JAPAN TRAVEL: Higashide Liquor Store is Where You Can Drink Rare Japanese Sake!
In Kikonai, you can taste this rare Japanese sake called Misogi no Mai.
Misogi no Mai can be found in almost all liquor shops in Kikonai. If you’re exploring the town through the Kikonai Walking Tour, one of the stops you’ll make is at Higashide Liquor Store, a shop that sells rice wines.
Higashide Liquor Store sells limited edition rice wines in their store. Their most popular product would be Misogi no Mai, which is a rare Japanese sake made from rice called Honoka 224 (Hoshinoyume rice) that is only being grown in Kikonai. This Misogi no Mai is brewed in Fuji Brewery in Yamagata Prefecture, but they only sell it in Kikonai.
ALSO READ: JAPAN TRAVEL: Misogi no Sato in Kikonai, A Sightseeing Hub in Southern Hokkaido
Misogi no Mai is priced at ¥1,404 (720 ml)
Misogi no Mai has a dry and mellow taste, so those who are fans of Japanese sake will clearly know the difference compared to other alcoholic beverages in Japan. Since it’s a rare product, many tourists visit the shop to buy this kind of sake for souvenirs.
If you wish to see more kinds of rice wine, this liquor store has a lot of sake in stock! Some of these limited edition brands are very seasonal though. They have Hatsushibori sold every February, and Hiyaoroshi sold in November.
ALSO READ: JAPAN TRAVEL: Cape Saraki in Kikonai, A Scenic Tulip Garden by the Roadside
How to get here
Higashide Liquor Store is just a one-minute walk from Misogi-no-sato Kikonai.
DETAILS
Address: Kikonai-cho, Aza Honcho 392-3, Kamiiso-gun, Hokkaido
Contact: +81 1392-2-2073
Operating Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Website: http://town.kikonai.hokkaido.jp
This first appeared on Philippine Primer magazine’s January 2019 issue.
