Sake brewing firm harvests rice on rooftop in Ginza

Hakutsuru Sake Brewing Co. harvested rice for sake on the roo op of its Tokyo branch o ce building in the Ginza district on Oct. 21, bringing a scene of the harvest season to central Tokyo.

e company has been cultivating a 110-square-meter rice paddy on the roo op, which is 30 meters above the ground, since 2007 and using the plot to grow Hakutsuru Nishiki, a sake rice variety developed by the company.

In June this year, about 1,700 bunches of seedlings were planted by hand.

On Oct. 21, about 35 people, including the company’s employees, harvested the rice and hung it to dry in the traditional manner, a practice called “hasagake” in which bundles of rice are hung on racks.

e harvested rice will be brewed to produce sake that will be sold at department stores and other shops. (Oct. 24)

Miho Takahashi / The Yomiuri Shimbun Employees of Hakutsuru Sake Brewing Co. harvest rice on the rooftop of a building in the Ginza district of Tokyo on Oct. 21.