Students from the Food Science department of Suchi High School (Kyotamba Town, Kyoto Prefecture) have developed ice cream using sake lees from Choro Sake Brewery (Honjo, Kyotamba Town), the only sake brewery in Kyotamba Town. It features a refreshing sake flavor and a smooth texture. It is sold at the roadside station "Nagomi" (Sakahara, Kyotamba Town).
In 2024, Choro Sake Brewery commissioned Suchi High School to develop a product utilizing sake lees. After six months of development, it was completed in April 2025. Due to production volume limitations, sales were initially limited to Tamba Wine (Toyoda, Kyotamba Town), but sales have now expanded to the roadside station "Nagomi" so that "more people can enjoy it."
The sake lees are made into a paste before they are fully matured, and the alcohol is removed so that even children can eat it. The ice cream is based on milk ice cream, with a lingering aroma of sake after the sweetness of the milk.
On May 15th, the students delivered 100 ice creams to the "Nagomi" roadside station. They carefully arranged each one in the freezer case and attached handmade signs.
Yoshiyuki Fujita (72 years old), the station manager of "Nagomi" roadside station, who sampled the ice cream, gave it his seal of approval, saying, "I hope it becomes a signature product and a new souvenir." Wataru Terai (56 years old), representative of Choro Sake Brewery, said, "We provided the sake lees as part of our social contribution. I'm happy that it's becoming a product." Kiyoka Sadamori (17 years old), a third-year female student at Suchi High School, expressed her hopes for the product, saying, "It's a product using local ingredients. I want to spread the word to many people."
The "Sake Lees Ice Cream" costs 300 yen per serving. It is also sold at the "Nagomi Cafe" located in "Nagomi" roadside station.
