On the long list of requirements to brew a good sake, Motosaka Sake Brewery just added one more to its own. Their latest sake, Kotohotaru, has a rather unique specific requirement - that it can only be made in the year that fireflies visit its water source.

It is believed by the brewery that the presence of fireflies guarantees the quality of the brewing water used in its sake. This year's release was heralded by firefly sightings that were confirmed on 7 June 2023. Each bottle is stamped with the date that fireflies were first observed that year in the water intake point of the Brewery, which is located in Miyagawa (Yanagihara, Odai Town).

Founded in 1805, Motozaka Sake Brewery is the brewer of sakes Sakai Yabei and Kino. Its sake brewery is based in a mountain village called Okuise in the central and southern part of Mie Prefecture, Japan.

Each bottle of the 2,500 bottle batch is to be priced at ¥4,800 (£23.39), and of each sale, ¥150 (73p) per  will be donated to Odai Town, Mie Prefecture, to support water conservation efforts. 

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Lok Bing Hong A budding journalist that loves experiencing new things and telling people's stories. I have 30 seconds of coherence a day. I do not decide when they come. They are not consecutive.

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