The Side Storehouse
Set just south of the brewery shop and turned at a right angle to it, the side storehouse is the smallest of the three Nishioka buildings on the national register. Its near-windowless walls were built to keep milled rice safe; today the space serves as a gallery.
This storehouse stands south of the Nishioka shop in Makabe, its ridge crossing that of the shop at a right angle. It is a clay-walled dozo of two full stories, roofed in clay pantile, with a floor area of about 50 square meters, the most compact of the brewery's three registered structures.
The plan measures five bays by three, built in the gabled, eaves-entry form, with the single doorway set on the north face. Few windows break the walls, giving the building the sealed, protective character of a storehouse meant to guard its contents. Local records place it in the early Meiji period.
A Listed Storehouse and Its Street
The side storehouse was entered on the national register of Tangible Cultural Properties on August 28, 2001, together with the brewery shop and rice storehouse. Registration is the lighter of Japan's heritage categories, set apart from the stricter designation reserved for National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties, and it protects the wider body of buildings that define a town such as Makabe.
Along the eastern street, the storehouse is counted among the elements that shape the row of historic facades. As a white-rice storehouse it once held the milled rice ready for brewing, a function that placed it close to the working heart of the sake house.
What to See
The side storehouse has been refitted as a gallery, and it is among the brewery spaces where visitors are received. Its closed, almost blank exterior is itself worth a look: the deep plaster, the small number of openings, and the doorway facing the street show how storehouses were built to resist fire and theft.
Read together with the larger rice storehouse beside it, the pair form the brewery's recognizable street corner. The granite marker in front notes the registration, and the on-site shop carries the Hananoi sake.
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Visitor Questions
- Why does this storehouse have so few windows?
- It was a white-rice storehouse, built to protect milled rice and other goods from fire, damp, and theft. Thick plastered walls and very few openings were the usual way to keep a storehouse secure.
- Can visitors go inside?
- The space has been turned into a gallery, so it is generally open when exhibitions or events are on, unlike many private storehouses in the district that can only be seen from the street.
- How does it relate to the other Nishioka buildings?
- It stands beside the brewery shop and the larger rice storehouse, all registered together in 2001. The side storehouse held white rice, while the rice storehouse held brown rice.
- Is the brewery still working?
- Yes. The Nishioka family still brews the Hananoi sake here. The shop is used as the office, and tours of the brewing rooms can be booked in advance.
- How do I get to Makabe?
- There is no train service to the town now. Most visitors drive, about 20 to 25 minutes from the Sakuragawa-Chikusei interchange, or take a local bus from JR Iwase Station on the Mito Line.
Basic Information
| Name | Nishioka Honten Side Storehouse (西岡本店脇蔵) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6-1 Ta, Makabe-machi, Sakuragawa City, Ibaraki Prefecture |
| Category | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Registered | August 28, 2001 (gazetted September 14, 2001) |
| Count | 1 building |
| Structure | Two-story clay-walled storehouse (dozo), pantile roof |
| Floor area | Approx. 50 m2 |
| Period | Meiji period (1868-1911); early Meiji per local records |
| Access and viewing | Used as a gallery, generally open to visitors; on-site sake shop; brewing tours by reservation |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Database of Cultural Properties: Nishioka Honten Side Storehouse
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00002206
- Cultural Heritage Online (NII): Nishioka Honten Side Storehouse
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/178426
- Kabushiki-gaisha Nishioka Honten (Hananoi), official site
- https://hananoi.jp/
- Sakuragawa City Tourism Association: Makabe and its registered cultural properties
- https://www.kankou-sakuragawa.jp/page/page000255.html
Last verified: 2026.06.25