Who will enjoy this brewery
- People traveling to Nikko who want to take home a sake connected with Nikko’s water or Tochigi’s rice (the brewery does not sell at retail)
- People who want to try a showy sake with a fruit-like aroma
- People who want to choose between sake from the same brand made with different sake rice
- People who want to choose sake from Tochigi at liquor stores in Tokyo or Utsunomiya
About Kobayashi Shuzo
Kobayashi Shuzo (小林酒造) is a brewery in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture (栃木県小山市). It was founded in 1872. Its brand is “Hououbiden (鳳凰美田)”.
The brewery stands in what was once Mitamura (美田村). Hououbiden was born in this place.
Kobayashi Shuzo does not sell at retail at the brewery. Brewery tours and tasting are registered as “not available (not accepted)” in the brewery search on the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association website (checked on October 6, 2026). Hououbiden is sold at liquor stores that have contracts with the brewery, called “authorized retailers (tokuyakuten, 特約店)”. The list of authorized retailers that the brewery publishes includes 167 stores across Japan, 5 of them in Nikko (日光) and 9 in Utsunomiya (宇都宮) (checked on October 6, 2026).
Farmland where the water of Nikko flows
The brewery stands along “the Nikko Reiheishi Kaido (日光例幣使街道)”. In the Edo period, this was the road traveled by envoys from the imperial court each time the annual grand festival of Nikko Toshogu (日光東照宮) was held.
Mitamura is a land where farmland stretches as far as the eye can see, and it is blessed with underground water (water that has flowed underground) from the Nikko mountains. Hououbiden’s sake is brewed in an environment watered by this underground water.
The sake rice (rice suited to sake making) for Hououbiden is mainly sake rice from Tochigi Prefecture. The brewery contracts with farming areas in the places where each sake rice variety was born to grow its rice. The products introduced below also each use different rice.
The brewery describes its approach to sake making like this:
“Not controlling, but understanding what exists in this land and expressing it.”
「コントロールするのではなく この地にあるものを理解し表現すること。」
— from Kobayashi Shuzo’s official website
Sake with a showy aroma
Kobayashi Shuzo describes the taste of Hououbiden like this:
“Hououbiden is a showy, high-quality sake that features a fresh, fruity ginjo aroma.”
「鳳凰美田は、みずみずしくフルーティーな吟醸香が特徴的な、華やかで上質な日本酒です。」
— from “吟醸酒 鳳凰美田” on Kobayashi Shuzo’s official website
From the brewery’s products, here are three that are available all year and one seasonal product. Prices are the brewery’s suggested retail prices (excluding tax) (checked on October 6, 2026).
- Tsurugi (剱 辛口純米酒) — A “junmai-shu”, made only from rice, rice koji and water. The rice polishing ratio (seimai buai; the proportion of the rice that remains after polishing) is 55%. “Karakuchi” in the product name does not mean salty; it means sake in which you feel little sweetness (→ Amakuchi and karakuchi). It can be enjoyed chilled or warmed. 1,400 yen for 720 ml, 2,500 yen for 1.8 liters
- Junmai ginjo-shu (純米吟醸酒) — A “junmai ginjo”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, with 40% or more of the outside of the rice polished away and fermented slowly at low temperatures. The rice used for the rice koji is Yamada Nishiki (山田錦), and the rest of the rice (kakemai, 掛米) is Gohyakumangoku (五百万石). The brewery recommends it as a sake to drink with meals. 1,600 yen for 720 ml
- Junmai daiginjo-shu (純米大吟醸酒) — A “junmai daiginjo”, made only from rice, rice koji and water, with more than half of the outside of the rice polished away. The sake rice is Yamada Nishiki, and the rice polishing ratio is 50%. 3,000 yen for 1.8 liters
- 初しぼり junmai ginjo (the season’s first pressing) (seasonal product) — New-season sake made with rice harvested that year. The sake rice is Gohyakumangoku from the Nanto (南砺) area of Toyama Prefecture. 1,600 yen for 720 ml
The series named “Nikko”
Through the “Hououbiden NIKKO series (鳳凰美田 日光〜NIKKO〜)”, Kobayashi Shuzo aims to share the appeal of Nikko with the world. This effort is called “NIKKO BRANDING”. With the cooperation of Nikko City and people who represent Nikko, it is carried out as part of a national program supporting the overseas expansion of Japanese alcoholic beverages (日本産酒類海外展開支援事業).
- Hououbiden NIKKO (鳳凰美田 日光 NIKKO) — A junmai ginjo. The sake rice is only “Yume Sasara (夢ささら)” from Tochigi Prefecture. The rice polishing ratio is 55%
- Hououbiden MIKUMARI (鳳凰美田 水分神) — A junmai daiginjo. Yume Sasara from Tochigi Prefecture is polished to a rice polishing ratio of 25%, and Nikko’s “goshinsui (御神水, sacred water)” is used for every part of the sake making
Yume Sasara is a sake rice developed by Tochigi Prefecture (→ Tochigi).
