Sake Matsuri

Overview

The Sake Matsuri is a festival celebrating sake, held every October in Saijo-cho, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture. Set in Saijo, a sake capital counted alongside Fushimi in Kyoto and Nada in Hyogo as one of the Three Great Sake Regions of Japan, it is known as an event where visitors can taste hundreds of brands of sake gathered from across the country, and it is one of the leading autumn events of the Chugoku region, drawing several hundred thousand visitors over two days. The venue is the sake brewery district around JR Saijo Station, and admission is free.

The festival is made up of several venues. There is the Sake Hiroba, where about 800 brands of sake from across Japan gather, a Bishunabe venue where visitors can enjoy Saijo's famous local hot pot, and a Sake Brewery venue where visitors tour the actual breweries. Alongside the sake there are music stages and many food stalls. Being able to enjoy at once the scenery and the flavors unique to a sake-brewing town is the greatest charm of this festival.

History and Origins

The Sake Matsuri was born from the merger of the Minna no Matsuri, which began in 1979 (Showa 54), and the Saijo Sake Matsuri that the Saijo Sake Brewers Association had held since around 1972. It has developed with the aims of promoting harmony and community awareness among citizens, of sending out to the whole country a joyful festival with sake as its symbol, and of contributing to tourism. Although a relatively new festival, behind it lies the long history of sake brewing that Saijo has built over many years.

The foundation for Saijo becoming known as a sake capital was laid by Miura Senzaburo, a brewer born in Akitsu-cho in Higashihiroshima. In 1898 (Meiji 31), Miura established the soft-water brewing method. Soft water, which is low in minerals, ferments only slowly and was once considered unsuited to sake brewing, but Miura refined the brewing process to make it possible to produce fine sake even with soft water. This technical breakthrough became the decisive turning point that raised water-blessed Saijo into a great sake-brewing region.

Thus Saijo grew into one of the Three Great Sake Regions of Japan, alongside Fushimi in Kyoto and Nada in Hyogo. The name shuto, or sake capital, is said to have been coined by the haiku poet Kawahigashi Hekigoto. It is thought that fine groundwater, together with the climatic conditions peculiar to a basin that grows cold even within the mild Setouchi region, produced land well suited to sake brewing.

In front of Saijo Station spreads the Sake Brewery Street, where breweries with red-brick chimneys and namako-kabe plaster walls stand in a row. This scenery of historic breweries is cherished as a townscape symbolizing the sake capital of Saijo, and the Sake Matsuri is held every year as a place where citizens and visitors from across the country share this tradition of sake brewing and the history of the town.

Highlights

The Sake Hiroba, where sake from across Japan gathers　The greatest attraction is the Sake Hiroba, where some 800 brands of sake from across the country come together in one place. With a dedicated ticket, visitors can compare and taste fine sake from various regions, making it a precious opportunity to sample at once the products of brewers one would not normally encounter. For sake lovers, a place to compare so many brands is rare even nationwide, and it is the festival's emblematic event.

Saijo's famous Bishunabe　Bishunabe is a local dish unique to Saijo, said to have originated as a meal cooked for brewery workers. Chicken and vegetables are simmered using an abundance of sake, giving it a deep flavor characteristic of a sake town. A dedicated Bishunabe venue is set up at the festival, where visitors can enjoy this famous dish along with sake, experiencing the sake capital not only by drinking but also through food.

The Sake Brewery Street and brewery venues　Along the Sake Brewery Street at the heart of the venue, breweries with red-brick chimneys and namako-kabe walls stand in rows, creating scenery full of the charm unique to the sake capital of Saijo. During the festival the actual breweries are opened as venues, where visitors can taste the brewers' sake while sensing the atmosphere of the brewing sites. That the historic townscape itself serves as the stage of the festival is a charm not found in other sake events.

Music stages and varied events　At the main venue, events such as music stages and singing stages are held, and many food stalls line up. Beyond tasting sake, there are attractions that families can enjoy, retaining strongly the character of a festival that began as a citizens' event. The two days, enveloped in the excitement of the sake capital, fill the whole town with a festive air.

The harvest moon and the Path of Lights　The Sake Matsuri is often held around the time of the harvest moon, and events such as the Path of Lights, in which lights are lit along the Sake Brewery Street at night, are sometimes held. The townscape of breweries illuminated by lights, different from the daytime bustle, is enchanting and lets visitors enjoy another face of the sake capital of Saijo.

Event Information and Access

The Sake Matsuri is held every October over two days, with the sake brewery district around JR Saijo Station as its venue. In 2026 it is scheduled for October 10 (Saturday) and 11 (Sunday). Admission is free, but some events such as the Sake Hiroba require a dedicated ticket. It is organized by the Higashihiroshima City Tourism Association, with the Sake Matsuri Executive Committee as the managing body.

Because the dates, venue layout, and ticket sale details vary from year to year, please be sure to check the latest announcements of the official Sake Matsuri website and the Higashihiroshima City Tourism Association before visiting. Access is immediate from Saijo Station on the JR Sanyo Main Line, with the Sake Brewery Street spreading out in front of the station. As traffic is restricted in the area during the festival, use of public transportation is recommended.

Around the Area

The Sake Brewery Street that serves as the venue is a sightseeing spot to enjoy strolling even outside the festival season. Several breweries such as Kamotsuru, Kirei, Hakubotan, and Fukubijin gather here, and the townscape of continuous red-brick chimneys and namako-kabe walls is cherished as scenery representative of the sake capital of Saijo. Many breweries offer tours, tastings, and sales, allowing visitors to experience sake culture throughout the year.

Higashihiroshima is also an academic city that hosts a campus of Hiroshima University, a town where youthful energy and the historic tradition of sake brewing coexist. With good access of about thirty minutes by JR Sanyo Main Line from central Hiroshima, many people visit it in combination with sightseeing in Hiroshima. In a region nurtured by the mild Setouchi climate, local ingredients can be enjoyed along with sake.

Besides the famous Bishunabe, Higashihiroshima has a deeply rooted local food culture. Many people choose Saijo sake as a souvenir, and limited-edition sake is sometimes sold during the festival season. Souvenirs and flavors unique to a sake capital are one of the pleasures of a visit.

Related Information

• Official name: Sake Matsuri
• Location: Saijo-cho, Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture (around JR Saijo Station / Sake Brewery Street)
• Timing: two days every October (free admission / some events paid)
• Status: a sake festival set in Saijo, one of the Three Great Sake Regions of Japan
• Origin: the 1979 merger of the Minna no Matsuri and the Saijo Sake Matsuri
• Foundation of the sake capital: Miura Senzaburo established the soft-water brewing method in 1898
• Main venues: Sake Hiroba (about 800 brands), Bishunabe venue, Sake Brewery venue, and others

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