Usui Katsusaburo Store was founded in 1887 in Nemuro City, Hokkaido — Japan's easternmost city — by a brewer from Niigata who set out to craft affordable, quality sake that could rival imports from the mainland. Kitanokatsu is produced in small quantities, with roughly 80% of output consumed locally in the Kushiro and Nemuro districts, giving the brand a deliberately rare and regional character defined by the cold Pacific climate.
