Hokusetsu: A Top Brewery on Japan’s “Sake Island”

Culture

The climate, water, and rice on the island of Sado are all perfect for making sake. The Hokusetsu brewery has been in the business for over 150 years and today is carving out new fame as the sole supplier to the high-end Nobu chain of Japanese restaurants.

The Hokusetsu sake brewery boasts a history of more than a century and a half. It is based in a charming building in the southwest of Sado, an island in the Sea of Japan off the west coast of Niigata Prefecture.

After stepping through the entrance curtain, I talk to brewer Chikuzen Yoshimi. Despite the traditional Japanese atmosphere and relatively remote location, she tells me that a surprisingly high 20%–30% of the brewery’s sales are exports. “They all go to the same restaurant chain, though,” she adds.

The brewery building includes a shop at the front. Farther inside are the brewery itself, tanks, and a storage area.

Nobu’s Exclusive Supplier

Hokusetsu’s foreign buyer is the Nobu chain of Japanese restaurants, which are popular dining spots for celebrities around the world. The company was founded by chef Matsuhisa “Nobu” Nobuyuki and Hollywood star Robert De Niro. Their relationship goes back around 30 years and has even led to small film roles for Matsuhisa. Rock musician Yazawa Eikichi recommended the brewery to the chef after falling in love with the sake when he received it as a gift from a fan.

Hokusetsu’s Nobu brand of sake.

Hazu Fumio, the Hokusetsu company president, first met Matsuhisa in 1994. This was in the establishment named after the chef, which was then the hottest venue for Japanese cuisine in Beverley Hills, California.

At the time, the export business was unknown territory for Hokusetsu. Matsuhisa asked for an exclusive deal. He wanted to monopolize the brewery’s exquisite taste for his own restaurants, although he only had two then: Matsuhisa Beverly Hills and Nobu New York City. In return, he promised that the restaurants would not sell any other kind of sake. Struck by the chef’s personality and determination, Hazu immediately shook on the deal.

“There wasn’t much of a foreign market for sake then,” Hokusetsu director Nakagawa Yasuo recalls. “It was generally served hot overseas, and the best sake [almost always enjoyed chilled] didn’t go for export. This was when our relationship with the Nobu chain began. Now it’s important for us to brew a product that matches the high quality of Nobu’s cuisine.”

Hokusetsu director Nakagawa Yasuo is all smiles as he chats about his brewery’s export success.

The Nobu group has grown to comprise more than 40 businesses, including not just restaurants but hotels and fully serviced residences as well. This has contributed greatly to Hokusetsu’s bottom line. As the friendship between Hazu, Matsuhisa, and De Niro has deepened, the actor is now said to refer to Sado affectionately as “Sake Island.”

A photograph on display in the shop shows (from left) Hokusetsu President Hazu Fumio, chef Matsuhisa Nobuyuki, and Robert De Niro.

Chikuzen wanted to see where the sake she made was drunk, so she made a trip to Nobu in New York. “I felt nervous in such a high-end restaurant, but when the staff heard that I worked for Hokusetsu, they looked after me really well.  I was so touched that Nobu treated our little island brewery as a valued partner. Watching the customers happily enjoying their sake, I felt tears rising to my eyes.”

Chikuzen Yoshimi stands outside the entrance curtain.

next: Crested Ibises a Symbol of Rice Quality

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