Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who can enjoy looking for sake at specialist liquor stores and drinking it as part of their trip, rather than visiting the brewery (Ouroku Shuzo does not offer brewery tours, tastings or sales at any time of the year)
- People who are interested in sake that is not filtered and is heat-treated (pasteurized) as little as possible
- People who want to learn how to read the marks on the label and choose a bottle in a store
- People who want to walk around places from the myths of Izumo
About Ouroku Shuzo
Ouroku Shuzo (王祿酒造) is a small brewery in Iya (揖屋), Higashi-izumo (東出雲町), in Matsue (松江市), Shimane Prefecture. It has been making sake since around the end of the Edo period. Its brand is “Ouroku (王祿)”. In ancient China, sake was called “天の美禄”. The third generation, 平太郎, named the brand with the wish that, among the many 美禄, it would always be a sake with the dignity of a king.
Six kurabito (brewery workers: the craftspeople who make sake), headed by the toji (master brewer: the person in charge of sake making), make the sake, led by the sixth generation, 石原丈径.
Brewery tours are not available. The brewery writes the following on its official website.
“※ We do not offer brewery tours, tastings, retail sales or the like at any time of the year.”
※蔵見学、試飲、小売販売等は､年間通して一切しておりません。 — From the “COMPANY” page of Ouroku Shuzo’s official website
You also cannot have sake sent directly from the brewery. Ouroku is a sake you buy at authorized retailers (tokuyakuten: liquor stores that have a special agreement with the brewery) approved by the brewery.
A land of myths, and the Yamada Nishiki of Kami-ito
Iya is a place closely tied to Japanese mythology. “Yomotsu Hirasaka”, which appears in the Kojiki (古事記), is a slope said to be the border between the land of the dead (黄泉の国) and this world. It is said to be the entrance through which Izanagi no Mikoto went to the land of the dead to visit his late wife, Izanami no Mikoto. The legendary site is in Iya, and a stone monument erected in 1940 stands there. Nearby is Iya Shrine (揖夜神社), which enshrines Izanami no Mikoto.
The Kami-ito (上意東) district, to the southeast across National Route 9 in Higashi-izumo, where the brewery is, has long been a district where rice grows well. A group of farmers in this district took on growing the shuzo kotekimai (sake rice: rice suited to making sake) “Yamada Nishiki (山田錦)”. In 1997, the brewery first used that rice to make “Takemichi (丈径)”. As of September 30, 2026, many of Ouroku’s products are made only with Yamada Nishiki grown in Kami-ito.
The “黄金井戸”, piped in from 2 km away
In 1962, the fourth generation, 陽三, was not satisfied with the water from the brewery’s well, and asked the prefecture’s industrial research institute to survey the water. What it found was water springing from the Chugoku Mountains, with no iron or ammonia and plenty of calcium and magnesium.
The water source was about 2 km from the brewery. 陽三 gave up his personal fortune to bury a water pipe underground, ran it under National Route 9 and the railway tracks, and brought the water to the brewery. He then named it the “黄金井戸”, saying it was “worth piling up gold for”. Even today, 150 tonnes a day spring from it, and the brewery uses this water for everything, from brewing to washing equipment.
Unfiltered, and pasteurized as little as possible
Ouroku’s sake follows several rules that the brewery keeps.
- Unfiltered: The sake is not filtered with charcoal or the like. White matter may float or settle in the bottle. This is a component of sake called “ori”, and it is not a sign of a quality problem
- Nama or namazume: The only types that are pasteurized are two: namazume with water added, and namazume of genshu (undiluted sake). In both cases, pasteurization is done only once, after bottling. The other types are “namazake” (unpasteurized sake), which is never pasteurized
- All stored in bottles: The finished sake is bottled right away, and all of it is kept in refrigerated containers below 0°C
- No blending: Even for the same brand and the same type, the components differ slightly depending on the tank it was brewed in
The authorized retailers also keep Ouroku in refrigerators at -5°C. The brewery asks that after you buy it, you put it in your refrigerator at home and drink it soon.
