On the Eastern Edge
The Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse (鈴木酒造店北蔵, Suzuki Shuzōten Kitagura) in Nagano, Daisen City, Akita Prefecture, is a brewing storehouse built in 1897 at a working sake brewery, and became a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 3 April 2020. It is a single-storey Dozo-zukuri building with a metal-sheet roof, covering 69 square metres.
Despite the name, it does not stand at the north end of the site but midway along its eastern edge. A door in its west wall leads into the middle storehouse, and it is about 13 metres long. The pressing room once sat between the two, which made the north storehouse the working heart of brewing at Suzuki Sake Brewery.
Why It Was Registered
The Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse was registered as a building that contributes to the historic landscape.
The pressing room, or funaba, is where fermented mash is loaded into a press box, the fune, and squeezed to separate the sake from the lees: the last critical step in brewing. Standing beside it is what made this storehouse central to the operation. The brewery says it still presses with a fully lacquered wooden press, so that stage of the work continues in the compound today.
A Beam Cut from One Curved Tree
The roof of the Suzuki Sake Brewery north storehouse is framed in the Japanese Wagoya manner, with a great beam running down the centre line of its length. That beam is a single curved timber put to clever use, a detail the Agency for Cultural Affairs points out.
Using a tree's natural bend as a beam is a wagoya technique that brings into the structure a shape no sawn straight timber can give. If you get inside, look up at the beam arching overhead.
From outside it is a single-storey storehouse, lower than the two-storey front and middle storehouses, tucked in beside the middle storehouse on the east side.
Visiting
The Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse is part of a working brewery and cannot be entered freely. The storehouses are shown on Suzuki Sake Brewery's paid, reservation-only tour, but the official description does not say which ones. If you want to see the curved beam, say so when booking, and check with the guide about photography.
Tour times, fees and directions are on the Suzuki Sake Brewery page.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Akita
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse
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Q&A
- Why is the Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse on the east side of the site?
- Published sources do not explain the name. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes the building as standing midway along the eastern edge of the site.
- When was the Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse built?
- In 1897. It was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on 3 April 2020.
- What should I look for in the Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse?
- The great beam down the centre of the wagoya roof frame, made from a single curved timber.
- What was the Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse used for?
- The pressing room once stood between it and the middle storehouse, making it the working heart of brewing.
- Where is the Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse and how do I get there?
- It is inside the Suzuki Sake Brewery compound in Nagano, Daisen City, Akita Prefecture. It stands midway along the eastern edge of the site. Ugo-Nagano Station on the JR Tazawako Line is about a 10-minute walk away.
Basic Information
| Name | Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse (鈴木酒造店北蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 9 Futsukamachi, Nagano, Daisen City, Akita Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (building) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2020/4/3 (Reiwa 2) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Dozo-zukuri, single-storey; metal-sheet roof; building area 69 square metres |
| Owner | Suzuki Sake Brewery Partnership (合名会社鈴木酒造店) |
| Public Access | Working brewery; ask when booking the paid tour whether it is included |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, Database of National Cultural Properties: Suzuki Sake Brewery North Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00013213
- Hideyoshi, Suzuki Sake Brewery: Brewery Tours
- https://www.hideyoshi.co.jp/tour/
- Daisen City: Nationally Designated and Registered Cultural Properties
- https://www.city.daisen.lg.jp/archive/contents-1884
Last verified: 2026.09.26
