Inuyama Sake Brewery Tour with Nindoshu Tasting, Bottle Sealing and Custom Label Making
Kojima Jozo in Inuyama, Aichi is a licensed brewery, but they have never made ordinary sake. Since 1597 they have made one thing: Nindoshu, a liqueur brewed from Japanese honeysuckle and rice grown in Inuyama. Tour the cellars, taste 4–5 pours including unfiltered Nindoshu, then seal and hand-label two bottles — one home with you the same day, one laid down in the cellar to age.
- 90 mins
- 1-6 Participants
- Inuyama, Aichi
- Moderate
★★★★★
?? Reviews on Trip Advisor
From
¥ 22,000
Per Person
- Shared brewery tour at Kojima Jozo, brewing since 1597 with English Interpreter
- Guided tasting of 4–5 pours, including unfiltered Nindoshu
- Bottle sealing and custom label making on the brewery's hand press
- 2 bottles: 1 home with you, 1 aged in the cellar
- Registered Tangible Cultural Property, not open to the public
Experience Overview
Kojima Jozo in Inuyama, Aichi is a licensed sake brewery, but they have never made ordinary sake. Since 1597 they have made one thing: Nindoshu, a liqueur brewed from suikazura — Japanese honeysuckle — and rice grown in Inuyama.
Step into cellars protected as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, where the historic equipment stands where it was left and ceramic jars sit sunk into the earthen floor, buried so the ground itself held the temperature steady. Taste four to five pours, including unfiltered Nindoshu drawn before filtering and the family’s fruit-infused expressions.
You then seal the bottles yourself on the brewery’s hand press — the cast-iron capper they still use daily. Cap two bottles, and hand-write your own labels. One comes home with you the same day. The second is laid down in the cellar under your name to mature for at least two years — poured for you when you return to Inuyama, or shipped to you once it is ready.
The recipe has never been written down. It passes to a single heir in each generation, by word of mouth, and it has never left the house.
From the Journal
The recipe has never been written down. For four centuries it has been spoken once a generation, to a single child — and this generation has decided that is no longer safe enough.
We spent a day at Kojima Jōzō with the fifteenth generation: the origin story the family tells, the 1837 domain ledger that shows how large this house once was, the jars buried in the earthen floor, and the decision to finally record what has only ever been remembered.
The Recipe That Was Never Written Down: Japan’s Last Nindōshu Brewery in Inuyama → https://www.honeyj-tours.com/journal/nindoshu-inuyama-sake-brewery/
Your Experience & Highlights
What to Expect
A Brewery Since 1597
Step inside Kojima Jozo, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in Inuyama's castle town
Taste 4–5 Pours
Sample unfiltered Nindoshu and the family's fruit-infused expressions
Seal and Label by Hand
Cap two bottles on the brewery's hand press, then write your own labels
Lay One Down
One bottle comes home with you; the second ages in the cellar for at least two years, then travels to you or waits for your return
Why Choose This Experience
The Only Brewery Making It
Nindoshu was once made in Hamamatsu and Kishu. Only here has it been made without interruption since 1597
A Recipe Never Written Down
Passed to a single heir each generation, by word of mouth, and never out of the house
Inside a Protected Property
Cellars designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property, not otherwise open to the public
A Bottle Waiting for You
Your second bottle ages under your name — collect it on a return trip to Inuyama, or have it sent to you
Important Details
Know Before You Go
- Duration: 90 mins
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Group Size: 1-6 participants
- Shared Experience
- Food allergies can be accommodated with advance notice. Halal preparation is not available.
- The legal drinking age in Japan is 20. Guests under 20 join the tour, bottle sealing and label making, and take home their bottles in the same way. Nindoshu is 24% alcohol. No non-alcoholic drink is served.
- The aged bottle is not available immediately; aging takes about 2 years. It can be collected on a future visit to Inuyama, or sent by EMS where the destination country permits alcohol imports, at additional cost and subject to local duties.
Cancellation Policy
- 100% charge if cancelled within 23 hours
- 50% charge if cancelled within 2 days
- 20% charge if cancelled within 7 days
- The experience runs in rain. In the event of an official weather warning, we will contact you to discuss options
Meeting Point
小島醸造（犬山忍冬酒) / (宿-SHUKU-)
The brewery and the SHUKU inn share the same historic property.
〒484-0083 Higashikoken-633 Inuyama, Aichi
Note: Located in Inuyama’s castle town, a 10-minute walk from the west exit of Meitetsu Inuyama Station. Inuyama is about 30 minutes by limited express from Meitetsu Nagoya Station.
