First and foremost, we would like to wish all our readers the best of fortune for 2026!
According to the Chinese calendar, 2026 marks the year of the horse, so get ready for every brewery with the character for 馬 in its name to jump on 2026 as the “year of marketing”. Wakakoma, Bajō Shuzō, Nanakanba, Hidariuma and a bunch of others are no doubt getting ready for their day (year?) in the sun.
For everyone else 2026 is shaping up to be a challenging year. Rice prices, inflation, tariffs and consumption slumps are just some of the – quite high – hurdles facing the industry. Behind closed doors (and some open ones too!) a number of industry figures are predicting doom and gloom in the form of brewery closures so we’re doing our best to maintain hopes that things can improve.
In the meantime, here’s the news…
Hyogo- Visiting sake mecca Nada is about to get a whole lot more fun and convenient with the announcement from Nissan Motor Co. and Kobe City that they will begin a pilot autonomous mobility service in the Nada Gogo sake district from January 19 to 23. The initiative aims to balance rising tourist demand with local transport challenges while supporting regional revitalization.
