Gakkogura

Gakkogura is the second brewery of Obata Shuzo on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture, established in 2014 by converting a primary school that had closed in 2010 due to declining island population. Founded on four pillars of sake brewing, coexistence, exchange, and learning, it operates as a sustainable summer brewery powered by solar energy and using biodiversity-conscious Sado rice, with sake lees and koji repurposed in an on-site cafe. In 2020, the Ministry of the Environment's Good Life Award recognized Gakkogura's environmental community impact, and it was certified as Japan's first Special Zone of Japanese Sake.