Greetings from our Toji(Sake brewer)
Thank you for coming our web site. My name is Mami Wakabayashi and I have been working as a brewer for Wakabayashi brewing since 2016.
Born in 1987 as the second daughter of the Wakabayashi family, I returned home in 2013 after leaving my hometown to go to university and get a job.
Shiodadaira Plain, where the brewery is located, is surrounded by mountains and has many reservoirs. There are so many temples and shrines, and there are also local trains that connect Bessho Onsen Spa from Ueda City. In the Ueda area, where the sunny weather rate is high, agricultural products grow well, and sake rice and fruits, which are the raw materials for our products, are carefully produced locally.
I am fascinated by old, beautiful and historical things. The brewery uses the same building as it was when it was founded, with a high ceiling where you can see the splendid beams, and the walls are earthen walls. The koji room which is the most important process of sake brewing, is cedar wood. Although it is an old brewery that has been in business for over 120 years, this brewery that produces various types of sake is full of the wisdom of our predecessors.
Each sake brewed has its own thoughts and background, and each has its own taste concept. Aiming for a taste that suits the times, we are making improvements through trial and error every day. We strive to make sake that will make people happy so that they can enjoy their meal time.
History of our Toji
March 2010
Graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University, Department of English and American Literature.
During the home staying in Seattle, Washington, USA, which I joined while attending school, she realized the value of Japanese culture and my family's sake brewery.
June 2014
Attended and completed a liquor brewing course at the Liquor Research Institute.
April 2013
After working at a travel agency and a production manager for a women's clothing manufacturer, she returned to Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture where she was born.
From the fall of the same year, she went to learn the basics of sake brewing at Shinshu Meijo Company.
2015-2016
Attended and completed a brewing technician training course at the Nagano Prefectural Industrial Technology Center.
March 2016
Finished learning sake brewing at Shinshu Meijou Company.
October 2016
Started sake brewing as master brewer at Wakabayashi Brewing. (Resurrection of ALL self-brewing for the first time in about 50 years)