Something else that will warm you up is the region’s ‘snow drink’. Snow also plays an integral role in the region’s sake, Japan’s national alcoholic drink—and Niigata’s sake is amongst the best in the country, with over 90 sake breweries, many of which are open for tours. In the coastal city of Itoigawa, a 55-kilometer (34-mile) drive west of Myoko-shi and just two hours by train from Tokyo, I visit the oldest one, Kaganoi, which has been producing sake since 1650.
“Snow makes really good-quality sake, because the water is so clean,” says Hisahiro Kobayashi, whose family founded and still operate the brewery. “The main characteristics of Niigata sake is that it’s smooth, clear and dry, rather than sweet.” Kaganoi was being rebuilt after a serious fire during my visit, but will be open again—and welcoming visitors—by summer 2018.
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Kobayashi’s comments are echoed at the award-winning Kiminoi brewery in Myoko-shi, home of the region’s famous Kanzuri chilli paste. Founded in 1842, Kiminoi was a favorite watering hole of Japan’s Emperor Meiji who reigned from 1867-1912, earning it the nickname ‘Emperor’s Well’.
The atmospheric brewery building has remained largely unchanged, with its black-tiled roof and wooden beams. “All our rice comes from Niigata, some from our own fields,” Makoto Kiga, whose family run the brewery, tells me. “And we only use water from our own well, which comes from snow melt and has a lot of minerals.” He pours out generous tasters of his beautifully smooth, clean-tasting and dangerously easy-to-drink sake.