Reading the type from the stars on the label
Brands such as “Takemichi”, “Kei (溪)”, “Chou Ouroku (超王祿)” and “Izumo Koujiya (出雲麹屋)” do not show the type on the back label. You tell the type from the number and color of the star marks (black stars and white stars) at the upper left of the front label.
- If the number of stars is odd, it is namazake; if it is even, it is namazume (pasteurized only once, after bottling)
- The brewery draws 1 to 5 kinds of sake from one tank, and the more stars there are, the smaller the amount of that sake
- At the upper right of the back label, the brewing year, the brewing number and the number of bottles (limited products only) are printed
For example, “Takemichi” is a brand that began in 1995, the year the sixth generation joined the brewery, when he brewed one small tank on his own. It is 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, using Yamada Nishiki from Kami-ito. “Chou Ouroku” is a “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water. The ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product, so please check the type with the stars and the information on the label.
Visiting the brewery
Ouroku Shuzo does not offer brewery tours, tastings or sales at any time of the year (checked on September 30, 2026). Even if you visit the brewery, you cannot buy sake.
In Iya, where the brewery is, you can visit the following places.
- Iya Shrine: About a 10-minute walk from JR Iya (揖屋) Station
- Yomotsu Hirasaka: About 5 minutes by car or about a 20-minute walk from JR Iya Station
The travel times are a guide as of September 2026.
Where to buy Ouroku Shuzo’s sake
Ouroku is sold at authorized retailers approved by the brewery. There is no brewery shop and no official online store. The brewery says it cannot take responsibility for Ouroku bought anywhere other than an authorized retailer.
Authorized retailers that carry Ouroku
The brewery publishes a list of authorized retailers on its official website. It lists a little over 40 stores, from Hokkaido to Miyazaki Prefecture. From the list, we have chosen stores that are easy to stop by during a trip (checked on September 30, 2026).
| Area | Store | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Matsue | 槇戸天狗堂 | 島根県松江市東奥谷町373 Open in Google Maps |
| Yonago | 米子高島屋別館 フードスタジオカクバン | 鳥取県米子市角盤町1-27 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3-2-1F Open in Google Maps |
| Hiroshima | 酒商山田 エディオン蔦屋家電店 | 広島県広島市南区松原町3-1-1 EKICITY HIROSHIMA Open in Google Maps |
| Hiroshima | 酒商山田 本店 | 広島県広島市南区宇品海岸2-10-7 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo, Ginza | IMADEYA GINZA | 東京都中央区銀座6-10-1 GINZA SIX B2F Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo, Ginza | 銀座君嶋屋 | 東京都中央区銀座1-2-1 紺屋ビル1F Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo, Ikebukuro | 酒商山田 西武池袋店 | 東京都豊島区南池袋1-28-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka, Umeda | 山中酒の店 エキマルシェ大阪店 | JR大阪駅1F |
| Osaka | 山中酒の店 | 大阪府大阪市浪速区敷津西1-10-20 Open in Google Maps |
| Kyoto | 木になる酒店 TANE | 京都府京都市下京区高材木町228 京阪ビル3階 Open in Google Maps |
| Kyoto, Fushimi | 大崎商店 | 京都府京都市伏見区三栖半町479 Open in Google Maps |
For other stores and phone numbers, please see the list. 鈴木三河屋 in Akasaka, Tokyo, which appears on the list, closed at the end of July 2024.
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.
- The brewery asks that you keep the sake in the refrigerator after you buy it.
- Prices differ from one authorized retailer to another.
- 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 | 王祿酒造有限会社 (Ouroku Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | Began making sake at the end of the Edo period |
| Representative | 石原丈径 (sixth generation) |
| Address | 〒699-0101 島根県松江市東出雲町揖屋484 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0852-52-2010 (fax 0852-52-2011) |
| Main brand | Ouroku (王祿) |
| Brewing water | The spring water “黄金井戸” about 2 km from the brewery |
| Official website | https://www.ouroku.co.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | Not available (no tastings or retail sales either) |
| Sales at the brewery | None (no direct shipping from the brewery either) |
| List of stockists | Published on the official website (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | Parts of the official website have English. English support at the brewery is not published |