"Kamikawa Junmai Daiginjo". On the day of the flight, you will receive a bottle with an original label and a specially designed sake cup.
*Prices include tax.
An unprecedented story born in the "Garden of the Gods"
We visited Kamikawa Town, located just under an hour's drive from Asahikawa Airport in Hokkaido. The town overlooks the beautiful Daisetsuzan mountain range, also known as "Kamuy Mintara" (which means "The Garden Where the Gods Play" in the Ainu language), and is a cool and tranquil town with an average annual temperature of about 5.5°C.
The Daisetsuzan mountain range is in the distance
In this northern land, Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery was born in 2016 (brewing began in 2017) with a rather unusual story behind it. New sake (seishu) breweries are not issued manufacturing licenses due to the need to protect traditional industries, and so new entrants are not allowed to enter the market. However, one exception is if they take over an existing sake brewery's license.
One of the manufacturing bases of "Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery" is "Ryokkyugura". Sake brewing takes place in this facility.
Using this method, Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery transferred the sake brewing license of a dormant brewery in Mie and established a new brewery in Hokkaido for the first time in about 20 years. This attempt attracted attention as it was unprecedented, and now there are an increasing number of initiatives modeled after this brewery.
Behind the "Ryokugakugura" there is a small stream that originates from the spring water of the Daisetsu mountain range, which is covered with perpetual snow.
I was also impressed by the clear, delicious taste of the brewing water.
An important factor in sake brewing is the climate of the region. Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery's "Midorigaokagura" uses natural water at about 7 degrees Celsius, which is ideal for sake brewing. Hokkaido is also blessed with the pure and magnificent nature that is unique to the area, and sake rice is actively cultivated on the vast farmland.
A special flight to celebrate the New Year
The reason why we were able to offer "Kamikawa" as a gift for the "First Sunrise First Fuji Flight" is strongly related to our past efforts with JAL. Kamikawa Daisetsu Sake Brewery's sake was first adopted in 2019. Since offering "Junmai Daiginjo Suisei" in first class on domestic flights, it has been well received.
Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery only uses rice grown in Hokkaido that is suitable for sake brewing. Currently, they use three varieties: Ginpu, Suisei, and Kita Shizuku.
Seiji Hanzawa of the Domestic Flights Group of JAL's Passenger Promotion Department, who was in charge of the collaboration with Kamikawa, had this to say:
Hanzawa: "Since this is a flight that will be taking place right at the start of the new year, we wanted to give our customers a priceless gift, and came up with the idea of Kamikawa, which is difficult to obtain outside of the local area. As it is a regional limited brand, we thought it would be difficult to make it happen, but when we explained our thoughts to them, they were willing to accept, saying, 'It's a special flight to celebrate the New Year once a year.' We are very happy."
Sake brewing is a collaboration with nature and a dialogue with time
To learn more about Kamikawa's commitment to quality, JAL flight attendant Fukunari experienced part of the sake brewing process.
The brewing experience starts with the process of transferring the steamed sake rice to a cooling machine. After that, in the koji room, the steamed rice is inoculated with yellow koji mold to make koji. On this day, the temperature in the koji room was 33°C and the humidity was 50%. Since the outside temperature was 12°C, I was surprised at the difference in the indoor environment at first.
It is possible to steam up to 350 kg of rice at a time. The steamed rice is loosened in a cooling machine and cooled to the optimum temperature depending on the purpose.
In the koji room, the rice is mixed by hand so that the sprinkled koji mold adheres to the entire surface of the rice.
Next, water, koji and yeast are added to steamed rice to make the "shubo" (starter yeast). After this, more steamed rice, koji and water are added and thoroughly stirred to promote fermentation, resulting in moromi (unrefined sake mash).
Generally, the preparation of moromi is done in three stages, and it takes four days to prepare.
Next, we moved to the brewery to check out the final stage of mash, which has been fermented for about 20 to 25 days. Inside the brewery, the temperature was a crisp 9℃, but the sweet and fruity aroma of ginjo sake filled the air, creating a somewhat comfortable atmosphere.
Mash in a tank. The bubbles visible on the surface are the carbon dioxide gas that is produced at the same time as alcohol is produced by the action of yeast.
