Wherever delicious water springs from the earth, you'll find excellent sake breweries. Matsuoka, home of Kokuryu, is one of the best sake regions in Japan. This small town boasted as many as 17 breweries a hundred years ago.
The reason lies in the pure snowmelt water from the Hakusan mountain range. This water flows into the Kuzuryu River, Fukui's biggest, attracting anglers from around the country for its delicate sweetfish and cherry salmon. The Hakusan water also flows subterraneously, filtering drop by drop through layers of ancient rock, to well up after many years under Matsuoka.
From mountains to earth, Kuzuryu's water percolates through filters created by nature. It is pristine and soft, light and supple on the palate.
It's this water that is vital to the clear, mellow flavor of Kokuryu's ginjo sakes.
