Who will enjoy this brewery
- People staying in Osaka who want to try sake from a mountain village of Osaka Prefecture, different from the city
- People interested in a brewery that grows sake rice (rice suited to making sake) in its own rice fields
- People who want to compare sake made only from rice, rice koji and water
About Akishika Shuzo
Akishika Shuzo (秋鹿酒造) is a sake brewery in the 倉垣 district of Nose (能勢町), 豊能郡 district, Osaka Prefecture (大阪府). It was founded in 1886 (the 19th year of the Meiji era). Its brand is “Akishika (秋鹿)”.
Akishika Shuzo grows sake rice in its own rice fields and makes sake from that rice. The brewery calls this approach “ikkan-zukuri” (一貫造り: doing everything from growing rice to making sake at a single brewery). Starting with the sake made in October 2003, all of the sake made at the brewery has been junmai-shu.
Whether it accepts brewery tours is not published. We could not find an official website for the brewery either (checked on September 30, 2026).
A mountain village at the northern tip of Osaka Prefecture
Nose is at the northernmost tip of Osaka Prefecture, a town surrounded by the mountains of 北摂 (northern Osaka Prefecture).
Akishika Shuzo is in the countryside at the foot of 歌垣山 mountain. 歌垣山 is 553.5 meters high, and at its summit two peaks stand side by side: 男山 and 女山.
Nose has a tradition of joruri (a traditional Japanese performing art in which stories are narrated to the accompaniment of the shamisen) that has long been handed down in the town. In 1998, an original Nose puppet joruri was created by adding puppets and musical accompaniment (囃子) to it, and since 2006 it has been performed as “能勢人形浄瑠璃 鹿角座 (Rokkakuza)”.
Sake that starts in the rice fields
Akishika Shuzo began growing sake rice around 1986. The varieties it grows are Yamada Nishiki and Omachi (雄町).
In the rice fields, the brewery does not use chemically synthesized pesticides or fertilizers. Instead, it makes compost by fermenting rice husks, rice bran and sake lees (sake kasu: what remains after sake is pressed) produced in sake making, and returns it to the rice fields.
This rice growing received the Director-General of the Kinki Regional Agricultural Administration Office Award at the “Sustainable Agriculture Promotion Contest for the Future” (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) for fiscal year 2022. It was recognized for expanding the rice fields while continuing to grow rice without chemically synthesized pesticides and fertilizers, and for preventing abandoned farmland (farmland that is no longer used) from appearing.
A brewery that makes only junmai-shu
The only sake Akishika Shuzo makes is “junmai-shu”, sake made only from rice, rice koji and water. It does not make sake with brewer’s alcohol added.
The brewery describes the taste of its own Akishika sake like this:
“Its deep flavor is dry, with a firm umami of rice and a pronounced acidity, and can be enjoyed together with food.”
「辛口で米の旨味がしっかりと、酸味が利いた深い味わいは料理と一緒にお楽しみ頂けます。」
— Akishika Shuzo’s introduction (from “Spots Along the Line” (沿線スポット情報), Nose Electric Railway)
In sake, “karakuchi (dry)” does not mean salty or spicy; it means a taste in which you sense little sweetness.
Akishika has several products, and the rice and the rice polishing ratio (seimai buai: the share of the rice that remains after polishing) differ from product to product. Please check the label to see which rice a sake is made from.
Visiting the brewery
Tours and sales
Whether Akishika Shuzo accepts brewery tours is not published (checked on September 30, 2026).
Whether you can buy sake at the brewery, and on which days and at what times, please check with the brewery (phone 072-737-0013) before visiting. Opening days and tour arrangements may change.
Getting there
Address: 〒563-0113 大阪府豊能郡能勢町倉垣1007
- By car: A car is the convenient way to reach the brewery. The driver cannot drink sake
- By train: If you use the railway, the nearest station is 妙見口駅 station on the Nose Electric Railway. From 大阪梅田駅 station, take the Hankyu line to 川西能勢口駅 station, then change to a Nose Electric Railway train bound for 妙見口. Please check in advance how to get from 妙見口駅 station to the brewery
Please check how to change trains on the Nose Electric Railway website.
Where to buy Akishika Shuzo’s sake
Akishika Shuzo does not publish a list of stockists or authorized retailers (tokuyakuten) (checked on September 30, 2026). We could not find an official website or official online store for the brewery either.
Please contact the brewery (phone 072-737-0013) before visiting to ask whether you can buy at the brewery.
Many liquor stores call themselves “official dealers” or “authorized retailers” of Akishika, but because there is no list published by the brewery, this page does not name any stores.
Before you buy
- Akishika has many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
- Whether a store carries the sake, and its stock, differ from store to store. Limited and seasonal products may not arrive, 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
Brewery facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Brewery | 秋鹿酒造有限会社 (Akishika Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1886 (the 19th year of the Meiji era) |
| Address | 〒563-0113 大阪府豊能郡能勢町倉垣1007 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 072-737-0013 (fax 072-737-0840) |
| Main brand | Akishika (秋鹿) |
| Official website | Not found (as of September 30, 2026) |
| Brewery tours | Not published |
| Sales at the brewery | Please call the brewery to check whether sake is sold and on which days |
| List of stockists | Not published (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | Not published |