Sake Company harvests rice from Tokyo’s rooftop rice field; Growth was slowed by bad weather, but recovered thanks to summer weather

About twenty employees of Hakutsuru Sake Brewing Co. harvested rice on Wednesday from the roof of the company’s Tokyo office in the Ginza district.

The rice, which will be used to make sake, was harvested using sickles.

In May, the company planted approximately 1,700 plants of the Hakutsurunishiki rice variety, which was specially developed for this type of rice, in the 110 square meter rice field on the roof.

The growth of the rice plants was delayed this year, mainly due to the bad weather immediately after planting. In summer, the rice grew well due to the high temperatures and the company was able to harvest it at about the same time as an average year.

Hakutsuru Sake Brewing expects to harvest about 50 kilos from the rice field.

Sake made from the rice will be sold in department stores and other stores around June next year.