Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to book ahead and tour a sake brewery on a weekday while traveling around Okayama and Kurashiki (tours are paid, and you need to book early)
- People who want to see brewing in progress inside the brewery during the brewing season
- People who want to visit a town on the Seto Inland Sea at the time of one of the brewery’s four “蔵祭り” (brewery festivals) a year
- People who want to try sake made from rice grown in fields spread with a material made from oyster shells
About Kamikokoro Shuzo
Kamikokoro Shuzo (嘉美心酒造) is a sake brewery in Yorishima, Asakuchi (浅口市寄島町), Okayama Prefecture. It was founded in 1913 by the first generation, 藤井長十郎, and today the fifth generation, 藤井進彦, serves as its head. Its brand is “Kamikokoro (嘉美心)”.
Brewery tours are available (paid, booking required; checked on September 30, 2026). As a rule, the brewery does not accept bookings made less than one week ahead, or tours on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Visits only to buy sake, without a tour, are also accepted. Please call before visiting to ask which days and hours sake is on sale.
The brewery has a statement it holds up.
We are a maker when it comes to making sake, but in living our lives we are consumers. That is why we do not make anything we would not want our own families to eat or drink. 私たちはお酒を作ることではメーカーですが、生きる上では消費者です。 だから家族の口に入れさせたくないものは作りません。 ——From “About Kamikokoro Shuzo” (嘉美心酒造について) on the Kamikokoro Shuzo official website
三ツ山 and the oysters of Yorishima
Yorishima is a town facing the Seto Inland Sea. The brewery is near the Yorishima Park area (寄島園地) of the Setonaikai National Park. Off the west coast of the island of 三郎島, where the Yorishima Park area is, three small granite islands called “三ツ山” stand in a row. When the tide is out, you can walk from the mainland side to the three islands.
Yorishima is a place where fisheries such as oyster farming and brewing industries thrive. “Yorishima oysters” (寄島カキ) are a specialty of Asakuchi, and in winter they are sold at direct-sale shops.
A brewery that has kept to “米旨口”
The taste Kamikokoro Shuzo aims for is “米旨口”. It is a word the brewery uses to mean sake in which the umami of the rice can be clearly felt.
Kamikokoro Shuzo took a different path from the sweet sake that spread after the Second World War, and has kept brewing in pursuit of the umami of rice.
In its brewing, the brewery uses rice from Okayama Prefecture and soaks it in water 60 kilograms at a time, timing it to the second. During the brewing period, air conditioning keeps the inside of the brewery at around 5°C. Much of its sake that carries a special designation (such as junmai or ginjo) is stored after being bottled.
“里海米” grown in oyster-shell fields, and “神心”
When it reached 100 years since its founding, the brewery launched a new brand, “神心”. It is said that around the time of the founding, the brewery thought of naming its brand “神心”, but felt it would be too presumptuous to use the character “神” (god) as it is, and chose “嘉美心” instead. The new brand uses that character “神”.
Most 神心 products use “里海米”. 里海米 is rice grown under the “瀬戸内かきがらアグリ事業” project, in fields where a material made from oyster shells is spread to improve the soil. The vertical band on the left of the label represents the path from the mainland to 三ツ山 that appears only at low tide.
Here are two of 神心’s year-round products. Prices are as shown on the brewery’s official website (tax included; checked on September 30, 2026).
- 神心 Junmai Ginjo 瓶囲い — A “junmai ginjo”: sake made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% or more of the outer part of the rice polished away, fermented slowly at a low temperature. The rice is “アケボノ”, a 里海米. 1,462 yen for 720 ml, 3,000 yen for 1.8 liters
- 神心 Junmai 自耕自醸 — A “junmai-shu”: sake made only from rice, rice koji and water. It uses the sake rice “Omachi” (雄町), grown together with farmers in 矢掛町, Okayama Prefecture. 1,572 yen for 720 ml, 3,135 yen for 1.8 liters
神心 is a brand sold only through a limited number of stockists. Kamikokoro and 神心 have many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
Visiting the brewery
Kamikokoro Shuzo accepts brewery tours by booking. During the brewing season you can see brewing in progress; at other times of the year you can see the brewing equipment.
