Who will enjoy this brewery
- People who want to visit a sake brewery within walking distance of a station while traveling in the San’in region (it is about a 2-minute walk from JR Sakaiminato Station)
- People who want to book a guided tour inside the brewery and enjoy a tasting as well (there is a paid brewery tour)
- People who want to try sake made from a Tottori sake rice whose cultivation once declined and which was dropped from the prefecture’s recommended varieties
- People who want to look for sake before flying home from Yonago Airport (the shop inside the airport is also a stockist)
About Chiyomusubi Shuzo
Chiyomusubi Shuzo (千代むすび酒造) is a sake brewery in Sakaiminato (境港市), Tottori Prefecture. It was founded in 1865 (the 1st year of the Keio era), and marked its 160th anniversary in 2025. Its brand is “Chiyomusubi (千代むすび)”.
Brewery tours are available (paid, booked by phone; checked on September 30, 2026). The brewery-owned store attached to the brewery, the “Okasora flagship store (岡空本店)”, is open from 9:00 to 17:00, every day of the year.
The yokai road and the crab port
Sakaiminato is a fishing-port town in Tottori Prefecture. Red snow crab is in season from September to June, and 松葉ガニ crab (the San’in name for snow crab) from November to March.
The roughly 800 meters from JR Sakaiminato Station to the 水木しげる記念館 museum are called the “水木しげるロード” road, and bronze statues of yokai (Japanese folklore creatures) line both sides of the street. The street was created in 1993. Chiyomusubi Shuzo’s Okasora flagship store is about a 2-minute walk from this station.
In 1945, the company’s buildings all collapsed in the explosion of the “玉栄丸”, and the brewery rebuilt from there. In 1995, it began exporting overseas. It exports to 7 countries and regions, including South Korea, the United States and China (checked on September 30, 2026).
Water drawn from across the prefectural border
Chiyomusubi Shuzo does not draw its brewing water near the brewery, but at the foot of the Chugoku Mountains. The place is Daito (大東町), Unnan (雲南市), in Shimane Prefecture, across the prefectural border. The brewery has set up its own tanks there, and during the brewing season it goes to draw water every day. The water is fairly soft.
The rice is mainly shuzo kotekimai (sake rice: rice suited to making sake) grown in Tottori Prefecture: “Yamada Nishiki (山田錦)”, “Goriki (強力)” and “Gohyakumangoku (五百万石)”. The brewery also polishes its rice itself.
Goriki, the sake rice that once disappeared
“Goriki” is a sake rice that is a specialty of Tottori Prefecture. It became a prefectural recommended variety in 1921 and was grown widely in the prefecture. Because the plant is tall and falls over easily, its cultivation declined as easier-to-grow varieties spread, and it was dropped from the recommended varieties in 1945.
In 1989, cultivation was restarted from a small amount of seed rice that had been kept at the Faculty of Agriculture of Tottori University. In 1998, farmers, brewery owners, Tottori University and the Tottori Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station formed a society called the “強力を育む会”, which manages the seed. Chiyomusubi Shuzo took part in this society from its preparation stage, and in 1998 it brewed its first sake with Goriki. The Goriki it uses today comes only from contract farming with farmers in 伯耆町, 南部町, 日南町, 倉吉市 and 八頭町.
Goriki has hard grains and takes time to polish. The brewery describes the character of its Goriki sake as “a flavor with richness (koku)”.
Chiyomusubi made with Goriki
Here are two standard products made only with Goriki. The prices are those shown in the brewery’s online shop (tax included; checked on September 30, 2026).
- Chiyomusubi Junmai Ginjo Goriki 60 — 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. 2,090 yen for 720 ml (in a gift box)
- Chiyomusubi Junmai Daiginjo Goriki 50 — A “junmai daiginjo” made only from rice, rice koji and water, with more than half of the outer part of the rice polished away. 2,420 yen for 720 ml (in a gift box)
Chiyomusubi has many other products besides its Goriki sake. The ingredients and brewing methods differ from product to product, so please check the label for the type and the name of the rice.
Chiyomusubi was among the prize-winning sakes at the Zenkoku Shinshu Kanpyokai (National New Sake Competition) for the Reiwa 7 brewing year (organized by the National Research Institute of Brewing and the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association; announced on May 20, 2026).