Finally, the alcohol content of the moromi rises to about 16%. After that, the sake is separated from the sake lees using a press, and after filtering, pasteurization, and adding water, it is bottled and shipped. There is also a primitive type of sake called "unfiltered raw sake" that is bottled without going through the final process.
In the brewery, the mashes for various sake qualities, carefully selected based on the sake rice, the rice paddies, and the rice polishing ratio (the degree to which the rice is polished), were breathing quietly.
Brewing sake suited to northern gourmet cuisine using the bounty of Hokkaido
This was the end of Fukunari's brewing experience. After it was over, we spoke to the master brewer, Ryuichi Koiwa, about the particularities of Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery.
On the right is the chief brewer, Mr. Koiwa. In the koji room, the rice is piled in the center to activate the koji mold, and a cloth is placed over it to keep it warm.
Koiwa-san: "First of all, the brewing water and sake rice are made from ingredients from Hokkaido. There are many nationally famous brands of Hokkaido rice, such as "Yumepirika" and "Nanatsuboshi". Hokkaido is the second largest rice producer in Japan after Niigata Prefecture. In recent years, high-quality sake rice native to Hokkaido has become popular among sake brewers.
Also, because I am originally from Hokkaido, I want to increase the brand power of local food and agriculture, and I also want to contribute to the local community. On top of that, in order to make the most of the appeal of the rice, we do not add any brewing alcohol, and all of the brands we make are pure rice sake. Furthermore, I want to make sake that is "drinkable (you can't help but drink it)" that is suited to Hokkaido's gourmet food."
Steamed rice for "Ginpu." Koiwa says using local sake rice is environmentally friendly and makes sense from a shipping perspective.
Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery produces a variety of brands of sake of different qualities, but the reason why Kamikawa is only available in this region is because they want people to actually come to Kamikawa Town to brew it.
Koiwa-san: "One reason is that we can't mass-produce due to our facilities and resources, but more than that, we want Kamikawa to be one of the reasons people visit Kamikawa. You can view the brewery through a window (October to July. Tours may not be possible during periods of heavy snowfall), and you can sample the sake at the gift shop attached to the brewery, so if you come to Kamikawa, we hope you'll stop by the brewery."
"Midorikyugura Gift Shop." Please note that the "Kamikawa" bottles sold at this store are for display purposes only, so please ask the staff for information on where to purchase the product.
Midorikyuzo Gift Shop
| address | ： | 25-1 Asahimachi, Kamikawa-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido |
|---|---|---|
| phone | ： | 01658-7-7380 |
| business hours | ： | 10:00-16:00 (summer), 10:00-15:00 (winter) |
| Closed Day | ： | Irregular holidays (please contact the shop for details) |
| web | ： | https://kamikawa-taisetsu.co.jp/ryokkyu/ |
Aiming for "100% Kamikawa" cheese made with lactic acid bacteria from sake breweries
In addition to producing and selling sake, the Kamikawa Taisetsu Sake Brewery group also operates a cheese factory and a restaurant, promoting Hokkaido cuisine in Kamikawa Town and elsewhere. We visited one of these establishments, the newly established cheese factory "KAMIKAWA KITCHEN," located about a three-minute drive from Midorigaokagura.
"KAMIKAWA KITCHEN" is located in a warm and welcoming building renovated from a red brick warehouse built in the early Showa period.
The launch of "KAMIKAWA KITCHEN" was triggered when the operator of "Kamikawa Daisetsu Sake Brewery" became the designated manager of the town's local production and consumption center, "Kamikawa Town Food Exchange Center." In order to make and promote cheese using raw milk from the town, the center was renovated and turned into a cheese factory.
There is also an eat-in space in the store where you can enjoy light meals such as pizza.
The store is scheduled to open in November 2022. Initially, it was only open on weekends, but from Golden Week in 2023, it will be open from Thursday to Monday, and continues to do so to this day. The store's biggest goal is to make cheese from 100% raw milk squeezed in Kamikawa Town using lactic acid bacteria produced during the sake brewing process.
