Ozawa Brewing Company

Okutama is home to a rich natural environment with deep mountain valleys that is hard to believe is Tokyo. Ozawa Sake Brewery, which has a brewery in this area, has a long history, and although the exact year it was founded is unknown, it is recorded in ancient documents as a long-established brewery dating back to the middle of the Edo period, in 1702 (Genroku 15). . The representative brand “Sawanoi” comes from the fact that the location was once called “Sawai Village.” “Sawai” is said to have been named after the place where the famous, rich water flows in the form of a stream, and it is said that sake brewing was started because of the abundance of clear water available. Its unique feature is that it is brewed using two different types of water: “medium hard water” that springs from the depths of a cave that was dug by hand into the rock of the Chichibu Paleozoic layer, which is rare even in Japan, and “soft water” that is extracted from a well deep in the mountains about 4 km away. It is used as water. Since water makes up a large proportion of the ingredients in sake, they place special emphasis on water. Some of their products are made using traditional methods such as brewing in wooden barrels and making kimoto, ensuring that sake that takes advantage of Okutama’s natural beauty is passed down to this day. In addition to offering tours of the brewery, there is also a directly managed restaurant and museum attached to the brewery, which is said to be busy on weekends.