"Chomonkyo" - a famous sake made with the waters of the Abu River

Okazaki Sake Brewery, located along the Abu River in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, was founded in 1924 near Chomonkyo, one of the most scenic spots in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Due to the construction of the Abu River Dam, the brewery moved to its current location upstream in Hagi City in 1970. The brewery continues to make sake that aims to bring out the natural flavor of rice to the fullest, with its flagship brand Chomonkyo named after the place where it was founded.
The brewing process, which makes use of the underground waters of the Abu River, is not limited to sake (Daiginjo, Ginjo, Junmaishu, Honjozo, etc.). They also focus on producing liqueurs that add fruit juice to a sake base, such as "Yuzu Liqueur" made with locally grown yuzu and "Shirokobana" made from the orange fruit, a specialty of Hagi.

In 2010, they also began brewing pure rice sake using pesticide-free rice, "Ise Hikari." They are also proactively working on initiatives rooted in the local community, such as the limited sale of "Fukurasuzume," a pure rice ginjo brewed with "Saito no Shizuku," an original sake-brewing rice from Yamaguchi Prefecture, and "Migaki 6," which uses "Special A Yamada Nishiki," a sake-brewing rice grown and polished locally in Hagi City, in collaboration with local farmers and sake breweries.

The key to sake you can keep drinking is the careful selection of koji

Our goal is to create a well-balanced sake that has a deep flavor but is easy to drink.
The sake is made using carefully selected ingredients, such as locally grown rice and the pure water of the Abu River, and is brewed using traditional techniques passed down from the Otsu master brewers. It has won many awards, including gold medals and honor awards, at various tasting events, including the National New Sake Tasting Competition.

They are particularly particular about the koji making process, which is the key to sake brewing. They carefully assess the condition of the rice, which changes every year, and adjust the time for washing the rice and for soaking the rice in water after washing to the optimum time.
In 2018, the koji room where koji is made was completely renovated, and by strictly controlling the temperature and humidity inside the room, an ideal environment has been created in which the koji mold can work at its best.

While valuing tradition, Okazaki Sake Brewery also challenges itself to create new flavors, and will continue to contribute to the development of Hagi's sake culture.