Nada – one of Japan’s three famous Sake brewing areas!
In Nada, we visited “Hakushika Classic”, a restaurant managed by a brewery called Tatsuuma Honke Brewing Company (Hakushika), which has a history of over 350‑years.

While the exterior of the building is elegant with white walls and black roof tiles, the remodeled Meiji era storehouse interior has been made into a restaurant with a warm ambience. With jazz playing in the background, it is a calm, stylish space perfect for grown-ups.

Here you can enjoy not only Japanese cuisine, but also Western dishes that go well with Hakushika otokozake (a dry Sake with rather high acidity) that is called umakuchi among the Sake from Nada.

Pizzas and cakes among other dishes made using Sake lees and fresh vegetables diligently grown by the local farmers are the restaurant’s appeal, and the store is always crowded with female customers.

To those who are not used to drinking Sake, we recommend cocktails such as Sake sangria.
Allowing visitors to enjoy a variety of combinations, Sake recommendations for each dish are listed on the menu.

How about pairing up the creamy baked ‘tai’ fish and the red rice prawn Sake leek dish with Hakushika Classics’ namazake? It’s an “outstanding supporting actor” that backs up the flavor of the dish, and makes it even richer.

You can’t help but realize the charm of Sake!

At the shop linked with the restaurant you can buy namazake and freshly brewed genshu Sake that you can only get from Hakushika Classics.
Naturally, there is a Sake tasting corner! Also there is a corner where freshly brewed genshu can be bought by measure. You can only buy it here, so it’s an essential purchase!

When Sake is drunk in moderation, it’s said to be good for blood circulation, and to give moist, smooth skin.
Also, the kojic acid included in the Sake’s raw ingredients has a melanin-pigmentation-restraining effect, so you may expect good results for preventing damage caused by sunlight, it is said.
Sake baths, which have been a hot topic in Japan of late, can be made easily by adding around 2 cups of Sake to lukewarm bathwater.
The moisturizing effect is increased, your body will feel warm, and apparently your skin will be less prone to drying.

Hakushika Classics:
Address: 7-7 Kurakakecho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture

Telephone: 0798-35-0001 (restaurant & cafe)
Holidays: Closed on Tuesdays
Seats: 92 (Parties up to 35 persons)

Business hours:

Lunch: 11:00~15:00
Cafe: 11:00~16:00

Dinner: 17:00~22:00
Last orders: Food 21:00 / Drinks 21:30
Hours for accepting reservations: 11:00~22:00
Access: A 10-minute walk from Hanshin Mainline Nishinomiya station, South Exit

URL　http://www.hakushika.co.jp/classic/restaurant_cafe.php (In Japanese – English web page available with information on Hakushika Brewery and its products)

Note: Temporarily closed from April 2015 due to renovation.

 
Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Makoto Esaki / Yoko Suganami / Rainbow Sake Co.,Ltd.