How about a place where innovation meets tradition? That place is Saka. It is a town in Hiroshima Prefecture. Saka sits on Hiroshima Bay’s coast. Forests cover over half of Saka.
Saka has a population around 12,853. The population density is about 820 people per square kilometer. The total area spans 15.69 square kilometers.
Saka’s climate is humid and subtropical. Summers are very warm. Winters are cool. The average yearly temperature is 15.3 degrees Celsius. July sees the highest temperatures around 26.3 degrees Celsius. January experiences the lowest at about 5.0 degrees Celsius. Rainfall averages 1543 mm annually. September is the wettest month.
Once, Hiroshima was considered unsuitable for sake production. Most springs provided soft water. Soft water lacked necessary minerals for starter cultures. Three men overcame this challenge. They created the new Ginjo sake type in Hiroshima.
Kiyoshi Hashizume improved Hiroshima’s sake quality. He trained master sake brewers. Riichi Satake developed Japan’s first powered rice mill. He delivered the first model to Kamotsuru Shuzo Brewery.
Senzaburou Miura created a new soft water brewing method around 1887. He experimented with temperature and humidity controls. By 1898, he perfected brewing with soft water. His method involved culturing koji mold. It also included fermenting sake mash slowly at low temperatures. This produced soft water sake equaling hard water sakes.
Shizuhiko Kimura expanded soft water brewing. In 1918, he invested in Kamotsuru Shuzo Brewery and Saijo Sake Brewing School. He promoted Miura’s brewing methods.
Bayside Beach Saka is near Hiroshima City. You can drive there in about 30 minutes from the city center. This man-made beach stretches 1,200 meters along Route 31. It is open at night outside of the sea-bathing season. There you can enjoy sunsets.
The beach offers changing rooms. Restrooms and outdoor showers are available. There are also parking spaces.
Remember Saka. It is a place where history meets innovation, where sake brewing was revolutionized, and where you can enjoy beautiful beaches.