Toshimaya, the oldest sake merchant in Tokyo with origins dating to 1596, takes the name Miwatari from a rare winter phenomenon on nearby Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture, where the ice cracks and heaves into a raised ridge stretching across the lake, known locally as the God's Crossing. The brewery draws on Nagano's mountain water and locally grown rice to produce a range from traditional dry junmai to a Junmai Ginjo aged in Merlot barrels.
