The third edition of an original canned-sake series featuring local Kanagawa breweries goes on sale at 10:00 on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, through "Ishobako," an online shop inside JRE MALL. Behind it is JR Yokohama Shonan City Create, the company that runs station buildings such as CIAL and Lusca. Together with Agnavi, a venture based in Chigasaki, and a group of Kanagawa breweries, the series now reaches its third release.

This time the picks are Inoue Shuzo (Oi), Oya Takashi Shuzo (Aikawa), and Kawanishiya Shuzoten (Yamakita). The set brings together three cans, each holding one go (180 ml), for 2,400 yen including tax.

A station-building operator selling local sake by the can

What makes the series interesting is the partnership itself. A company that normally runs station buildings has teamed up directly with breweries in its own region to plan original-label sake cans. Agnavi handles more than 200 local sake varieties from across Japan and works to help long-standing breweries survive, and the two have joined forces here.

The can format works in its favor. One go is just the right amount to finish on your own, without the pressure of having to drain a whole bottle once it's open. It pairs naturally with a tasting set, letting you try three breweries little by little.

The labels are designed by RYU AMBE, an illustrator based in Chigasaki. Known for a style that is pop, cute, and faintly cynical, AMBE held a solo show, "RyuAmbe 10," at the Chigasaki City Museum of Art in 2025. A local artist dressing up local sake fits the spirit of the project.

Earlier editions followed the same shape. The first featured Morimasu (Koganei Shuzo), Izumibashi (Izumibashi Shuzo), and Shonan (Kumazawa Shuzo); the second featured Shirasasa Tsuzumi (Kanai Shuzoten), Kikuyu Momokuraudo (Kikkawa Jozo), and Morimasu (Koganei Shuzo). The first set has sold out, while the second is still available at Ishobako. The lineup keeps rotating, almost like a slow tour through Kanagawa's breweries.

Three breweries, all more than two centuries old

All three breweries in this edition carry long histories.

Inoue Shuzo was founded in 1789 and brews with subsoil water from the Tanzawa mountains. Its entry is a junmai ginjo (a fragrant style made carefully from only polished rice and rice koji) using 100% Yamada Nishiki rice, with a fresh, citrusy aroma and a light, dry character.

Oya Takashi Shuzo dates to 1830. Its sake leans slightly sweet, with a gently expanding umami and a sense of depth. It's built as a shokuchu-shu, a sake meant to be drunk with food, designed not to get in the way of a meal.

Kawanishiya Shuzoten was founded in 1897 and offers a junmai ginjo made with 100% Miyama Nishiki rice. It's a relatively light, easy-drinking style, recommended at room temperature or chilled.

A brewery founded in 1789, the year of the French Revolution, has gone on making sake in Kanagawa ever since, and now appears as a pop-labeled can in a present-day station building. Kanagawa sake may not be a flashy name, but lined up like this, the depth of the breweries close to home starts to show.

You can taste it before you buy

Ahead of the launch, there's a chance to actually drink the sake. "KANAGAWA Local Sake Festival 2026" takes place on Saturday, June 27, 2026, in the sixth-floor hall of Lusca Chigasaki, split into two sessions: 11:00–13:00 and 14:00–16:00.

Twelve breweries belonging to the Kanagawa Sake Brewers Association take part. A ticket comes with ten drink tickets, good for roughly five glasses of sake, plus paired food, an original ochoko cup, and bottled water, for 4,500 yen in advance or 5,000 yen on the day (both including tax). Before buying the cans, you can try the brewers' sake on the spot.

The cans go on sale from July 1, but having a chance to taste them shortly beforehand suggests a deliberate effort to introduce Kanagawa's local sake gently, from the ground up.

Details

  • Product: Third edition original-label canned sake, set of three
  • Breweries: Inoue Shuzo (Oi) / Oya Takashi Shuzo (Aikawa) / Kawanishiya Shuzoten (Yamakita)
  • Volume: One go (180 ml) per can
  • Price: 2,400 yen (incl. tax)
  • On sale: Wednesday, July 1, 2026, from 10:00
  • Where: "Ishobako" inside JRE MALL
  • Design: RYU AMBE
  • Planned by: JR Yokohama Shonan City Create / Agnavi
  • Preview event: KANAGAWA Local Sake Festival 2026 (June 27, sixth-floor hall of Lusca Chigasaki, with 12 breweries from the Kanagawa Sake Brewers Association)

If a fourth and fifth edition follow, there may come a day when the whole circuit of Kanagawa breweries has been covered. Which brewery ends up in a can next is something worth following.