The specialty is the matured semi-hard "Kamikawa Cheese" (50g 450 yen, 100g 850 yen, flakes 550 yen)
Raw milk from the regular route is processed into milk together with milk from other areas, so it is extremely rare to have milk that is 100% produced within the town. Just like "Kamikawa", "KAMIKAWA KITCHEN" offers deliciousness that can only be tasted here.
Since several different types of lactic acid bacteria are used, you can enjoy the difference in taste by comparing different products.
For cheese, they also have fresh "Kamikawa Mozzarella Cheese" (540 yen) and "Pressed Mozzarella Cheese" (700 yen for 100g), and for dairy products, they have two kinds of yogurt (350 yen each) and cream cheese cake (plain, strawberry / 320 yen each). There is also food such as pizza (from 1,200 yen) made from scratch and baked to order, so it's full of delicious delicacies. It's a great place to look for souvenirs, and a great place to eat.
*Currently, we are not selling sake brewery lactobacillus cheese.
KAMIKAWA KITCHEN
| address | ： | 189-3 Kitamachi, Kamikawa-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido |
|---|---|---|
| phone | ： | 01658-7-7201 |
| business hours | ： | 10:00～16:00 |
| Closed Day | ： | Tuesday, Wednesday |
Hokkaido Italian restaurant where you can enjoy the beautiful snow-capped peaks and landscapes
The other place is just under a 15-minute drive from "Ryokugyakugura" into the plateau. "Daisetsu Mori no Garden" is a hilltop overlooking the Daisetsu Mountain Range, where seasonal flowers and lush greenery grow. We will introduce "Fratello di Mikuni", an auberge that blends into this beautiful landscape.
Located at an altitude of about 600m, the majestic peaks during the day and the starry sky at night will transport you to a mysterious world.
The restaurant opened on Tanabata in 2013. Chef Mikuni Kiyomi, a master of French cuisine from Mashike, Hokkaido, and Chef Horikawa Hideki, a leading authority on Italian cuisine in Hokkaido, are overseeing the restaurant with the theme of "Hokkaido cuisine that can be enjoyed around the world," and Chef Miyamoto Yoshitomo, who honed his skills under them, is in charge of the kitchen.
The restaurant was awarded one star in the "Michelin Guide Hokkaido 2017 Special Edition." Chef Miyamoto and the restaurant have also overseen the in-flight meals for JAL domestic first class flights.
There are two courses for both lunch (from 3,850 yen) and dinner (from 8,250 yen), and the dishes are created using seasonal ingredients from the mountains and seas of Hokkaido, with a focus on Kamikawa. Guests staying in the villa just below can also enjoy dinner and breakfast here.
The interior is based on the world-famous "Asahikawa Furniture" made from oak and Japanese cedar from Hokkaido. The view of the Daisetsuzan mountain range beyond the window and the lively atmosphere of the open kitchen are also appealing.
In addition to the dishes supervised by the restaurant, "Daisetsu Mori no Garden" also has the popular Kamikawa Daisetsu Cafe "Ryokkyu Sabo", which serves gelato and curry rice made with sake lees from the brewery. You can also enjoy strolling through the gardens and forests, so it is also recommended for those who want to directly interact with nature.
Fratello di Mikuni
| address | ： | Hokkaido, Kamikawa-gun, Kamikawa-cho, Kikusui Asahigaoka |
|---|---|---|
| phone | ： | 01658-2-3921 |
| business hours | ： | Lunch: 11:30-14:00 Dinner: 18:00-20:00 *Reservations must be made at least one day in advance, and are for 2 or more people. |
| Closed Day | ： | Tuesday |
| web | ： | https://fratello-di-mikuni.com |
Experience the charm of Kamikawa with a first sunrise flight or trip
Hokkaido is a vast region where you can enjoy a variety of natural blessings in each region, but Kamikawa Town is also full of spectacular views and delicious food and drinks that you can only find here. We hope you will experience the charm of this town on the "First Sunrise Flight to Mt. Fuji," and we hope you will also use this article as a reference to visit the "Garden Where the Gods Play."
2024 First Sunrise Flight to Mt. Fuji - Enjoy the first sunrise from the sky! -
*Some content was updated on December 26, 2023.
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The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
