WaterWater
The Blessing of Water, Ichinoya's Challenge
The Northern Alps, often called the "Roof of Japan," stretch across the majestic landscape of Omachi City. This unique region, with peaks soaring over 3,000 meters, is the very source of water, located at the uppermost stream of the Shinano River system. Here, pristine snowmelt seeps into the earth, naturally filtered before emerging as a miraculous water source.
This pure water is the very foundation of Ichinoya's sake brewing. Rare even on a national scale, this natural spring water becomes our brewing water, playing a crucial role in determining the quality of sake, which consists of about 70% water.
But we do not simply rely on this ideal environment-we strive for even greater heights. From the R6BY brewing year, we have renewed our brewing water, adopting a new style that utilizes three different types of water.
A gift from the heavens-Ichinoya continues to evolve alongside numerous water sources. We invite you to experience the breath of Shinano-Omachi's great nature in every single drop.
Supreme Spring Water Born from Nature’s Filter—“Kamishirasawa Subterranean Water”
Melted snow from the Northern Alps undergoes a long natural filtration process, passing through layers of granite and metamorphic rock to form Kamishirasawa Subterranean Water.
Our new partnership with AW Water allows us to source this extraordinary natural water, drawn from 200 meters underground and strictly quality-controlled. It has been recognized globally, winning the Monde Selection Grand Gold Award for three consecutive years as a premium bottled water.
By incorporating this pristine water into our brewing process, we fuse it with traditional craftsmanship to maximize its characteristics, elevating it into an aromatic and profoundly flavorful sake.
Two passions born from the same town have now come together to create a new history. We invite you to savor this ultimate sake, crafted from the blessings of this land.
⑵The Pillar of Ice from the Sky—“Kurobe Hyōjun Water”
Kurobe Hyōjun Water is a natural spring sourced from the crushed rock layers of the Kansai Electric Power Tunnel, originally built during the construction of the Kurobe Dam.
Collected at an altitude of 1,560 meters deep within the Hida Mountain Range, which spans both Nagano and Toyama, this water is exceptionally clear—like pure crystal.
Named after the mystical ice formations known as Hyōjun that naturally form inside Kurobe’s caves, this rare Japanese medium-hard water (hardness 140) is both easy to drink and rich in minerals.
This celestial blessing has brought a new dimension to Ichinoya’s sake brewing, resulting in a sake with a profound and lingering flavor.
⑶The Miracle Water Nurtured by Hakuba—“Slab-Origin Water”
OrBS, a company specializing in water science, has discovered an extraordinary water source in Oide, Hakuba Village—a region blessed with natural springs.
In this area, nestled within the 3,000-meter-high Hakuba mountain range, moist air is drawn toward the western mountains of Hakuba by the Foehn effect, forming delicate clouds that bring nourishing rain.
This rain slowly permeates the silica-rich rock formations, undergoing a natural purification process over many years before emerging as superior underground water.
Eventually, this stored underground water resurfaces as a spring, forming a continuous cycle of nature—what can only be described as “a divine circulation system.”
Now, a new sake, crafted with this miraculous water, is about to be born.
We invite you to anticipate the exquisite drops of this supreme gift from the great nature of Hakuba.