki (中野淳之) |
| Address | 〒873-0002 大分県杵築市南杵築2487-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0978-62-2109 (fax 0978-63-4160) |
| Main brands | Chiebijin (智恵美人) / Chiebijin (ちえびじん) |
| Products | Sake, shochu, liqueurs |
| Brewing water | Natural water pumped up from 200 meters below the brewery |
| Official website | https://chiebijin.com/ |
| Brewery tours | Available (booking required). Apply by 2 business days before; about 15 minutes. As a rule, not available in December |
| Sales at the brewery | Brewery shop (9:00–16:30; closed on Sundays, public holidays, and Saturdays other than the 1st and 3rd) |
| List of stockists | Published (August 2026 edition) |
| English support | The official website has English pages. Whether tours are available in English is not published |