Sasaki Sake Brewery: A sake brewery preserving Kyoto’s tradition

Located five minutes on foot north of Nijo Castle, Sasaki Sake Brewery was built over the former site of Jurakudai, the mansion of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) who was a warrior in the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Kyoto has enjoyed an abundance of quality water suited for making sake since ancient times. Not only that, the city was also located at the centre of commerce, making it easy to procure large amounts of rice. During Kyoto’s sake-making heyday, there were over 300 sake breweries in the city, but that number has dropped to just three — including Sasaki Brewery — today.