The cold air of the newly dawned day stings my skin. Morning comes early in the brewery.

At Takeuchi Sake Brewery in Ishibe, Konan City, steam is already rising from a large steamer.

Ishibe was a town that welcomed many travelers as an inn town on the 53rd leg of the Tokaido Highway during the Edo period. As the phrase "Kyotachi Ishibe Hatsuyomari" (Kyotachi Ishibe first night) suggests, it is said that travelers stayed there for the first night after departing from Kyoto to recover from fatigue. The sake drunk in Ishibe was so delicious that people refrained from telling others about it lest it become too popular and become unavailable, hence the name "sake without talking.
The flavor is created by the subterranean water of the Suzuka Mountains, the rich local rice of Omi, and the climate of Ishibe.

［Takeuchi Sake Brewery was founded in 1872. Even though the Edo period gave way to the Meiji era, the atmosphere of an inn town probably remained. And the taste of sake that made travelers' mouths water was the same then as it is now.
Takeuchi Sake Brewery has been brewing sake for about 150 years. ［Takeuchi Sake Brewery] has inherited Ishibe's sake brewing tradition, which was loved as "sake without words.

The sake brewery was surprisingly neat and tidy, and the craftsmen were working diligently. What was to be placed where, who was to do what next, and so on were all decided without a word. Everything is decided without any words, and the work proceeds one after the other with a "A-Un" spirit.

The company's philosophy, written on a piece of paper on the wall, is "to brew good sake with harmony and to continue to inspire people. This is the company's philosophy written on a piece of paper on the wall. True to these words, the teamwork of the brewers is evident as the rice is taken out of the steamer, passed through the cooler, and then transferred to the next stage of the brewing process.

The representative brand "Kou no Izumi" has been produced since the establishment of the company. Tadasada" was created eight years ago with the aim of creating the ultimate food sake. What these two brands have in common is a crispness that lets you fully appreciate the umami flavor. Our goal is to make sake that is full-flavored and crisp. To achieve this, it is important to bring out the umami of the rice in the sake," says Naoto Nakamura, the young 42-year-old master brewer.

［Takeuchi Sake Brewery uses different rice for different brands of sake, but they use mostly rice grown in Shiga Prefecture, such as Ginfukiyuki, Tamakoe, and Watabune. We make sake by taking advantage of the local climate and ingredients. Ishibe's dry winters are ideal for koji making," he says. This is Nakamura's seventh year brewing sake in Ishibe, coming from Akita Prefecture every winter. He feels that he is getting a good response.

We have both dry and sweet sake. We want beginners who are not familiar with sake to try our sake," said Taizo Matsumoto, managing director of the company. There is even a sake named "Otoko-no-back. The lineup is characterized not only by sake drinking, but also by a playful spirit of enjoyment.

Sake consumption is decreasing. That is why we are trying to make sake available to as many people as possible so that they can experience the taste of sake. Liqueurs and sparkling sake are also popular these days.
Of course, Mr. Matsumoto is a big sake lover. His love for sake overflows, and he creates products that are in tune with the times.
In a borax tank in the back of the brewery, the sake continues to grow quietly, mumbling.

The "sake without words" has become so famous that it has regularly won gold medals at the National New Sake Competition. However, the attitude toward sake brewing has not changed over the past 150 years. The hospitality and hospitality of the inn town that entertains people is still alive today.

■ Shiga Prefecture
［Ogawa Sake Shop] 077-524-2203 1-31, 2-chome, Hamaotsu, Otsu City
［Kato Sake Shop] 077-22-4546 13-1 Kinoshita-cho, Otsu City
［Tokuchi Sake Shop] 526-3, Shimokasa-cho, Kusatsu-shi, Kusatsu
［Takatsu Sake Shop] 1-18-2 Nomura, Kusatsu-shi, Kusatsu
［Kintetsu Department Store Kusatsu] 077-564-1111 1-1-50 Shibukawa, Kusatsu City
［AOKIYA] 1317-3 Harimada-cho, Moriyama City, 777-582-2522
［Doi Sake Shop Wainya] 0748-33-9408 327-4, Nakamomori-cho, Omihachiman City
［Takedasakaten] 0748-77-2273 3-5-12 Ishibe Chuo, Konan City
［Sake wholesaler Nakamura] 0748-77-3839 2-6-30 Ishibe Higashi, Konan City
［Marufuku] 2200 Fukagawa, Konan-cho, Koka-shi, Koka, Japan
［Masuya Sake Shop] 2071 Fukagawa, Konan-cho, Koka City, Koka Prefecture
［Hinoya Sake Shop] 220 Kitaduchiyama, Tsuchiyama-cho, Koka City, Koka Prefecture, Japan 0748-66-0092
［Sazanami Sake Shop] 0749-22-1201 10-4 Sawa-cho, Hikone City
［Sake Shop Maetani] 0749-22-0575 5-10 Funamachi, Hikone City

■ Kyoto Prefecture
［Nishimura Sake Shop] 075-781-3049 3 Kubota-cho, Kita-Shirakawa, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City
［Takimoto] 075-341-9111 Rokujo-dori, Takakura-higashi-iru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City
［Liquor Inn SHIMA］075-841-0026 18 Mibu-Sennen-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City
［Osaki Shoten] 075-601-0137 479 Misuhan-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City
［Sagawa Sake Shop] 075-611-1188 12-318 Shinmachi, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto
［Kitamura Sake Food Store] 075-982-8935 14-111 Yawata Kakigaya, Yawata City
［Kikuya] 075-981-0553 2-1 Otokoyama Takezono, Yawata City
［MARUMAN SHOTEN］0774-52-3582 92-4 Terada Kitayamada, Joyo City
［TAGAI SAKE STORE] 075-951-2836 29-1, Tojo, Okukaiji, Nagaokakyo City
［Yamashita Sake Shop] 0773-76-0127 1517 Kuratani, Maizuru City