| Brewery tour (checked on September 30, 2026) | |
|---|---|
| Fee | 500 yen per person (tax included). Free for accompanying people under 20 |
| What’s included | About 30 minutes of touring, and about 20 minutes of tasting and shopping. About 50 minutes to 1 hour in total |
| Souvenir | A small ochoko (sake cup) |
| Hours | 8:30–17:00 |
| Booking | Give the name of the group leader, your preferred date and time, and the number of people, by phone or through the inquiry form on the official website |
| Booking deadline | As a rule, bookings made less than one week ahead are not accepted. Please apply with plenty of time to spare |
| Closed | As a rule, tours are not accepted on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. Tours may be declined during busy brewing periods |
| Phone | 0865-54-3101 (Japanese only) |
- No tasting or sales for people under 20
- Because this is a food-production facility, tours may be declined for hygiene reasons
Visits to the brewery only to buy sake, without a tour, are also accepted. Please call before visiting to ask which days and hours sake is on sale.
蔵祭り
The brewery holds a “蔵祭り” (brewery festival) four times a year, in spring, summer, autumn and winter. In 2026, the spring festival was on April 11 and 12, and the summer festival on July 4 and 5. Spring is the biggest, with stage events and 餅まき (rice-cake throwing). Please check the next dates on the brewery’s official website.
Getting there
Address: 〒714-0101 岡山県浅口市寄島町7500-2
- By train and taxi: About 15 minutes by taxi from JR Kamogata (鴨方) Station or JR Satosho (里庄) Station. Kamogata Station is closer if you are coming from the Okayama side, and Satosho Station if you are coming from the Hiroshima side
- By car: About 15 minutes from the Kamogata Interchange on the Sanyo Expressway
Travel times are estimates as of September 2026. If you go by car, the driver cannot take part in the tasting.
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Kamikokoro Shuzo’s sake
Sake is also sold at the brewery in Yorishima. Please call before visiting to ask which days and hours sake is on sale.
Stores that carry 神心
The brewery publishes a list of 神心 stockists on its official website. It lists just over 90 stores, from Hokkaido to Kyushu. A list of stockists for Kamikokoro as a whole is not published (checked on September 30, 2026). From the list, we have picked stores that are easy to stop by during a trip.
| Area | Store | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Okayama | 酒ショップ山本 | 岡山県岡山市北区広瀬町4-4 Open in Google Maps |
| Okayama | ワインと地酒 武田 岡山幸町店 | 岡山県岡山市北区幸町3-2 CF BLD 1F Open in Google Maps |
| Kurashiki | 酒工房 あおえ | 岡山県倉敷市水江1349 Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka (Umeda) | 浅野日本酒店UMEDA | 大阪府大阪市北区太融寺町2-17 太融寺ビル1F Open in Google Maps |
| Kyoto (Saga) | 小松藤 | 京都府京都市右京区嵯峨釈迦堂大門町34 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo (Gotanda) | 内藤商店 | 東京都品川区西五反田5-3-5 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo (Setagaya) | 朝日屋酒店 | 東京都世田谷区赤堤1-14-13 Open in Google Maps |
Please check the list for other stores and their phone numbers.
Before you buy
- Whether a store carries the sake, and its stock, differ from store to store. Limited and seasonal products may not come in, so please check with the store before visiting.
- Kamikokoro and 神心 have many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
- 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 | 嘉美心酒造株式会社 (Kamikokoro Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | October 1913 (the 2nd year of the Taisho era) |
| Representative | Representative Director 藤井進彦 (fifth-generation brewery owner) |
| Address | 〒714-0101 岡山県浅口市寄島町7500-2 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0865-54-3101 (fax 0865-54-3105). Phone in Japanese only |
| Main brands | Kamikokoro (嘉美心) / 神心 |
| Official website | https://kamikokoro.co.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | Available (500 yen per person, booking required. As a rule, no bookings less than one week ahead, and no tours on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays) |
| Sales at the brewery | Yes (please call to ask which days and hours sake is on sale) |
| List of stockists | Only the list of 神心 stockists is published (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | The official website has English pages. Phone in Japanese only |