Hakutsuru Superior Junmai Ginjo: Nada Since 1743, and the Water That Made It

We already pour Hakutsuru Sayuri, the nigori named after a little lily. This is the same brewery's dry, food-focused bottle, and it is a good excuse to explain Nada.

Nada

Hakutsuru has been brewing in Nada since 1743.

Nada is a stretch of coastline in Kobe that produces a large share of all the sake in Japan, and it has held that position for centuries. Three things put it there.

Miyamizu. This is the important one. Miyamizu is spring water from the Nishinomiya area, discovered in the 1840s to make dramatically better sake than the water a few kilometers away. It is hard water, high in phosphorus and potassium and low in iron. Phosphorus and potassium feed the yeast and koji mold, so fermentation runs strong and complete. Iron ruins sake, giving it off colors and off flavors, so its absence matters as much as the minerals present.

Rice. Nada sits next to Hyogo's rice country, which grows the best Yamada Nishiki in Japan.

Cold. Winter winds come down off Mount Rokko into the breweries, and low temperatures are what allow the slow, controlled fermentation that premium sake needs.

Hakutsuru describes brewing this bottle with Nada's Miyamizu, using traditional methods, and that combination of hard water and centuries of toji tradition is what defines the regional style: dry, firm, structured. Nada sake was historically called otokozake, men's sake, in contrast to the softer Fushimi style from Kyoto.

What Junmai Ginjo Means

Two words, two separate pieces of information.

Junmai means pure rice: only rice, water, koji and yeast, with no distilled alcohol added. Adding a small amount of brewer's alcohol is a legitimate technique that lifts aroma, but junmai excludes it.

Ginjo is a milling threshold. The rice must be polished to 60% or less, meaning at least 40% of each grain is removed before brewing.

Polishing matters because a rice grain is not uniform. The starch that ferments cleanly sits at the center. The outer layers hold protein, fat and minerals, which produce heavier, coarser flavors. Milling them away is how sake gets its clean, fragrant, delicate character.

This bottle sits right at the ginjo line, 60%, which keeps some of the rice character rather than chasing pure aromatics.

What It Tastes Like

Flowery on the nose, then blueberry, melon and pear, with a silky, well-balanced body and a dry, smooth finish. It is 14.5% ABV.

The dryness is the Nada signature. This is built to sit alongside food rather than to be admired on its own.

How to Drink It

Chilled or at room temperature, both of which Hakutsuru recommends.

Cold sharpens the dryness. Room temperature opens the rice and the melon note. Worth trying both from the same bottle, since the difference is larger than people expect.

Pair It With

Sashimi, grilled white fish, yuzu salmon tataki. Anything clean where the dryness can reset the palate.

Try It at Juraku

Hakutsuru Superior Junmai Ginjo is on the sake list at Izakaya Juraku, Lower East Side, alongside Sayuri. Check the current menu or ask us what is open.