Hakutaka Rokusuien includes a souvenir shop, restaurant, bar, multi-purpose hall and tea ceremony room. In addition, there are exhibition rooms for traditional brewing tools as well for displaying daily household goods used by the Tatsuuma family.
A special ambiance is created through a kaleidoscope of various information related to SAKE, including an introduction to the life style and culture of traditional brewers as well as how to enjoy SAKE with different foods. A range of SAKE is available for sale and taste testing.
It is said that in the late Edo period (mid 19th century), 90% of SAKE produced countrywide was consumed in Edo (now Tokyo), which was the biggest consuming city in the country.
The most remarkable characteristic of SAKE from Nada is its rich taste. Water plays an important role in deciding the taste of SAKE. We have used MIYAMIZU, which is special spring water that can be found in some parts of Nishinomiya. MIYAMIZU contains a lot of minerals that are ideal for fermenting sake, and produces the rich taste.
Hakutaka was established in 1862 by founder Etsuzo Tatsuuma in Nishinomiya, the oldest district of NADA-GO-GO. Because he was a relative new comer to Nada, he tried to make outstanding SAKE which was different from others.
Etsuzo aimed at only the best quality from the beginning. MIYAMIZU pumped up from Hakutaka’s eight wells and the traditional KIMOTO-ZUKURI method enabled Hakutaka to produce pure SAKE unique to Nada, and he made every possible effort to continually enhance the quality.
For instance, he searched for the best rice and gave financial support to rice producers in Yokawa, Hyogo for further improvement. Nowadays, Hakutaka uses rice called Yamada-Nishiki from Yokawa, the best quality brand of SAKE rice through a close relationship with producers in Yokawa that has continued for over 100 years.
Through these efforts and hard work to maintain quality, Hakutaka received a high reputation as “the best quality SAKE in Japan” in 1890, only 30 years after the foundation of the company. Hakutaka became known worldwide when it received the grand-prix award for the liqueur category at the Expo in Paris in 1900.
The high reputation of the quality led Hakutaka to receive an honor as the only official sake supplier for Ise Shrine, the head shrine of the whole country. Hakutaka SAKE delivered to Ise Shrine has been offered to the deities every morning and night since 1924.
There is an old Chinese saying which means that fragrance of peach flowers attracts people without saying anything, so that the paths leading to the peach trees are created naturally.
This was founder Etsuzo’s motto, and has been the company motto ever since. It describes that painstaking effort to produce better SAKE naturally attracts people to it.
SAKE is a representative culture of Japan, and reflects the soul of Japanese people who have lived with a reverence for nature. This has also influenced the development of Japanese cuisine, which has been passed down through the generations with traditional social customs.
It is said that SAKE is a work of art created by Japanese people. We are honored to be able to succeed the tradition and pass it to future generations.