Shōryaku-ji, in the hills south-east of the city, is where Muromachi monks developed the three-stage brew, all-polished-rice morohaku sake, pasteurisation and the bodaimoto starter, which is why it calls itself the birthplace of Japanese refined sake. Every January the temple still makes the bodaimoto starter, seven Nara breweries take it home to brew, and the temple sells the results.
Why it's unique
The claim is to the origin of the techniques that define refined sake, and the temple still makes the starter itself.
You can drink sake anywhere in Japan. Drinking sake brewed from a starter made at the temple where the method was invented, and buying it there, is the only-here part.
Before you go
The Bodaimoto Seishu-sai is on 9 January 2027, with paid tastings and sake-lees soup, and Nara Kōtsū runs extra buses. The rest of the year you can still buy all seven breweries' bodaimoto sake, and the revived Muromachi "Bodaisen", at the Fukuju-in sub-temple.
The temple is also one of Nara's great autumn-leaf spots, with a hidden Yakushi shown from 3 November to 6 December 2026, and extra buses run from mid to late November.
