Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum

The Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum is a museum in Higashinada Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture, housed in an old Hakutsuru sake storehouse preserved in its original form. Life-size figures are arranged throughout to recreate the traditional sake-brewing process. Access is about a 5-minute walk from Hanshin Railway Sumiyoshi Station, or about a 15-minute walk from JR Kobe Line Sumiyoshi Station. Start by admiring the Taisho-era exterior: a large tiled-roof building where sake was actually brewed until around the mid-Showa 40s (late 1960s to early 1970s). The total floor area is nearly 600 tsubo. Enter on the first floor and tour the steps of brewing in order—rice washing, steaming, cooling, koji making, yeast starter preparation, main mash fermentation and separation, pressing, racking and pasteurization, storage, and barrel filling. At the end, you can sample sake. A must-try specialty here is the “Sakagura Amazake Soft Serve,” made with sweet sake (amazake), offering a clean and elegant flavor. The shop sells popular Hakutsuru products, making it an irresistible spot for sake lovers.