[Year-End Greetings: "At the End of 2024"]
Thank you for your continued patronage of Yoshinogawa this year.
We would be delighted if you would enjoy Yoshinogawa sake at your last meal of the year.
Yoshinogawa opened in CoCoLo Niigata, a newly renovated commercial facility at Niigata Station, this spring.
We have opened our first official shop outside of our company premises.
For Niigata residents who regularly use Niigata Station, as well as tourists from outside the prefecture and overseas,
We envision this as an opportunity for business travelers to learn about Yoshinogawa sake.
Although we've only just started, we're gradually gaining more regular customers.
Our energetic staff will help you find the perfect drink to suit your needs.
Please do stop by when you're in Niigata.
The brewery, which opened in the fall of 2019, holds events such as the spring brewery open house and the summer Nagaoka Fireworks Festival.
Thanks to a major event called the Autumn Fermentation Trip, our customer base is steadily growing.
In collaboration with Niigata Prefecture and Nagaoka City, this is a place to showcase the region's attractions.
We will work together with the local community to create a place that connects us with the local people and help revitalize Miyauchi Settaya.
In December, "Traditional Knowledge and Techniques of Sake Brewing Using Koji Mold in Japan" will be presented.
It has been registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
While this is good news, it also means that it is facing the risk of extinction.
If we are being captured, then more than ever before,
We need to consider the transmission and development of this traditional knowledge and technology.
Just the other day, as part of the employee benefits of a certain company in Tokyo,
We held a Japanese sake lecture, sake tasting, and social gathering.
These sake awareness activities are carried out at breweries and in various other locations.
We will continue this project, and we hope you will take an interest in it.
Looking at the domestic alcohol market, demand in restaurants is...
Since the lifting of the Class 5 restrictions last year, the situation has been on a slow but steady recovery trend.
Large banquets have become less common, but small workplace gatherings, get-togethers with colleagues and friends,
Family and relative gatherings, where alcohol brings people together.
I'm happy to think that people are re-evaluating the deepening relationships we share.
Despite all that, I am interested in sake.
The situation continues where it's not translating into demand.
The industry as a whole is proposing sake mixed with soda, such as "sake highballs,"
I think it will be especially important to create opportunities to connect with young people.
Regarding household demand, due to the impact of rising prices,
I feel like the selection of sake is becoming smaller.
Supermarkets and convenience stores where you can easily buy products on a regular basis
For those who want to carefully select their alcoholic beverages, we are a liquor store that caters to the needs of our customers.
We will also consider expanding our product line.
The price of rice will rise significantly this year and next year.
Considering the livelihoods of farmers and the sustainability of rice farming,
It can't be helped. The prices of other materials are also constantly rising.
At Yoshinogawa, we want our customers to be satisfied with their purchase.
We will continue to brew and deliver sake that you will want to keep drinking for many years to come.
We believe we will be able to announce new developments next year, in 2025.
We will strive to deliver alcoholic beverages that allow our valued customers to enjoy enriching moments.
Thank you for everything this past year. I look forward to your continued support.
December 30, 2024
Yoshinogawa Co., Ltd.
President and Representative Director
Yuki Minemasa
