Maihime, founded in 1894 in Suwa City, Nagano, is one of five breweries known as the Suwa Gokura, standing within just 500 meters of one another along the historic Koshu Highway and sharing the region's prized spring water from the Kirigamine highlands. The brewery operates under the motto of face-to-face sake making, balancing the five flavor elements of sweetness, dryness, acidity, bitterness, and astringency in each batch. Suwa's cold winters and abundant cold-storage capability allow Maihime to deliver consistently fresh sake across its range, which includes the Shinshu Maihime and Suiro labels.
