[Hokkaido Sake Note] Kamikawa Taisetsu Tokachi with Cheese Green : I Was Most Excited to Find

The sake I had been looking forward to most

During my Hokkaido trip, there was one sake I wanted to try more than anything else.

I had seen Kamikawa Taisetsu mentioned by several sake YouTubers in Korea, and the more I researched it before my trip, the more curious I became. Eventually, it became one of the bottles I simply had to find while I was in Hokkaido.

In fact, finding this sake was one of the reasons I decided to travel to Asahikawa.

The bottle I was particularly interested in was Tokachi with Cheese Green (十勝 with Cheese Green), brewed by Kamikawa Taisetsu Shuzo at Hekigunzo (神川大雪酒造 碧雲蔵) in Obihiro, Hokkaido.

I ended up drinking Kamikawa Taisetsu more than expected

Before visiting Hokkaido, I assumed Kamikawa Taisetsu would be difficult to find. Surprisingly, it wasn’t.

I came across the brand at restaurants and local shops several times during the trip, which gave me the chance to taste different expressions rather than judging the brewery from a single bottle.

That was actually one of the highlights of the trip.

I kept ordering Kamikawa Taisetsu by the glass, and the more I tried, the more I understood why this Hokkaido brewery has attracted attention among sake enthusiasts.

But there was still one bottle I wanted to try most: Tokachi with Cheese Green.

A sake made with cheese in mind?

The name immediately caught my attention.

“With Cheese.”

Sake and cheese may sound like an unusual combination, but it makes perfect sense in Tokachi, one of Hokkaido’s famous dairy regions.

This sake was created with Tokachi cheese pairing in mind. It uses Hokkaido-grown rice polished to 80% and is brewed using the traditional Yamahai method, giving it more rice character, umami and acidity than a highly polished, delicate sake.

That concept alone made me want to taste it.

But did it actually work?

Finally tasting the bottle I had been chasing

When I finally opened the bottle, I understood the appeal almost immediately.

It felt fresh and lively, with subtle citrus, yogurt and creamy notes. There was plenty of rice-driven umami, but the acidity kept the sake from feeling heavy.

And this is where the cheese concept became particularly interesting.

The acidity works well with cream cheese, mozzarella, Brie and Camembert, while the clean structure also makes it a surprisingly good match for lighter seafood, white fish, creamy pasta and cheese-based dishes.

It doesn’t feel like a sake that needs to stay inside the usual sushi-and-sashimi box.

It feels like a sake designed to cross over into the world of wine and food pairing.

The biggest surprise was actually the price

After tasting several Kamikawa Taisetsu expressions during the trip, one thing stood out to me: the value for money.

Of course, taste is subjective and Japanese retail prices are very different from imported prices overseas. But at around the ¥2,000 range in Japan, the quality felt surprisingly high.

My simplest way of describing it?

It tasted like a ¥5,000 sake wearing a ¥2,000 price tag.

That’s not something I say about every bottle I drink.

And it was one of the reasons I became even more interested in the brewery after the trip.

Who should try Tokachi with Cheese Green?

If you enjoy sake but want to explore beyond traditional Japanese food pairings, this is a bottle worth putting on your list.

I’d especially recommend trying it with mild cheeses, fresh seafood, white fish, creamy dishes or a simple cheese pizza.

What I like about the concept is that it connects three things that define the region: Hokkaido sake, Tokachi’s dairy culture and local ingredients.

For me, that made the bottle more than just another sake purchase.

I went to Hokkaido expecting to find a bottle I had heard about online. I came home with something much more valuable: a sake that made me curious about the entire brewery and its approach to Hokkaido sake.

And yes, after all that anticipation, I’m glad I went looking for it.

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