Visiting the brewery
Chiyomusubi Shuzo accepts brewery tours by reservation. You can go inside the brewery and hear an explanation of the brewing process. In winter, you can watch the kurabito (brewery workers: the craftspeople who make sake) at work up close.
| Course (checked on September 30, 2026) | What it includes | Time | Price (tax included, per person) | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard course | Short talk, brewery tour, tasting of 3 kinds at the sake bar | 60 minutes. Every day from 10:00 and 14:00 | 2,000 yen | By phone, at least 3 days ahead |
| Standard course + sake lees label | The above, plus drawing a picture on a washi paper label made with sake lees (sake kasu) blended in, and putting it on a bottle. Comes with 300 ml of sake | 90 minutes. Every day from 10:00 and 14:00 | 3,000 yen | By phone, at least 3 days ahead |
| Premium course | Guided by the toji (master brewer: the person in charge of sake making) or staff of the same level. Tasting of 3 kinds, including daiginjo | 60–90 minutes | 5,000 yen | By phone, at least 1 week ahead. It may not be available depending on the season |
- Each tour takes 1 to 10 people
- Bookings are by phone at 0859-21-8802 (9:00–17:00). The official website has a page about tours in English, but whether tours are offered in English is not published
- On the day of your tour, please do not eat natto or yogurt
- People under 20 and people who will be driving cannot take part in the tasting
After the tour, you can taste and shop at the Okasora flagship store.
The Okasora flagship store and the sake bar
The Okasora flagship store has a standing sake bar, “Sakagura Kakuuchi (酒蔵角打ち)”, and a tearoom where you can rest, “Kuraya (蔵や)”. Kakuuchi means drinking while standing inside a liquor store.
| Checked on September 30, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| Okasora flagship store | 9:00–17:00 (open every day of the year) |
| Sakagura Kakuuchi | Usually 9:00–17:00 |
| Tearoom Kuraya | 9:00–17:00 |
| Parking | Free (10 cars) |
If you go by car, the driver cannot take part in the tasting.
Getting there
Address: 〒684-0004 鳥取県境港市大正町131
- By train: About a 2-minute walk from JR Sakaiminato Station
- By plane: About 15 minutes by car from Yonago Airport (Yonago Kitaro Airport)
- By car: About 40 minutes from the Yonago Interchange of the Chugoku Expressway
Opening days and tour arrangements may change. Please check the brewery’s official information before visiting.
Where to buy Chiyomusubi Shuzo’s sake
The brewery-owned store is the Okasora flagship store. There is also the “千代むすび 大正橋売店” shop in the 松ケ枝町 district of Sakaiminato. The brewery also has an online shop, but shipping costs are shown only for delivery addresses in Japan (checked on September 30, 2026).
Stores that carry Chiyomusubi
The brewery publishes a list of stockists on its official website. It lists about 300 “stores where you can buy” and about 190 “places where you can drink”. From the list, we have chosen stores that are easy to stop by during a trip (checked on September 30, 2026).
| Area | Store | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Sakaiminato | 千代むすび 岡空本店 | 鳥取県境港市大正町131 Open in Google Maps |
| Sakaiminato | 千代むすび 大正橋売店 | 鳥取県境港市松ケ枝町34 Open in Google Maps |
| Sakaiminato | 千代むすび じげの物産館 | 鳥取県境港市松ケ枝町33 Open in Google Maps |
| Yonago Airport | BEE WING | 鳥取県境港市佐斐神町1634（米子鬼太郎空港内） Open in Google Maps |
| Yonago | 米子高島屋 | 鳥取県米子市角盤町1-30 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo, Shimbashi | とっとり・おかやま新橋館 | 東京都港区新橋1-11-7 新橋センタープレイス1階 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo, Yaesu | リカーズハセガワ 八重洲北口店 | 東京都中央区八重洲2-1 八重洲地下街北1号 Open in Google Maps |
| Tokyo, Ikebukuro | 東武百貨店 池袋店 | 東京都豊島区西池袋1-1-25 Open in Google Maps |
| Osaka, Umeda | 阪急うめだ本店 | 大阪府大阪市北区角田町8-7 Open in Google Maps |
| Kyoto | 名酒館 タキモト | 京都府京都市下京区六条高倉東入 |
For other stores and phone numbers, please see the list.
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.
- Chiyomusubi has 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 | 千代むすび酒造株式会社 (Chiyomusubi Shuzo Co., Ltd.) |
| Founded | 1865 (the 1st year of the Keio era) |
| Representative | President and Representative Director 岡空聡 (sixth-generation brewery owner) |
| Address | 〒684-0004 鳥取県境港市大正町131 Open in Google Maps |
| Phone | 0859-42-3191 (fax 0859-42-3515). Brewery tours and the Okasora flagship store: 0859-21-8802 |
| Main brand | Chiyomusubi (千代むすび) |
| Brewing water | Water drawn in Daito, Unnan, Shimane Prefecture |
| Official website | https://www.chiyomusubi.co.jp/ |
| Brewery tours | Available (paid, booked by phone) |
| Sales at the brewery | Okasora flagship store (9:00–17:00, open every day of the year) / 大正橋売店 shop |
| List of stockists | Published on the official website (checked on September 30, 2026) |
| English support | The official website has English pages. English support on tours is not published |