Besides sake, this series also includes “Hououbiden J-Sake NIKKO Mizunara (鳳凰美田 J-Sake NIKKO ミズナラ)”, a spirit (distilled liquor) brewed and distilled from Nikko’s water and rice and stored in barrels made of Nikko’s Mizunara (Japanese oak).
Visiting the brewery
Brewery tours and tasting are registered as “not available (not accepted)” in the brewery search on the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association website. Kobayashi Shuzo does not sell at retail at the brewery (both checked on October 6, 2026). To buy Hououbiden, please visit the authorized retailers in the next section.
There are 5 authorized retailers in Nikko. Besides 吉田屋酒店 in 上鉢石町, Nikko, the list also includes 三本松茶屋, a souvenir shop and restaurant near Senjogahara (戦場ヶ原) in Oku-Nikko (奥日光).
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Kobayashi Shuzo’s sake
The brewery publishes a list of authorized retailers on its official website. The list includes 167 stores across Japan, from Hokkaido to Kagoshima Prefecture, 33 of them in Tochigi Prefecture (checked on October 6, 2026). From the list, we have chosen stores that are easy to drop in at during a trip.
| Area | Store | Address | Store / facility website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oyama | 杉田屋酒店 | 栃木県小山市駅東通り2-11-22 Open in Google Maps | — |
| Oyama | 地酒まつもと 松本酒店 | 栃木県小山市羽川10-9 Open in Google Maps | Online shop |
| Nikko | 吉田屋酒店 | 栃木県日光市上鉢石町1044-1 Open in Google Maps | 吉田屋酒店 |
| Nikko | 日野屋酒店 | 栃木県日光市松原町270 Open in Google Maps | — |
| Nikko, Oku-Nikko | 三本松茶屋 | 栃木県日光市中宮祠2493 Open in Google Maps | 三本松茶屋 |
| Utsunomiya | 目加田酒店 | 栃木県宇都宮市一番町2-3 Open in Google Maps | 目加田酒店 |
| Tokyo Station | はせがわ酒店 グランスタ東京店 | 東京都千代田区丸の内1-9-1 JR東日本東京駅構内地下1階 Open in Google Maps | はせがわ酒店 |
| Tokyo, Ginza | IMADEYA GINZA | 東京都中央区銀座6-10-1 GINZA SIX 地下2階 Open in Google Maps | IMADEYA |
| Tokyo, Nihonbashi | 日本橋三越本店 | 東京都中央区日本橋室町1-4-1 本館地下1階 Open in Google Maps | 日本橋三越本店 |
| Tokyo, Shinjuku | 伊勢丹 新宿店 | 東京都新宿区新宿3-14-1 地下1階 Open in Google Maps | 伊勢丹 新宿店 |
| Tokyo, Oshiage (Tokyo Skytree) | はせがわ酒店 東京スカイツリータウン店 | 東京都墨田区押上1-1-2 東京ソラマチ1階 Open in Google Maps | はせがわ酒店 |
| Osaka | 酒のやまもと 大阪店 | 大阪府大阪市中央区島之内2-6-32 Open in Google Maps | — |
| Kyoto | 酒のやまもと 京都店 | 京都府京都市左京区川端通り三条上ル法林寺門前町36-3 Open in Google Maps | — |
| Kyoto | タキモト | 京都府京都市下京区六条通高倉東入升屋町60 Open in Google Maps | 名酒館タキモト |
For other stores and each store’s phone number, please check the official list of authorized retailers.
Before you buy
- 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.
- Hououbiden has many products, and the ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product. Please check the label for the type.
- The junmai ginjo-shu, junmai daiginjo-shu and 初しぼり junmai ginjo introduced above are products that must be kept refrigerated. Tsurugi (karakuchi junmai-shu) should also be kept in the refrigerator after opening. Check the storage instructions on the label, and avoid carrying the bottles around for a long time.
- 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 | 小林酒造株式会社 (Kobayashi Shuzo) |
| Founded | 1872 (the 5th year of the Meiji era) |
| Representative | President and Representative Director 小林正樹 |
| Address | 〒323-0061 栃木県小山市卒島743-1 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0285-37-0005 |
| Main brand | Hououbiden (鳳凰美田) |
| Official website | https://hououbiden.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | Registered as not available (brewery search on the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association website; the same applies to tasting) |
| Brewery sales | None (the brewery does not sell at retail) |
| List of stockists | Published on the official website (167 stores nationwide; checked on October 6, 2026) |
| English support | The official website has English pages |